The Association of Small Bombs

The Association of Small Bombs
First edition
AuthorKaran Mahajan
PublisherViking Press
Publication date
2016
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages288 pages
ISBN978-0-525-42963-0

The Association of Small Bombs is a 2016 novel by Indian-American author and novelist Karan Mahajan.[1] The novel is Mahajan's second, after 2012's Family Planning, and was first published in 2016 by Viking Press.[2] The novel was named a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction. It was met with positive reviews.[3][4][5][6]

The novel opens with a bombing in a New Delhi marketplace in 1996 and explores the resultant trauma caused by the attack, examining it from the perspective of the victims, their families, and the perpetrators.[7]

Plot

The novel opens with the detonation of a bomb by a Kashmiri man, Shockie. The bomb kills thirteen and injures a further thirty. The remainder of the novel alternates between the perspective of Shockie, those who were injured, and those who lost family in the explosion.

References

  1. ^ Fallon, Claire (18 March 2016). "The Bottom Line: 'The Association of Small Bombs' By Karan Mahajan". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  2. ^ Shetty, Sharan (2016-04-06). "After the Blast". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  3. ^ Maazel, Fiona (15 March 2016). "'The Association of Small Bombs,' by Karan Mahajan". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  4. ^ Schwartz, Alexandra (4 April 2016). "Blast Radius". The New Yorker. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  5. ^ Ruiz-Camacho, Antonio (22 March 2016). "I Want Complete Freedom When I Write". The Millions. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Book Marks reviews of The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan". Book Marks. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  7. ^ Sacks, Sam (18 March 2016). "Fiction Chronicle: A Typical Bomb". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 April 2016.