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SCMP Reporter

A Case of Exploding Mangoes
by Mohammed Hanif
Jonathan Cape, HK$192
Occasionally a novel comes along that heralds a new chapter in the literary history of a nation: Mohammed Hanif's debut novel  A Case of Exploding Mangoes does that for his native country, Pakistan.
This exhilarating political thriller is a farcical look at one of Pakistan's most enduring mysteries: the mysterious death of military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq. Here are the facts: on August 17, 1988, a plane carrying the Pakistani president, an American ally in the Afghan war, burst into flames on take-off. Along with Zia, the roll call of the dead included several Pakistani generals, the US ambassador to Pakistan and the head of the US military aid mission to Pakistan. No culprit was identified. Consequently, conspiracy theories have abounded, implicating everyone from the CIA to Mossad to Indian intelligence to the Bhutto family.
Civil and military leaders routinely wrestle for power in Pakistan, a country beset with political assassinations - the latest being the killing of former president Benazir Bhutto last December. It is surprising that such a fervid atmosphere had thus far not produced a darkly comic thriller that ridicules the asininity of its leaders.
At a time when Pakistan  is in the global spotlight for its role in the US war on terror, A Case of Exploding Mangoes delivers a wonderful satire on the bungling politicians of both nations. In a laughter riot both astringent and astute, mad generals, mullahs, a meddling America, a maverick soldier and mangoes joust for primacy as Hanif disentangles  six threads converging on Zia's assassination.
Hanif is a former Pakistan Air Force officer and current head of the BBC's Urdu service. The novel opens with Ali Shigri, an air force officer, being hauled in for interrogation. His room-mate Obaid, a suave poetry-loving cadet, has gone awol and apparently tried to fly away using Shigri's call-sign. When the questioning turns up nothing, Shigri is sent off to Lahore Fort. There, the young officer discovers, to his horror, that the magnificent Mughal edifice doubles as a subterranean torture chamber.
In a parallel thread, Zia is consulting the  Koran for clues to any imminent danger to his life. The Afghan war is ending and Zia is pinning his hopes on a Nobel Peace Prize. However, unknown dangers abound and Zia seeks relief by routinely opening the  Koran and reading meaning into the randomly selected passages. It does not help that his gut is being wracked by worms and the first lady has banished him from the bedroom for staring down the cleavage of a buxom American journalist.
Zia was responsible for the radical Islamisation of the Pakistani army and society. He was an enthusiastic ally in arming the Afghan  mujahedeen with US arms and converted Pakistan's border regions into a training base for the rebels. Hanif's treatment of Zia is a satirist's revenge as he depicts the general's paranoia and superstition with abundant glee: 'At morning prayer one day, Zia broke into violent sobs. The other worshippers continued with their prayers; they were used to General Zia crying during his prayers. They were never sure if it was due to the intensity of his devotion, the matters of state that occupied his mind or another tongue-lashing from the first lady.'
On the other hand, the portrayal of Ali Shigri - cool, saucy, reckless - seems inspired by  Yossarian in Catch-22.
There are no taboos in this narration: Hanif tackles cadets crazed by celibacy, homosexuality in the army, Saudi Arabian sex fiends and even Osama bin Laden in a cameo role.
As a representative of Laden & Co Constructions, bin Laden arrives at a Fourth of July party hosted by the US ambassador. The dress code is Afghan  mujahedeen attire, in homage to the rebels, and all guests have turned out in turbans and flowing tribal gowns. As bin Laden mingles with the guests he bumps into the local CIA chief who, after some brief chit-chat, waves goodbye. 'Nice meeting you, OBL. Good work, keep it up.'



A Case of Exploding Mangoes