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A Case of Exploding Mangoes
- Narrated by: Paul Bhattacharjee
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
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Summary
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 if it spins a tale as rich and colourful as a beggar's dream.
Critic reviews
"This explanatory novel, woven in language as explosive as the mangoes themselves, is wickedly cynical and reveals layers of outrageous - and pausible - corruption." (The Observer)
More from the same
What listeners say about A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 14-01-15
whatever happened to blind Zenab?
Would you listen to A Case of Exploding Mangoes again? Why?
I never listen to books more than once
What did you like best about this story?
I could feel the heat of the sun and the tension in the air. great story, well told well read. I want to visit Pakistan now!
What does Paul Bhattacharjee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
His voice and accent fitted the story and enriched my experience
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The very surprising love scene...no spoilers
Any additional comments?
I am still captivated by the story one week after finishing it, it made my trips to work in the car fly by
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Boggy of Bucks
- 11-01-15
Splendid
Entirely believable tale of Pakistani life under the first post-colonial military rule, written from the perspective of the leader and a lowly member of the military who has reason to bear a grudge. A beautifully written, gently and cleverly funny story.
The narration was pitch perfect for the characters and for the pace and style of the writing.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michelle
- 18-06-19
Amazing book and great storytelling
I wish I could give this book 10 stars. It is a fantastic story and so well narrated. I listened to this book on all my drives and the narrators voice is so engaging and the story itself captivating. Would definitely listen to it again
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kariesa
- 03-03-15
Delightful!
If you could sum up A Case of Exploding Mangoes in three words, what would they be?
absolutely loved this book! the narrator was excellent, the story intriguing, witty and funny. definitely recommended.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-01-19
The story is amazing
Bhattacharjee's voice is amazing and makes the story even more spellbinding. The words and description hit many heart strings and even though the ending is known the suspense lingers .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mick'sMoll
- 16-03-18
A brilliant, entertaining read.
Would you consider the audio edition of A Case of Exploding Mangoes to be better than the print version?
Haven't read the print version but if I did I don't think I'd be able to put it down.
What other book might you compare A Case of Exploding Mangoes to, and why?
Maybe for the humorous content "The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken" a Vish Puri novel.
What does Paul Bhattacharjee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
An excellent narrator. His pace and delivery made listening a complete pleasure although it started off a little fast but settled down very quickly.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Most definitely. It's great entertainment.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- airhugs
- 28-11-17
good but somewhat anti-climactic
Very well read and a captivating story but ends with a bit of an anti-climax. Worth the credit though and I may try Hanif's other book on Audible.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rishi Chhibber
- 13-11-17
Time Capsule
I was a kid growing up in India when Pakistan's president Zia Ul Haq was killed in an airplane crash, and the event was a huge news item of the time. I still have the echoes of that news somewhere in my back pocket. Finding this book was brilliant on that front but I noted that even if I was not aware of the whole incident I'd had enjoyed the book equally because the book is written with excellent pace and great character development.
The narration gives soul to the book and makes is unputdownable. An excellent little piece of work.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Farina
- 08-07-15
An absolute pleasurable presentation of facts wrapped in humour
The narrator gave life to the characters with as pert performance of accents, tone, language, idiosyncrasies of character and personalities.
The author was very good at the military terminology and representation of the characters to their real life personalities. I say this because many of these were known to my parent's personally and I lived in Pakistan at the time.
Some of the sexual details of two characters, I found to be in bad taste.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-01-20
A work of fiction far from reality
A comic novel which is far from reality. The writer doesn’t mention that most of his characters are fictitious and are a figment of imagination. A common reader therefore, thinks of it as a true tale of the circumstances which killed General Zia. The writing shows clear agenda of the writer which is to present negativities of pakistan army and he has quoted things which again are fictitious. Overall a waste of time as the novel has zero relevance to its tittle that is who killed general zia.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-10-18
A case of exploding mangoes
Overall terrible. The book was slow from the beginning and it took a while to get to the action. There are too many characters and you have no idea what’s going on.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- SSM
- 22-06-16
Starts well but then drones on and on
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The last few chapters are unnecessary and seem to indicate the author's inability to end the story.
Any additional comments?
Hilarious otherwise. Its rare to come across a book that makes you laugh.