21st Century Literature discussion
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The Association of Small Bombs
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Association of Small Bombs -- Whole Book (Dec 2017)
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This is my first post on a discussion, so happy to finally participate. My overall reaction to the book was positive. I enjoyed it. It did change my view of terrorism or at least get me to think about it from the point of view of the terrorist. I didn’t immediately feel like the terrorists were strictly villains. At the same time, the depiction of heartbreaking tragedy brought to innocent victims and their families led me to see a terrorists actions as horribly misguided regardless of my sympathy for their grievances with corruption in their own government, the unwanted influence of western values, etc, Balancing those ideas was well done.
Mod
To be honest I struggled a little to maintain interest in this book - admittedly there are a lot of distractions at this time of year. I am not saying there is anything wrong with it, just that it didn't particularly grab my attention. For me it wasn't really addressing anything that wasn't done better in Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire.
Did your views on terrorism change at all while reading this book? If so, in what ways?
No, but partly because I have already seen plenty of other stories and articles about what leads people into terrorism, largely because of other writers, another being Nadeem Aslam.
In what ways do class and racism impact this story?
Racism only really came into the American part of the story, which felt rather tangential to me. There was the stuff about how North and South Indians view each other, but that seemed less significant than the religious and nationalist side of the conflict. Class is omnipresent in Indian literature, so although it is an important part of the story I didn't feel that Mahajan had anything strikingly original to say.
What is the role of the press in this story? What role would we like the press to play in real life?
I barely noticed it. In real life, the most important thing is to do everything we can to preserve independent liberal campaigning newspapers such as The Guardian in the UK.
How did you relate to each character?
None of them really grabbed me...
Mod
Hugh, sounds like we had very similar reactions to the book. I appreciate you recommending some other writers and books above. One of the quotes about the media that stood out to me was this one:
The future of the country is in the hands of the media. But the media is blind and thinks its future is in the hands of consumers, and so it gives them what they want--sex and violence. And that’s why, to punish all of them, to show them the end result of this strategy, I’ve come to plant a bomb.
It seems there's an amplified feedback loop terrorism and the media share--the press can't not report on a terrorist attack, but this coverage surely must spur more terrorism, which spurs more coverage, and so on.
Did this book make any of you think about how you personally respond to news of terrorist attacks? We, as individuals, react differently based on size, location, age/gender/nationality of the victims, personal connections to terrorist or victims, etc. How do we not become numb to so many events, especially those like the one in this book that may be smaller in scope and farther removed geographically? In the U.S., it almost feels like such domestic attacks are politicized before they happen (with ready-made reactions queued up and waiting for the attacker's identity to be revealed). It's often overwhelming just dealing with bad news from the closest city to you, nevermind the entire globe.
The book did serve as a reminder that all terrorist attacks are a big deal regardless of whether we are numb to a particular “small bomb” in a far away place. It’s like the idea that “minor surgery” is surgery that happens to other people. This story made a small bomb sound like an oxymoron since the intimate storytelling of those characters in the story made the incident feel the furthest thing from small. The title didn’t really make sense to me until the association itself was introduced later in the story. Therefore one of the things I liked about the book was that it served as a reminder that we need to pay attention to these stories and resist glossing over the details because of the overwhelming number of events we see in the news.
Mod
Anyone read anything else by Mahajan?
Thoughts on shame and/or sexual frustration as a possible catalyst for terrorist recruitment of young males?
I finished this yesterday, it took me all day. I wasn't expecting it to take that long to turn the last page, and was most surprised that I fell asleep in between chapters 31 & 32. All I asked for after the first half of the book was to be able to read more about the characters depicted as terrorists...I got it, only to fall asleep through it? As excited as I was after Mansoor's section; this third and fourth act weren't keeping my attention. This book was exhausting for me, I was checking in and out of it, from beginning to end; and when this happens, I begin to pick at aspects that annoyed me about the writing. While I think "AAoSB" is worthwhile to read, reading about various coping methods people resort to in the aftermath of some external or internal circumstances; it's not a seamless in delivery and it’s quite frustrating, in fact. The area of opportunity, for this novel, is that Mahajan attempts to cover too many subjects saturating the main focus of the novel. It's the subject matter Mahajan addresses that propels the novel forward, and not as much the characters that drive it; which in a novel like this, it may have been beneficial to better understand what makes each character tick, for lack of a better term? I echo Sunita's flat characters comment for characters other than Shockie and Mansoor; although, even they weren't fleshed either. Everybody else fell to the wayside. Thoughts on shame and/or sexual frustration as a possible catalyst for terrorist recruitment of young males?
yes, there is an obvious blatant phallic undertone in this novel. I noticed it since the beginning, of course, simply thinking it was just a male dominated novel at the time. However, Mahajan writes about the appendage itself repeatedly; characters are thinking about their manhood quite often; there's the internal dialogue with one character that gives us insight into the prevalence of rape culture and at another time, homosexuality; and Ayub's own ability to sexualize a terrorist act. I found it annoying in the first two sections, as my attention was wavering; yet, it's not difficult to notice the elevated levels of sexual aggression driving some of these men to act on their impulses; some feeling ultimate shame from committing the act, while others were invigorated by it. All of these aspects, the frustration that you mention, is jumping out of these pages. Mahajan conveys the exasperation and how it is used as a tool to manipulate young males by some who understand Islam in that manner very well. I don't doubt for minute, capitalizing on sexual frustration is a possible catalyst for terrorist recruitment.
Anyone read anything else by Mahajan?
This may be a "to do" for me because this book at present has me spinning. Might be a good idea to read something else by him, stat, for some frame of reference
I made reference to the one word reviews on the back cover of my book in a previous post, using it as a template to corral my thoughts. I didn't find much to relate to those words at first; however, at the end, at the turn of that last page, I do sing a different tune. There "are" moments that are unpredictable, surprising, daring, ambitious, timely and compelling. It reads like a bomb to me, a blast, both an explosion and implosion. It reveals askance at the answers, rendering more questions. This is a discussion worthy novel as it pertains to various levels of terrorism of the bomb persuasion, and all that comes along with it: coping, politics, race, culture, class, alienation, depression, corruption. The combination of it all, how it pertains to India and the world, seen superficially through these characters depicted with bombs living inside of them instead of a real life force... It's unfortunate that in the end, Mahajan gives us a little bit of everything, and not a whole lot of anything. But maybe, this is the point...The smaller bombings in comparison to the one large bombing, the effects on all involved is no different from one atrocity to the other?
I'm torn as to how to rate this one...I never found myself consistently hooked for too long.
Mod
"It's unfortunate that in the end, Mahajan gives us a little bit of everything, and not a whole lot of anything."
As you stated, it seems like this book presents the opportunity for discussion because it deals with big topics such as terrorism, politics, political disenfranchisement, loss, grief, etc. and yet somehow it really managed to stifle those conversations (both personally in my head as I was reading, and collectively in this group).
I can't say it made me want to read more of his writing.
Did you know much about the story line going into this? I knew the general arc (initial-victim-falls-in-with-bad-crowd) and that was enough to make me feel like there were very few surprises.
Marc wrote: "Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Ami. I hadn't really considered just how much the "phallic undertone" does run through this book, but your comments certainly make it clear. One almost gets the im..."One almost gets the impression that the last bombing might not have even taken place but for the shame/frustration of being dumped...
Which makes the act of terrorism seem even more ludicrous...Even more senseless, regardless of how much I found myself sympathizing with Ayub and Malik.
it seems like this book presents the opportunity for discussion because it deals with big topics such as terrorism, politics, political disenfranchisement, loss, grief, etc. and yet somehow it really managed to stifle those conversations
I am kicking myself over this, I wish I would have forged ahead in a more timely manner, actively discussing it with you and the group. However, considering the timing of the read and the subject matters at hand, I do wonder if the stars just didn't align for me at the time too? I will admit, that I reveled in the commentary that did take place in here, and found the insights to benefit my reading experience. That's the thing with "TAoSB," it's one of those books I like better the more I discuss the guts of the narrative, than if I would have just read it on my own...Flying solo, I was too distracted from what was really good about the narrative, by Mahajan's overall delivery, which wasn't for me.
I can't say it made me want to read more of his writing.
I like the idea of comparison, between works by the same author, or other novels that deal with similar subject matter. I've commented quite a bit in this discussion, most of it with confidence, but I can't help acknowledge that I do feel a little insecure about how I received this work...I think, quite possibly, that Mahajan may be onto something and I may have missed the message.
Did you know much about the story line going into this? I knew the general arc (initial-victim-falls-in-with-bad-crowd) and that was enough to make me feel like there were very few surprises.
I knew that the story revolved around a particular bombing in India, I didn't know which one. Other than the politics of the region, the history and dynamics within the culture(s); while the story was unknown to me, the spirit of the novel, enabled the conclusion to be plausible. Speaking of, what did you think about Mansoor taking credit for the bombing, and how he never left his home in the end?
Optional Questions to Consider:
Overall reaction to the book?
Did your views on terrorism change at all while reading this book? If so, in what ways?
In what ways do class and racism impact this story?
What is the role of the press in this story? What role would we like the press to play in real life?
How did you relate to each character?