A Case of Exploding Mangoes

This book found the same fate as the two literary ventures of Mohsin Hamid as far as my expectations are concerned. When a handful of once-a-Pakistani writers come up with these pieces, I somehow expect a masterpiece. Still, a satirical novel on Pakistan army is a fresh and commendable idea.

The book starts off well and remains so, at least till the first half. Army lingo and the fluency with which officers hurl abuses is amusing.

“But one pansy giving poetry to another pansy, then the other pansy stuffing it in a hole in his mattress is a perversion beyond me…When I started wearing this uniform, you were still in liquid form…”

I relished the wittingly humorous passages on Zia. They did help to satiate my hunger for the principal reason I sought this book, read Zia being made fun of! Whether it were the tapeworms partying inside the general, his relationship with his wife, death phobia or his imaginary world where he thought himself as the perfect Muslim ruler. I enjoyed every bit of it.

Somewhere in the book a line read

“Our people get used to everything, even the stench of their own garbage.”

It is true that we as a nation are one heck of an obstinate life form. We have remained immune to every era of utter injustice enforced upon us. We never rose as a nation to fight for our rights.
The rape case of Zainab and the subsequent handling of the proceedings disgust you and make you pity the nation who in the name of Islam got so much carried away as to accept such inhuman judgments. Islam has been the perfect charmer for our God fearing public. I am reminded of A.Yusuf Ali's explanation of the verse 10:15. It reads, "The selfish people want to read their own desires or fancies into religious prospects and thus they are often willing to use religion for their own ends. Most of the corruption of religion are due to this cause. But religion is not to be so prostituted."

“May your blood turn to poison. May worms eat your innards.” Those words of Zainab, cursing her captors still verberate inside my head.

The introduction of Osama bin Laden (OBL) is interesting but it is too abrupt. Satire isn’t supposed to be so obvious. Though in the final analysis the book is indeed fulfilling as it combines all the conspiracy theories related to that period and narrates them in an interesting manner. It should certainly be given a read.