Description
Book SynopsisWhy 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: mechanical failure, human error, the CIA's impatience, a blind woman's curse or Generals not happy with their pension plans. This novel takes one of the subcontinent's enduring mysteries.
Trade ReviewZesty, 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 Carré
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 *
