A Case of Exploding Mangoes; SIGNED DATED PROOF

Hanif, Mohammed

ISBN 10: 0224082043 / ISBN 13: 9780224082044

Published by Jonathan Cape, 2008

About this Item

Signed and dated (12-08-08) by the author to the title page. Longlisted for The Booker Prize. Uncorrected proof copy in fine, unread condition. All books are swathed in biodegradable bubble wrap and posted in strong, custom made book boxes to ensure undamaged delivery. Seller Inventory # 000578

Bibliographic Details

Title: A Case of Exploding Mangoes; SIGNED DATED ...

Publisher: Jonathan Cape

Publication Date: 2008

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

There is an ancient saying that when lovers fall out, a plane goes down. A Case of Exploding Mangoes 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?

Here are the facts:

A military dictator reads the Quran every morning as if it was his daily horoscope.

Under Officer Ali Shigri carries a deadly message on the tip of his sword.

His friend Obaid answers all life's questions with a splash of eau de cologne and a quote from Rilke.

A crow has crossed the Pakistani border illegally.
As young Shigri moves from a mosque hall to his military barracks before ending up in a Mughal dungeon, there are questions that haunt him: What does it mean to betray someone and still love them? How many names does Allah really have? Who killed his father, Colonel Shigri? Who will kill his killers? And where the hell has Obaid disappeared to?

Teasing, provocative, and very funny, Mohammed Hanif's debut novel takes one of the subcontinent's enduring mysteries and out if it spins a tale as rich and colourful as a beggar's dream.

Review:

"Witty, elegant, and deliciously anarchic. Hanif has a lovely eye and an even better ear."
-- John le Carré

'Irreverent, imaginative and playful' -- FT

Cadet life is entertainingly evoked, overflowing with japes, jerkoffs, hashish highs and liquored lows... -- Guardian

`Mohammed Hanif's first novel is as grimly, intelligently comic as if written by an Asian Joseph Heller' -- Daily Telegraph

`brassy, savvy, comic debut...concise, punchy story-telling...with an affable, laconic, breezy, believable protagonist' -- New Statesman

`enjoyably satirical [...] witty and effective' -- TLS

`entertaining.... darkly comic.... Zia's limited intelligence and unlimited paranoia are portrayed with great glee.... -- The Independent

`exuberant and satirical: this is an angry comedy about Zia's brutal legacy to Pakistan'
-- The Observer

`zesty, highly inventive...Hanif is a gifted writer...His explosive finale is brilliantly constructed' -- Daily Mail

less Le Carr...than Private Eye...A Case of Exploding Mangoes deserves a high mark' -- The Independent