A review by welkinvault
Our Lady of Alice Bhatti by Mohammed Hanif

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

For the first few chapters I was so unsure what I was reading. The many funny and grotesque scenes (the man battling the bird with his Xrays of his missing limbs in the background as the gun-toting Teddy is trying to woo Alice or the ensuing 3 day chaos caused by a series of events started by Teddy haphazardly firing his gun and hitting the driver of a truck) and as a reader I was constantly trying to find the line betwenen satire and horror, humour and heartbreak. This was a very readable novel, the humour and pathos would be frequently washed away with the slapstick or the macarbe.