A Case of Exploding Mangoes

Mohammed Hanif

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English

Vintage
01 May 2009

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

A superb debut novel centred around the assassination of the Pakistani dictator General Zia.

Winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Novel and shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2008.
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*LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
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'Exuberant and satirical- this is an angry comedy about Zia's brutal legacy to Pakistan' Observer

There is an old saying that when lovers fall out, a plane goes down. This is the story of one such plane.

Why did a Hercules C130, the world's sturdiest plane, carrying Pakistan's military dictator General Zia ul Haq, go down on 17 August, 1988? Was it because of-

1.

Mechanical failure 2.

Human error 3.

The CIA's impatience 4.

A blind woman's curse 5.

Generals not happy with their pension plans 6.

The mango season

Or could it be your narrator, Ali Shigri?

A Case of Exploding Mangoes is sharp, dark, inventive and utterly gripping.

By: Mohammed Hanif
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 214g
ISBN: 9780099516743
ISBN 10: 0099516748
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 May 2009
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Mohammed Hanif was born in Okara, Pakistan, in 1965. He graduated from Pakistan Air Force Academy as Pilot Officer, but subsequently left to pursue a career in journalism. He has written plays for the stage and BBC radio, and his film The Long Night has been shown at film festivals around the world. He is a graduate of UEA's creative writing programme. He is currently head of the BBC's Urdu Service and lives in London.

Reviews for A Case of Exploding Mangoes

Zesty, highly inventive...Hanif is a gifted writer...His explosive finale is brilliantly constructed Daily Mail Exuberant and satirical: this is an angry comedy about Zia's brutal legacy to Pakistan Observer Witty, elegaic and deliciously anarchic -- John Le Carre A Pakistan not reducible to generals, jets and jihadisa...a debut novel shaped as much by the subcontinents fascination with history and historical figures as by political thrillers in the tradition of Forsyth and Le Carre... Along the way there is plenty of humour and slapstick... Cadet life is entertainingly evoked, overflowing with japes, jerkoffs, hashish highs and liquored lows... The most unexpected aspect of Mangoes is also its most compelling - the wryly told story of a love affair between two cadets Guardian Entertaining... darkly comic... There are sharply observed sketches of toadying ministers, mindlessly efficient security chiefs, filthy prison cells, sex-mad Arab sheikhs and erudite communist prisoners...as a piece of political satire, A Case of Exploding Mangoes deserves a high mark Independent