A Case of Exploding Mangoes

[fatman17]

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A Case of Exploding Mangoes

Mohammed Hanif

Random house India

For once the hyperbole of blurb reaches appropriate justification in the excellence of this debut thriller. Apart from a small guibble with the feebly punning title, this is a terrifically well crafted and mischievous depiction of Zia ul Haq's assassination.

The story begins with a news clip (later pulled out, in order not to demoralise the Armed Forces) of dead men walking. They consist of President Zia, the Head of the Inter Services Intelligence agency and the US ambassador to Pakistan, straggling across the heat of the tarmac at Bhawalpur air force base, unwittingly about to embark on Pak One, the plane that will explode on take-off and finish them off.

The narrator is fleetingly glimpsed in the clip - the man who got away - a young Pakistan air force cadet who is the only surviving witness, perhaps even the perpetrator. There are plenty of contenders for this honour, but the latter's voice, dry, edgy, world-weary, instantly engages the reader and carries him into the heart of darkness which stains the murky corridors of power in Pakistan's military dictatorship.

Mohammed Hanif, the author, has done his homework assiduously (and even trained as a pilot in the Air Force). A graduate of the elite University of East Anglia creative writing course he has a safe house within the BBC in London. Understandably, his novel couldn't find a brave enough publisher in Pakistan where it is blacklisted.Hanif 's dexterity of plotting, his facility of language and pace of storytelling are as crisp and professionally acute as any of the best thriller writing today.

Along with his familiarity with technicalities of military hardware and functioning, and the intricacies of Pakistani politics, he gives the reader immediate confidence without which necessary suspension of disbelief would be impossible; that is possibly Hanif 's greatest strength, a surefootedness which allows him to mix imagination and fantasy with known fact and provide one with the comfortable assurance that he is a writer whom one can trust on a rollercoaster.

The portrait of Zia whose innards are being slowly consumed by worms, crumbling under the weight of political stupidity and fundamental caprice, is a masterpiece of comic invention. At one stage in his paranoia, Zia decides to wobble off on a gardener's bicycle, disguised in his mother-in-law's shawl, in order to play Haroun-al-Rashid to the unsuspecting and sleeping populace of Islamabad.

When he had covered about half a mile without seeing a single person, a strange feeling began to set in; what if he was ruling a country without any inhabitants? What if it was a ghost country ? What if all the statistics from the census said that one hundred and thirty million people lived in the country, ninety eight per cent Muslim, were all the work of his over-efficient bureaucrats? What if everyone had migrated somewhere else and he was ruling a country where nobody lived except his army, his bureaucrats and his bodyguards? He was breathing hard and feeling amused at the bizarre conspiracy theories one can harbour if one is a commoner on a bicycle, when a bush on the roadside moved and a voice shouted at him: "Come here old man. Riding around without a headlight? Do you think this road belongs to your father? Isn't there enough lawlessness in the country?"

The bathos of the situation takes over "His head was buzzing with excitement at his first encounter with one of his own subjects, without any security cordons separating them, without any guns pointed at the person he was talking to. Standing on the footpath General Zia realised the true meaning of what the old Dracula had told him...he realised that Ceausescu's advice that he hadn't understood before this adventure. What is democracy? What is essence? You draw strength from your people and you become even stronger...watched over by the silent hills surrounding Islamabad, a very ancient ritual was taking place: a ruler and his subject were face to face...."

Zia's talent for banality provided credence to his fanaticism; and Hanif brings in plenty of grist to the merry-go-round of mockery There is the instance of the First Lady's ample derriere, the barbecue at the American Ambassador's, whose wife's p.c. attempts at ethnic diversity turn to farce, and where Osama BL tries to engage guests in cocktail chatter about his construction business.

Obviously, Hanif has gone where others shiver to tread - homosexuality in the forces, ISI torture chambers under the Lahore Fort, the absurdity of certain aspects of Sharia, and his claims about the identity of Zia's murderer - among other topics - have assured him a place in the hall of infamy.

Three cheers for a clever, well-written novel that will entertain a wide audience and deserves to be included in many literary shortlists.

 

[warda123]

i so badly want to know that the Major Kiyani of ISI that has been mentioned in the book, is he General Asfaq Pervez Kiyani, current chief of army staff? Or just another kiyani???? please reply backy soon since i BADLY want to find out.

 

[Solomon2]

Just read the book. Very well-written. Is it still banned in Pakistan? Shouldn't be anymore. I suspect the main reason why is its portrayal of how politics is carried out in a military dictatorship: the actions of the people in the military is what matters, as civilians can be ignored or executed as convenient, and the book details how the power struggle takes place, even as military personnel are ostensibly obeying the orders of their superiors.

Naturally no dictator would want his officers or men to read it, for the book would give them too many ideas about how to supplant him. But in a government where the civilians rule it poses little threat.

 

[FaujHistorian]

i so badly want to know that the Major Kiyani of ISI that has been mentioned in the book, is he General Asfaq Pervez Kiyani, current chief of army staff? Or just another kiyani???? please reply backy soon since i BADLY want to find out.

This is a book of fiction. Please do not treat it as biography or documentary etc.

Read and enjoy a fiction.

Don't get caught up in too much emotions and the constipated conspiracy theories in the novel.

Just read the book. Very well-written. Is it still banned in Pakistan? Shouldn't be anymore. I suspect the main reason why is its portrayal of how politics is carried out in a military dictatorship: the actions of the people in the military is what matters, as civilians can be ignored or executed as convenient, and the book details how the power struggle takes place, even as military personnel are ostensibly obeying the orders of their superiors.

Naturally no dictator would want his officers or men to read it, for the book would give them too many ideas about how to supplant him. But in a government where the civilians rule it poses little threat.

My dear.

The novel is available around here. No problem, no bans, no fatwas.

Peace

 

[Solomon2]

This is a book of fiction...Don't get caught up in too much emotions and the constipated conspiracy theories in the novel.

The account of how an officer-cadet is introduced into the world of indirect, deniable, and murderous political conspiracy is nevertheless disgusting and illuminating. The obvious implication is that the author intended it as practical instruction, based on his experiences.

My dear. The novel is available around here. No problem, no bans, no fatwas. Peace

Good.

 

[FaujHistorian]

The account of how an officer-cadet is introduced into the world of indirect, deniable, and murderous political conspiracy is nevertheless disgusting and illuminating. The obvious implication is that the author intended it as practical instruction, based on his experiences.

Good.

As I said, the author has written a fiction along the lines of " Da Vinci Code" or worse "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" with Pakistani background.

Read it, enjoy it but treat it as a work of fiction.


"Fiction" is the bottom line.

Thank you.

p.s. A person who is acutely impacted by or at least aware of the stereotypical views such as anti-semitism must be on full gaurd against stereotypes against other nationalities.

 

[Solomon2]

Read it, enjoy it but treat it as a work of fiction.

I suppose I should crack open Cohen's, "The Pakistani Army" for comparison.

p.s. A person who is acutely impacted by or at least aware of the stereotypical views such as anti-semitism must be on full gaurd against stereotypes against other nationalities.

The people I consider stereotyped in the book are Pakistani generals (choice of dutiful, greedy, superstitious, murderous, or corrupt) and perhaps Pakistani policemen, one of whom was depicted abusing someone he thought was a cloaked woman on a bicycle.

 

[FaujHistorian]

I suppose I should crack open Cohen's, "The Pakistani Army" for comparison.
:

I respect Steve for his professionalism. I wish we had few Pakistani authors with half of his diligence and intellect. However I do see him lacking "boots on the ground" knowledge. But that can be said about many authors and not just him.

I suppose I should crack open Cohen's, "The Pakistani Army" for comparison.

The people I consider stereotyped in the book are Pakistani generals (choice of dutiful, greedy, superstitious, murderous, or corrupt) and perhaps Pakistani policemen, one of whom was depicted abusing someone he thought was a cloaked woman on a bicycle.

We had fair share of bad apples aka generals.

But overall, they perhaps are the only bunch that are patriotic to the core, pro-USA (with some caveats), and professional.

Pakistan Army is the main organization that kicks out its old hacks on regular basis.

you will not find anyone lasting for more than 10 or so years even if the guy happens to be the president.

There is regular exchange and infusion of fresh blood, new ideas and younger officers.

I wish our political parties could do the same (like what happens to the political parties in US and UK).

But that is a separate topic.


peace