MOHAMMED HANIF

There is an ancient saying that when lovers fall out, a plane goes down. This is the story of one such plane. Why did a Hercules C130, the world''s sturdiest plane, 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, 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.

El 17 de agosto de 1988 moría en accidente aéreo el general Zia-ul-Haq, dictador de Pakistán. En el avión presidencial se encontraban importantes personalidades del régimen, entre ellas el jefe de los servicios de inteligencia, asi como el embajador de Estados Unidos. No hubo supervivientes y las causas del siniestro nunca se aclararon. ¿Pudo deberse a un fallo humano o mecanico? ¿Se debio a la conspiracion de un grupo de militares rivales? ¿O fue un complot de la CIA, que entonces colaboraba clandestinamente con el general para desestabilizar Afganistan y acelerar la retirada de las tropas rusas en el pais vecino? Por boca de un joven oficial de las Fuerzas Aereas, que narra su supuesta participacion en los acontecimientos, el autor de origen paquistani y actualmente periodista de la BBC urde una apasionante e imaginativa trama en la que cobran vida novelesca seis posibles causas del accidente del avion, especulando asi sobre las presuntas conspiraciones que rodearon la misteriosa muerte de Zia. El resultado es una novela brillante y audaz, que fue seleccionada para el premio Man Booker y finalista del premio Guardian First Book. Con humor acido y un ritmo trepidante propio de los mejores thrillers politicos, Mohammed Hanif retrata sin contemplaciones los aspectos mas absurdos de la vida militar durante los ultimos dias de un dictador delirante y cruel, al tiempo que expone las torpes manipulaciones de todas las partes implicadas que, con su miopia politica, contribuyeron al auge del islamismo radical que culmino con los feroces atentados de Nueva York, Madrid y Londres.

Junior nurse, ex-prisoner and part-time healer Alice Bhatti is looking for a job. With guidance from the working nurses manual, and some tricks she picked up in prison, Alice starts work at the crowded hospital bringing help to the thousands of patients littering the corridors.

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 novelGuardianWhen a major Pakistani political figure is hanged, OK Town erupts in protest.A few miles away, Sir Baghi is surprised by a knock at the door of his language school, the Rebel English Academy. An unexpected visitor, Sabiha, seeks refuge - but she has a gun, her parents are political prisoners, her husband has just died in a suspicious fire and shes clearly hiding something.Meanwhile Captain Gul, disgraced intelligence officer, has been banished to OK Town, where he aims to silence protesters by any means necessary. But his duties - and romantic desires - begin to overlap, and his already-dubious power is further threatened.In Rebel English Academy, we see Pakistan coming into modernity through a vibrant cast of interconnected characters that face a changing landscape with violence, passion and sharp humour. Wry, searing and deeply relevant, this is a triumphant novel about political power, religion, education, sexuality and dissent.