A Case Of Exploding Mangoes  (English, Paperback, Hanif Mohammed)

Written by Mohammed Hanif, A Case Of Exploding Mangoes is a fictional tale, dotted with dark satire, elaborating the plot behind the death of Pakistan’s former president, Muhammad Zia ul-Haq.

Summary Of The Book

A Case Of Exploding Mangoes is a work of fiction, which is based on a real life incident. The death of one of Pakistan’s former presidents, Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, is the main theme around which this comic novel revolves. General Zia presided over Pakistan from 1977 to 1988. Many theories of conspiracy have been woven across this incident, and the book provides its own comical version, regarding how this infamous incident took place.

This book is written from the eyes of Ali Shigri, who is the narrator for this book. He has been described as a Junior Officer serving the Pakistani Air Force, avenging his father’s mysterious death. Though it had been considered a suicide, he is convinced that General Zia was the mastermind behind it.

According to the storyline in A Case Of Exploding Mangoes, General Zia comes to a small town in Punjab, Bahawalpur, where he witnesses a tank parade. Immediately after, he leaves in the aircraft that is C-130 Hercules, which was designated as ‘Pak One’. The aircraft takes off smoothly, but after a while, the control tower loses contact with it. The aircraft nose dives into the earth and explodes, killing General Zia, along with other army generals.

A Case Of Exploding Mangoes was published in 2008. The author has written this book filled with dark satire. It describes Ali Shigri’s mission as he targets none other than the President of Pakistan. Accompanied by his roommate, an American lieutenant, and a crow addicted to mangoes, Ali rolls his grand plan into action.

This book won the Commonwealth Book Prize in 2009, in the Best First Book category. It also won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize in 2008. It was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize as well.

About Mohammed Hanif

Mohammed Hanif is a journalist and a writer. He was the head of the Urdu service for BBC at London.

He has authored other novels, such as Our Lady of Alice Bhatti and The Baloch Who is Not Missing and Others Who Are.

His writing style has been compared to that of Salman Rushdie.

Mohammed Hanif was born at Okara, Pakistan, in the month of November, in 1964. He completed his graduation as a pilot officer from the Pakistan Air Force Academy. He started his career in journalism, by working for Newsline. He wrote for India Today and The Washington Post. Apart from writing novels, he has also written for plays like What Now, Now That We Are Dead? and The Dictator’s Wife, as well as for a film, The Long Night.