There is a saying that when lovers fall out, a plane goes down. A Case of Exploding Mangoes is the story of one such plane. Why did a Hercules C130, the world's sturdiest aircraft, carrying Pakistan's military dictator General Zia ul Haq, go down on 17 August, 1988?

Was it because of: mechanical failure; human error; the CIA's impatience; a blind woman's curse; generals not happy with their pension plans; the mango season? Or could it be your narrator, Ali Shigri? Teasing, provocative, and very funny, Mohammed Hanif's debut novel takes one of the subcontinent's enduring mysteries and out of it spins a tale as rich and colourful as a beggar's dream...

Reviews and Press Quotes

John Le Carré
“Witty, elegant, and deliciously anarchic.”

Sue Arnold, The Guardian
“Reader Paul Bhattacharjee gives voice to torture chambers, social satire, bucolic lyricism ('night on the mountains is a black sheet flung from the skies') and Catch-22-style military slapstick with equal panache...”

The Observer
“In August 1988, the plane carrying Pakistan's military dictator General Zia crashed, killing all on board. Why? This explanatory novel, woven in language as explosive as the mangoes themselves, is wickedly cynical and reveals layers of outrageous - and plausible - corruption.”

Published by W F Howes Ltd

ISBN-9781407423845