It is hard to pinpoint why this novel is good but not great. Maybe it is the lack of anger, maybe an overdose of satire, maybe the protagonist is not dark enough and the antagonists not wicked enough. In any case this is a valiant effort for a first timer.
Hanif's tale takes place in a Pakistani version of catch-22 airbase. Ali Shigri is a lazy, not-so-motivated, the-world-is-nuts type spectator protagonist with a dark past. The airbase itself is populated with sex-crazed, incompetent bullies. His plan is to kill the President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq at a drill ceremony.
Zia is portrayed as a religious fanatic, self-obsessed, petty dictator surrounded by sycophantic generals. Like most Pakistani army men, he shares a contempt for any non-military people. Pakistan and Afghanistan are turned into arenas for ghost wars by Americans and Soviets. Political intrigue results in macabre games played by ISI and CIA. Ultimately, Zia is assasinated in a plane crash along with the American ambassador. Shigri claims he had something to do with it, or maybe it was Zia's deputy, or the CIA, or the KGB.
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