Mohammad Hanif prepping up to unveil new novel

Pakistan’s celebrated writer Mohammad Hanif’s highly anticipated new novel ‘Red Birds’ is exploring the notion of missing persons in Pakistan and will soon be hitting the shelves.The 53-year-old British-Pakistani writer during an interview with Vogue India shed light on some of the struggles that were hurled his way during the process of releasing his upcoming book as well as some of his ideologies. The author of 'A Case of Exploding Mangoes' revealed to the publication about his return to writing fiction saying: “I returned to it every single day for those seven years. Sometimes it was there and sometimes it just disappeared. It’s like going to the same spot every day of your life in the hope of catching a glimpse of your beloved and sometimes they are there as you remember them and sometimes there’s just an empty spot.” He went on to reveal that the idea behind Red Birds had come afloat after he lost two friends within a short span of time whilst he was working on a report about missing individuals in Pakistan: “I was getting to know the fragility of their hope and the horror that awaited them if their struggle was to end. And if I turned on the TV to distract myself, I saw horrible wars going on in Yemen, Aleppo, Kabul and Quetta.” He went on to state: “All these horrifying things pickled in my head and somehow turned into a story. It was a way of talking to the friends I had lost and since our conversations were always full of laughter, gossip and impossible things, it turned into a funny book about sad things. More of me has gone into this book than any other.” The New York Times columnist went on to talk about “fighting censorship” adding that it is essential to become the voice for the silenced while maintaining a sensible poise. Discussing the idea of feminism evident in his literary works, Hanif stated: “I think when your central character is a woman – whatever your agenda – it becomes a feminist project and that was probably true about Alice Bhatti. While I was working on missing people’s stories, I realised that almost 99% of them were men. Those protesting for their return were often women, some as young as 11, some university students, some who had never spoken up in a public space.” “But in the last few years, as more men have disappeared or threatened with abductions, more women have spoken up. So, I guess the novel mirrors the reality that for a long time it’s just been boys talking – even if they were talking about the women around them – but then the women get hold of the mic and they get to say the last word,” he added. Red Birds will come as the author’s fourth book and will be released for the public in October 2018. 

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