Rebel English Academy

It is 1979. The streets of OK Town are empty after the hanging of Pakistan's first elected Prime Minister. In a tuition centre tucked inside a mosque, a small rebellion is brewing. The lessons are English. The stakes are life and death. This is a novel that will make you laugh and leave you breathless.

Set in the wake of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s 1979 execution, the story unfolds in OK Town – a fictional backwater loosely inspired by Okara, the author’s own childhood home.

The novel centres on three interconnected characters. Captain Gul, a disgraced intelligence officer, is banished to OK Town after botching his hanging duty. His mission: crush the protests of Bhutto’s loyalists, the “jiyalas”. Meanwhile, Sir Baghi runs the Rebel English Academy – a small tuition centre tucked inside a mosque compound. He is a lapsed Marxist and a gay man with a dangerous cruising habit. His quiet life is shattered when Sabiha arrives at his door – a fugitive whose husband has died in a suspicious fire, whose parents are political prisoners, and who carries a pistol.

Through Sabiha’s first‑person “homeworks” – chapters woven into the main narrative – the novel unspools a lifetime of secrets. Blending slapstick comedy, a cat‑and‑mouse thriller, and profound political critique, Rebel English Academy powerfully confronts authoritarianism, patriarchy, religiosity and the power of language. As the Guardian puts it: “Smart, taut and electrifying”.

About the Author
Born in Okara, Pakistan, Mohammed Hanif initially trained as a Pilot Officer at the Pakistan Air Force Academy before shifting to a career in journalism. A versatile storyteller, he has written widely for the stage, film, and BBC Radio. His acclaimed debut novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award, and won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Novel. Formerly the head of the BBC Urdu Service in London, Hanif currently works as a Karachi-based special correspondent for the BBC.

Product Details:

• Author: Mohammed Hanif
• Genre: Fiction / Contemporary Literature / South Asian Fiction
• Language: English
• Format: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New

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