Wednesday, December 03, 2008

The Shakti Bhatt First Book Award goes to

Mohammad Hanif for A Case of Exploding Mangoes. I've yet to read it and I should, I really should.

Veena thinks it's like Oscar Wao (actually, she says it reminds her of Diaz and then spends the rest of the paragraph saying it doesn't, not really).

9 comments:

Falstaff said...

You should.

I only got about fifty pages in before abandoning it, but that was less because it wasn't interesting and more because I got distracted by other stuff. From what I read, though, it seemed like a fun read - a little derivative of Llosa, perhaps, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Though I wouldn't put it anywhere near Oscar Wao league.

Anonymous said...

Been meaning to read this too. Saw him on TV last night with the absoutely unbearable Sagarika Ghose. He seems to have a level head on his shoulders.

All well, SB?

Space Bar said...

Falsie: That accounts for why you never did review it for the Booker Mela, huh?

Ya, I need to get a copy. Also want to read the Devidayal and Aiyer.

SS: :D You mean the event was covered? Or was this elsewhere?

Unknown said...

Def not Oscar Wao but very, very entertaining. You should read it. You will like it.

Arfi said...

Congratulations for being on the short list! :)

km said...

If only I could overcome my resistance to titles with the words "Mangoes" in them. (And "Princess" and "Maharaja".)

Rahul Siddharthan said...

sb: as Arif says, congrats on the shortlist, in the company of not just Hanif but a Booker winner.

km: one day I hope to write a book called "the maharaja and the princess in the mango orchard". Snake charmers, elephants and the rope trick will feature in it.

I should also learn the art of assessing a book after 50 pages. I remember taking 50 days to read 50 pages of "Midnight's children" (which wasn't in the league of $magicrealismbookdujour), then I finished the rest in a single 7-hour flight.

Anonymous said...

@SB:
No, the event wasn't covered; he was on her show to comment on the Mumbai terror attacks. (Who isn't?)

Unknown said...

SB: Did you read Netherland? Reading it now. Killer prose. Writing like this doesn't come very often. A little short on storyline and stuff but who cares?

(Too lazy to email. Come chat no?)