Name: The Association of Small Bombs
Rating: 3.590909090909091 (33 reviews)
ISBN: 9780525429630

Karan Mahajan

After witnessing his two friends killed by a "small" bomb that detonated in a Dehli marketplace, Mansoor Ahmed becomes involved with a charismatic young activist, whose allegiances and beliefs are more changeable than he could have imagined.

The Association of Small Bombs

Nico J

I would give it a 3.5. It's dark, and there's something profoundly sad weighing on the whole narrative which the words attempt to explain but it just doesn't cut it. The unfamiliar words pulled me out a little bit, perhaps because words are usually italicized or put in a footnote, or even a glossary at the end. I don't mind doing the leg work but coupled with the wavy narrative, made it difficult to have the energy to look everything up. That's it, it has a heavy energy, it makes you tired with its depression. The sadness and anxiety surrounding Vikas pervades the entire book, is an analogy for it, really. 

People seem hung up on the changing perspectives. I'm generally not bothered even though I do agree with the notion that some authors can do it better than others. In this case, it clearly follows one bomb's effects into another generation, showing how the political climate, the culture, and the chance encounters carry the pervading depression into another generation and ultimately, it's as is said, the bomb is inside us. Maybe it's showing we all can be knocked off our path by a chance encounter, that we absorb all the toxic shrapnel and can culminate into our own ticking time bomb.

Shreerag Plakazhi

The emotions are a bit forced and the writing alternates between great and mediocre. I just couldn't connect with the characters enough and I attribute that to the author falling back on cliches far too many times. The attempt and the idea behind the attempt are great but the execution falls far short of the expectations from a book with such an interesting title. It's a shame when books don't live up to the title's potential.

Suzanne C.

Jennifer Benner

Phil James

A GRANTA BEST YOUNG AMERICAN NOVELIST 2017 When the Khurana boys and their friend Mansoor set out for one of Delhi's markets, disaster strikes without warning. A 'small' bomb detonates, killing the brothers instantly. Mansoor is one of the few survivors. From India to America, the lives of victims and bystanders, mothers and fathers, comrades and adversaries are changed forever. Even the young bomb maker cannot escape the heat of the blast. 'I can't remember the last time I read a book which conjured a world so rich and so convincing' MARK HADDON 'Brilliant... Masterful' KEVIN POWERS 'Unusually wise, tender and generous' JIM CRACE 'Breathtaking... Unforgettable' ADELLE WALDMAN 'Packed with small wonders of beauty and heartbreak that are impossible to resist' DINAW MENGESTU

The Association of Small Bombs

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