“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan)

Review

Readers enjoyed this book describing it as well written and witty. It had many of them laughing aloud all the way through it! They all agreed that the author pokes fun at those in power in a very clever way. They liked the description of the military and the portrayal of how it runs the country. They loved the details used to depict the different characters and events, which they felt enriched the story greatly. Readers regretted that the protagonists were a bit too thinly drawn. One reader said she didn’t feel enough affinity with the narrator and that this influenced her enjoyment of the book. Some readers found the story very carefully plotted; others found it somewhat complex with six different narrative threads leading up to an ending which left them wondering whether it was the mangoes that caused the plane crash after all! They felt that the book would definitely benefit from a second reading. Overall, it averaged a 7.8 out of 10.

Synopsis

There is an ancient 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… Read more

Nicola’s Book Club reading list

Season 14 – “Satire” (Sep 2011 – Jan 2012) 

“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan)
“Death as a Side Effect” by Ana Maria Shua (Argentina)
“The Brothers’ Lot” by Kevin Holohan (Ireland) *
“Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood (Canada)
“In the United States of Africa” by Abdourahman A. Waberi (Djibouti)

* The book club favourite