Overview

""Unnervingly funny and subversive . . . this account of life under authoritarian siege is fiercely local and incontestably universal, harrowing and mutinously entertaining: a sure-fire Booker contender.""--The Guardian From the brilliant Booker-longlisted Mohammed Hanif comes a lively, rich novel about the power of language, friendship, and protest in the face of political turmoil When Pakistan's first elected Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is hanged, the people of OK Town refuse to believe he is dead and fight to bring him back. In the heart of the city, Sir Baghi is surprised by a knock at the door of the Rebel English Academy, his tuition center offering affordable English lessons. An unexpected visitor, Sabiha, seeks refuge at the Academy--her husband has just died in a house fire, and she is suspected of killing him, although she insists she only ran away from a burning building. Baghi encourages Sabiha to write, and a lifetime of secrets begin to unspool on the page. Meanwhile Captain Gul, a disgraced intelligence officer, has been banished to OK Town, where he aims to squash the protesters wanting to bring Bhutto back from the dead. But his duties and romantic desires begin to overlap, and his already dubious power is threatened. In Rebel English Academy, Pakistan is struggling under martial law after the execution of its former leader. Mohammed Hanif has constructed a vibrant cast of interconnected characters who face this changing landscape with violence, passion, and sharp humor. Wry, searing, and deeply relevant, Rebel English Academy is a triumphant new novel about political power, religion, education, sexuality, and perpetual dissent.

Full Product Details

9780802165985

Table of Contents

Reviews

Praise for Rebel English Academy: ""Dangerous love and subversive politics collide in this cleverly plotted, darkly satirical, and wildly entertaining historical drama set in late 1970s Pakistan.""--Shelf Awareness (starred review) ""An elegantly spun tale that punctures holes in our every expectation of life in an authoritarian state.""--Kirkus Reviews ""Hanif strikes a successful balance between the darkly humorous and the deadly serious, particularly in the depiction of Gul, who devolves from a drunken lout into something more sinister. It's an unsparing view into human depravity.""--Publishers Weekly Praise for Mohammed Hanif: ""Mohammed Hanif is a brave, gifted writer."" --Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West ""Witty, elegant, and deliciously anarchic. Hanif has a lovely eye and an even better ear."" --John le Carré, on A Case of Exploding Mangoes ""Like Catch-22, it is best understood as a satire of militarism, regulation and piety.... Hanif has written a historical novel with an eerie timeliness.""--The New York Times Book Review on A Case of Exploding Mangoes ""Global satire with a savage bite. . . . Richly imagined.""--The Miami Herald on A Case of Exploding Mangoes ""An insanely brilliant, satirical first novel . . . Belongs in a tradition that includes Catch-22, but it also calls to mind the biting comedy of Philip Roth."" --Washington Post, on A Case of Exploding Mangoes ""A comedy for those who think, a tragedy for those who feel... Hanif does Karachi better than Rushdie does Bombay... Relentlessly readable, compulsively so as it surges towards it apocalyptic conclusion."" --Guardian, on Our Lady of Alice Bhatti ""A piercingly laugh-out-loud novel in a genre that doesn't often abide comedy. But Hanif pushes his narrative beyond mere irony, expanding his critique of America's military interventions to include satire, ghost stories and absurdist touches -- up to and including a canine narrator that's usually smarter than any human in the room.""--Washington Post on Red Birds ""An acutely observed refugee tale ... Both achingly realistic and elusively metaphysical ... dripping with exuberant disdain for the way in which western power has corrupted the world ... an effective satire that reminds us that everybody-- refugees, distraught mothers, unthinking airmen, well-meaning aid workers, dogs and ghosts - has a need to love, and be loved.""--Observer on Red Birds ""A blistering, savage, tragicomic satire about the cruelty of war and the impossibility of peace ... Hanif writes of violence and bitterness with flashes of hilarity that underline his anger and his humanity.""--Times on Red Birds ""Deploying a relentlessly grim gallows humour, Hanif skewers the entrenched insanity of conflict ... Hanif's bleak, formidable use of irony burns deeply.""--Daily Mail on Red Birds

Praise for Rebel English Academy: ""Confirms his standing as one of south Asia's most unnervingly funny and subversive voices . . . Smart, taut and electrifying, the tale fuses slapstick and the fun of a cat-and-mouse thriller with the serious reckoning work of a state-of-the-nation novel . . . Crackling with incendiary themes and theses, this account of life under authoritarian siege is fiercely local and incontestably universal, harrowing and mutinously entertaining: a sure-fire Booker contender.""--The Guardian ""Hanif's elegant, tensile novel exposes the long shadow of colonialism in a fable beautifully tailored to resonate in 2026.""--Hamilton Cain, TIME Magazine ""Dangerous love and subversive politics collide in this cleverly plotted, darkly satirical, and wildly entertaining historical drama set in late 1970s Pakistan.""--Shelf Awareness (starred review) ""An elegantly spun tale that punctures holes in our every expectation of life in an authoritarian state.""--Kirkus Reviews ""Hanif strikes a successful balance between the darkly humorous and the deadly serious, particularly in the depiction of Gul, who devolves from a drunken lout into something more sinister. It's an unsparing view into human depravity.""--Publishers Weekly Praise for Mohammed Hanif: ""Mohammed Hanif is a brave, gifted writer."" --Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West ""Witty, elegant, and deliciously anarchic. Hanif has a lovely eye and an even better ear."" --John le Carré, on A Case of Exploding Mangoes ""Like Catch-22, it is best understood as a satire of militarism, regulation and piety.... Hanif has written a historical novel with an eerie timeliness.""--The New York Times Book Review on A Case of Exploding Mangoes ""Global satire with a savage bite. . . . Richly imagined.""--The Miami Herald on A Case of Exploding Mangoes ""An insanely brilliant, satirical first novel . . . Belongs in a tradition that includes Catch-22, but it also calls to mind the biting comedy of Philip Roth."" --Washington Post, on A Case of Exploding Mangoes ""A comedy for those who think, a tragedy for those who feel... Hanif does Karachi better than Rushdie does Bombay... Relentlessly readable, compulsively so as it surges towards it apocalyptic conclusion."" --Guardian, on Our Lady of Alice Bhatti ""A piercingly laugh-out-loud novel in a genre that doesn't often abide comedy. But Hanif pushes his narrative beyond mere irony, expanding his critique of America's military interventions to include satire, ghost stories and absurdist touches -- up to and including a canine narrator that's usually smarter than any human in the room.""--Washington Post on Red Birds ""An acutely observed refugee tale ... Both achingly realistic and elusively metaphysical ... dripping with exuberant disdain for the way in which western power has corrupted the world ... an effective satire that reminds us that everybody-- refugees, distraught mothers, unthinking airmen, well-meaning aid workers, dogs and ghosts - has a need to love, and be loved.""--Observer on Red Birds ""A blistering, savage, tragicomic satire about the cruelty of war and the impossibility of peace ... Hanif writes of violence and bitterness with flashes of hilarity that underline his anger and his humanity.""--Times on Red Birds ""Deploying a relentlessly grim gallows humour, Hanif skewers the entrenched insanity of conflict ... Hanif's bleak, formidable use of irony burns deeply.""--Daily Mail on Red Birds

Praise for Mohammed Hanif: ""Mohammed Hanif is a brave, gifted writer."" --Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West ""Witty, elegant, and deliciously anarchic. Hanif has a lovely eye and an even better ear."" --John le Carré, on Case of the Exploding Mangoes ""Like Catch-22, it is best understood as a satire of militarism, regulation and piety.... Hanif has written a historical novel with an eerie timeliness.""--The New York Times Book Review on Case of the Exploding Mangoes ""Global satire with a savage bite. . . . Richly imagined.""--The Miami Herald on Case of the Exploding Mangoes ""An insanely brilliant, satirical first novel . . . Belongs in a tradition that includes Catch-22, but it also calls to mind the biting comedy of Philip Roth."" --Washington Post, on Case of the Exploding Mangoes ""A comedy for those who think, a tragedy for those who feel... Hanif does Karachi better than Rushdie does Bombay... Relentlessly readable, compulsively so as it surges towards it apocalyptic conclusion."" --Guardian, on Our Lady of Alice Bhatti ""A piercingly laugh-out-loud novel in a genre that doesn't often abide comedy. But Hanif pushes his narrative beyond mere irony, expanding his critique of America's military interventions to include satire, ghost stories and absurdist touches -- up to and including a canine narrator that's usually smarter than any human in the room.""--Washington Post on Red Birds ""An acutely observed refugee tale ... Both achingly realistic and elusively metaphysical ... dripping with exuberant disdain for the way in which western power has corrupted the world ... an effective satire that reminds us that everybody-- refugees, distraught mothers, unthinking airmen, well-meaning aid workers, dogs and ghosts - has a need to love, and be loved.""--Observer on Red Birds ""A blistering, savage, tragicomic satire about the cruelty of war and the impossibility of peace ... Hanif writes of violence and bitterness with flashes of hilarity that underline his anger and his humanity.""--Times on Red Birds ""Deploying a relentlessly grim gallows humour, Hanif skewers the entrenched insanity of conflict ... Hanif's bleak, formidable use of irony burns deeply.""--Daily Mail on Red Birds

Praise for Rebel English Academy: ""Dangerous love and subversive politics collide in this cleverly plotted, darkly satirical, and wildly entertaining historical drama set in late 1970s Pakistan.""--Shelf Awareness (starred review) ""An elegantly spun tale that punctures holes in our every expectation of life in an authoritarian state.""--Kirkus Reviews ""Hanif strikes a successful balance between the darkly humorous and the deadly serious, particularly in the depiction of Gul, who devolves from a drunken lout into something more sinister. It's an unsparing view into human depravity.""--Publishers Weekly Praise for Mohammed Hanif: ""Mohammed Hanif is a brave, gifted writer."" --Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West ""Witty, elegant, and deliciously anarchic. Hanif has a lovely eye and an even better ear."" --John le Carré, on Case of the Exploding Mangoes ""Like Catch-22, it is best understood as a satire of militarism, regulation and piety.... Hanif has written a historical novel with an eerie timeliness.""--The New York Times Book Review on Case of the Exploding Mangoes ""Global satire with a savage bite. . . . Richly imagined.""--The Miami Herald on Case of the Exploding Mangoes ""An insanely brilliant, satirical first novel . . . Belongs in a tradition that includes Catch-22, but it also calls to mind the biting comedy of Philip Roth."" --Washington Post, on Case of the Exploding Mangoes ""A comedy for those who think, a tragedy for those who feel... Hanif does Karachi better than Rushdie does Bombay... Relentlessly readable, compulsively so as it surges towards it apocalyptic conclusion."" --Guardian, on Our Lady of Alice Bhatti ""A piercingly laugh-out-loud novel in a genre that doesn't often abide comedy. But Hanif pushes his narrative beyond mere irony, expanding his critique of America's military interventions to include satire, ghost stories and absurdist touches -- up to and including a canine narrator that's usually smarter than any human in the room.""--Washington Post on Red Birds ""An acutely observed refugee tale ... Both achingly realistic and elusively metaphysical ... dripping with exuberant disdain for the way in which western power has corrupted the world ... an effective satire that reminds us that everybody-- refugees, distraught mothers, unthinking airmen, well-meaning aid workers, dogs and ghosts - has a need to love, and be loved.""--Observer on Red Birds ""A blistering, savage, tragicomic satire about the cruelty of war and the impossibility of peace ... Hanif writes of violence and bitterness with flashes of hilarity that underline his anger and his humanity.""--Times on Red Birds ""Deploying a relentlessly grim gallows humour, Hanif skewers the entrenched insanity of conflict ... Hanif's bleak, formidable use of irony burns deeply.""--Daily Mail on Red Birds

Author Information

Mohammed Hanif was born in Okara, Pakistan. His first novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, won the Commonwealth Prize and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His second novel, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, was shortlisted for the 2012 Wellcome Prize. He has written for the New York Times, BBC Urdu, and BBC Punjabi. He lives in London.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available