Pakistani author uses satire to address controversial issues

Mohammed Hanif, author of “A Case of Exploding Mangoes”, speaks at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Building Monday night. Hanif is a Pakistani author and journalist, and his book was shaped by political turmoil in his home country.

Photo Credit: Mike McGraw | Daily Texan Staff

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Not every author can claim his works of fiction are credible enough to dupe the heads of intelligence agencies, but according to Mohammed Hanif, his novels have done just that.

Hanif, a Pakistani author and journalist, spoke in the Avaya Auditorium on Tuesday night about how the political turmoil in Pakistan has shaped his books and allowed him to confront controversial issues through literature.

His books, “A Case of Exploding Mangoes” and “Our Lady of Alice Bhatti,” provide details from his life in Pakistan and satirize divisive issues, such as the plane crash that killed the former Pakistani president or views of Christians in Pakistani society. 

Hanif said he often makes his work humorous as a way to provide levity for the people of Pakistan and make controversial issues easier to discuss.

“There’s a long history in Pakistan of making fun of stuff … because we live in such troubled times,” Hanif said. “It comes out of despair. It comes out of a kind of oppression that people know they are trying to live with, but they can’t. [The books] are a way for people to relate to that.”