A Case of Exploding Mangoes (Mohammed Hanif) - Hard recommend

I will not stop recommending this book to everyone I meet. Whether they are looking for recommendations or not. Whether they read books or not. Whether they care for my recommendation or not. This book should have been talked of, hyped, discussed and all other things that good books go through. Only it didn't. Atleast I didn't know of it if it did.

To understand the story set in the political and military set up in Pakistan of the time, a bit of context is needed. The story is set in late 1980s Pakistan under Gen Zia-ul-Haq's military rule, which he established through a bloodless coup in 1978, toppling a democratically elected civilian government (under Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto), He went on to impose martial law and installed himself in the highest office in Pakistan.  To quote Wikipedia here "During his reign, there was significant political and military repression in Pakistan. Among the complaints against the Muhammad Zia-ul_Haq administration, were its repression of rape victims imprisoned (and stoned) for zina (extra marital sex) and its repression of protestors. Zia's government repressed communists and protestors violently during the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy campaign." In this period, international geo-politics played a significant role, with the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan, thus pushing Pakistan into the limelight as the US counter to the Soviet presence. It is thought that this made the US give leeway to the Zia administration and ignore blatant human rights violations. Zia's reign came to an abrupt end in August 1988 - he along with all 27 others (that included his close military aides and an Americal diplomat) accompanying him, died in a plane crash.

Now to turn to the book. The story follows the attempts of junior under officer Ali Shigri, son of a much decorated war veteran Col Shigri who died by suicide, who is now at the fag end of his training at the elite Pakistan Air Force Academy. It starts with young Shigri's room mate and bestie Obaid going AWOL (disappearance) one morning. Ali is interrogated to understand Obaid's motives and moves. Different tactics are tried out to break Ali, but nothing comes out. We come to know of Ali's past and bit by bit, his motivations and ambitions. Meanwhile, we also follow Gen Zia's routine - he by this time in his reign, is in a state of near paranoia and believes that someone is out to get him. All his actions are driven by this fear and he clutches at straws to feel secure and get solace. He takes reckless actions and tries to put as many layers as possible around him for protection. Meanwhile, his key Generals including the famed ISI Chief, are following their own agenda. Random events also have a big role to play, including the flight of a crow who gorges on too many mangoes one day and a blind girl who is driven to cursing the President. Anything more I say here will be a spoiler. :)

Wonderfully written, this book was truly unputdownable, with the way it weaves historical facts into the fiction of the plot, builds up characters from known historic idiosyncrasies and added others to build the intrigue. While there have been many books of this genre written with American and Russian politics and statecraft as a backdrop, for me this was the first time reading something set in the subcontinent in this genre. It brought real life incidents and instances smoothly into the narrative while also giving it a fictional twist. The writing is superb and it had me smirking and grinning throughout with its turn of phrase and use of words. There are only 3 words for me to say - Just. Read. It.