Rebel English Academy

by Mohammed Hanif

“Mohammed Hanif is a brave, gifted writer.” —Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West

From the brilliant Booker-longlisted Mohammed Hanif comes a lively, rich novel about the power of language, friendship, and protest in the face of political turmoil

When a major Pakistani political figure is hanged, OK Town erupts in protest.

A few miles away, Sir Baghi is surprised by a knock at the door of the Rebel English Academy, his tuition center that offers affordable English lessons. An unexpected visitor, Sabiha, seeks refuge at the Academy – but she has a gun, her parents are political prisoners, her husband has just died in a suspicious fire, and she’s clearly hiding something. Baghi encourages Sabiha to write, and throughout the book her life unspools on the page.

Meanwhile Captain Gul, disgraced intelligence officer, has been banished to OK Town, where he aims to silence protesters by any means necessary. But his duties – and romantic desires – begin to overlap, and his already-dubious power is further threatened.

In Rebel English Academy, Pakistan is coming into modernity, struggling under martial law after the execution of its former leader. Mohammed Hanif has constructed a vibrant cast of interconnected characters that face this changing landscape with violence, passion, and the occasional sharp humor. Wry, searing, and deeply relevant, Rebel English Academy is a triumphant new novel about political power, religion, education, sexuality, and dissent.

Genres: Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 17, 2026

About the author

Mohammed Hanif is a Pakistani writer and journalist. He was born at Okara. He was graduated from Pakistan Air Force Academy as a pilot officer but subsequently left to pursue a career in journalism. He initially worked for Newsline, The Washington Post and India Today. In 1996, he moved to London to work for the BBC. Later, he became the head of the BBC's Urdu service in London.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed...

Reviews

[Denise Ruttan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a small town in feudal, corrupt Pakistan, a godless, queer English teacher and failed revolutionary runs a school out of his best friend's mosque and shelters a woman on the run.

This novel was rather vulgar and violent, verging on a hyperfixation with genitals especially in the early chapters, but that didn't necessarily bother me because that was the author's sense of humor, making fun of reality by shining a light on its obscenity. That undercurrent of lightness mixed with some very dark and disturbing subject matter was perhaps the part of this book that I liked the best, though the pretentious humor and religious philosophizing could get too heavy handed for my taste. It did make me smile a few times because it was just so over the top. But then the OTT became tedious and I couldn't wait for it to end.

The chapters I liked the best in this were told from Sabiha's point of view as she writes essays in English to pay for her keep as a homework assignment, but women were sidelined in this as straight men were portrayed as cruel, perverted psychopaths and women were flat afterthoughts, or painted as violent whores. The misogyny that leaked through wasn't just cultural baggage.

Captain Gul was probably the grossest character of all, the philandering drunk, but I found myself strangely fascinated by his complicated character, even as I absolutely loathed him. He certainly wasn't a flat villain.

This was ostensibly about an English academy but it's really about characters fighting back against a corrupt system. Baghi's students were in this but English teaching was a very small part of the plot, so I found the clever title, which drew me to this book, to be rather misleading. Baghi himself was also an unlikable, unsympathetic character in something of an annoying, cringe way.

That was my main issue with this book; I had been hoping for an introspective literary masterpiece about Pakistani politics, and instead got over the top aggrandizement and vulgarity for effect. This one really wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. DNF. The premise was very intriguing and had a lot of potential, but it was really hard to follow in the beginning. After a few chapters, I finally understood the author’s writing style, but I still wasn’t enjoying it very much.
One of my main problems with it is that it’s supposed to be a political fiction book (yes, it does have a slight mention of sexuality in the synopsis) but the fact that the author practically couldn’t go a single chapter without mentioning penises or genitalia or sex was astounding to me. 90% of it was completely unnecessary to the story. Thankfully, the sex scenes included were not graphic. Also, the vulgar language was horrible. I’m just not a fan.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘What can I do? The bazaar is full of jiyalas and they want a funeral. I know he wasn’t very nice to you but he is gone to Allah now, where we all must go one day, and we must honour the dead,’ says Molly, moving towards the door. Yes, we must honour the dead, Baghi wants to say, even if the dead once had a chilli-powder-laced rod rammed up my .. for writing a letter. Baghi also wants to say that this is a teaching institution and not a resting place for girls with hurriedly packed sports bags but, before he can say it, Molly is gone,

 
British based, Pakistan-born journalist Mohammed Hanif’s debut novel “A Case of Exploding Mangoes” longlisted for the 2008 Booker Prize – a darkly comic novel it was a fictionalisation of the 1988 aircraft crash that killed Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (who became President in 1978 after leading a military coup which overthrew Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government in 1977, Bhutto being executed in 1979).
 
Now in his fourth novel he returns directly to Pakistani politics – with a tale (more dark than comic) – which begins with Bhutto’s hanging. 
 
The hanging is witnessed by an intelligence officer – known by the pseudonym of Captain Gul – who for his failure to get photo proof that the hung man was not circumcised (and so a Hindu) is banished to the obscure town of OK.  
 
There also is the eponymous school (which specialises in rapid English language teaching – often resulting in its pupils passing the exams to join the ranks of police torturers) is run by Sir Baghi (a former Militia founder expelled from his own organisation after a provocative letter he wrote to the world Islamic leaders attending a conference lead to his detention and torture).  Despite Baghi’s oft proclaimed atheism his school is based in a mosque run by a childhood friend (actually a stray taken in by his family but then sent to study due to his corrupting influence on Baghi) Molly (Maulvi Rafiq) now a charismatic, popular (if manipulative and opportunistic) spiritual leader.
 
And in the opening of the second chapter Molly visits Baghi and asks him to hide a young lady friend – Sabiha Bano who he quickly works out in order is: an ex-pupil who left after a very short while when Baghi, a homosexual, in a very rare lapse was drawn by her boyish features to touch her; the daughter of a local pro-Bhutto activist (jiyala) imprisoned a year or so previously, followed shortly after by his wife – Sabiha’s mother; the second wife of a man who has just burnt to death in suspicious circumstances.
 
Reluctantly agreeing to shelter her he sets her the task while in his establishment of writing her life story in English (the brief chapters of which are then threaded through the story).
 
Meanwhile the town is convulsed both by rumours that Bhutto is not dead and is actually coming to the town and by a series of apparent self-immolations by jiyalas in protest at his death: both of which draw the attention both of Gul’s superiors and of the district police officer AD Malang – an ex-pupil of Baghi notorious for setting prisoners free and shooting them in the back. 
 
And in further complications Gul – who already has a distant lover claiming that he is pregnant with her child and believing they will get married, sleeps with his local superior’s daughter and then funds himself coerced into agreeing to marry her and becomes obsessed with a video he finds of a woman being abused in his very room (vowing to avenge and then claim her) – that woman it becomes clear over time being Sabiha. And all in the meantime the pro-Bhutto actions in the town seem like a mix of actual actions and ones planted by Malang (and possibly Gul).
 
In the above I have I think only captured some of the plot – the interactions between the male characters are more complex, but also almost entirely unpleasant ……… this is a book filled with malice, dishonesty, hypocrisy, violence and frequent sexual references and while I think it is deliberately so and designed to capture a difficult time in Pakistan’s history with a transition to martial law, it does not make for an easy read and I felt at times doubly distanced both by the stories twists and the narrative style. And while I did enjoy Sabiha’s sections where at least the female voice was given space despite the violence she suffered, it seemed rather drowned out by the manipulations of the male characters.
 
My thanks to Atlantic Books and Grove Atlantic for an ARC via NetGalley
 

[Dima · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel is set in a small town in contemporary Pakistan, functioning as a microcosm for the tensions that plague Pakistani society today. The execution of a politician in a remote location sets the town abuzz, ostensibly about politics, but in reality about much more. The story follows three protagonists: a young, recently widowed woman; an older English teacher who is semi-secretly homosexual; and an ambitious, morally precarious military intelligence officer. Their lives intersect in the town, and the unfolding events trigger several plotlines that offer sharp glimpses into modern Pakistani life.

One central theme is religion. It is repeatedly shown as something invoked when useful, abused when expedient, and ignored when inconvenient. The protagonists pray and speak about God, yet also drink, behave dishonestly, and indulge in hypocrisy.

Another key theme is dictatorship and military rule. The book vividly captures the fragility of personal safety and individual rights under such a system, and how easily those in power can abuse it for personal gain. It is particularly effective in illustrating the destructive role of the passive observer, and of those who justify their actions by merely “following orders.”

Finally, the novel explores the position of women in Pakistani society. The female protagonist is strong-willed and independent, yet suffers relentlessly for both her independence and her beauty, with little recourse. Regardless of her inner strength and capabilities, the only sanctuary she can truly protect is her inner world. Everything else is vulnerable to violation.

Overall, I appreciated the themes and subject matter. The novel does an effective job portraying the chaos of Pakistan and the deep societal dysfunctions at play. The characters are vivid and energetic, with the military intelligence officer being particularly well drawn.

I did, however, struggle with the erratic and jumpy writing. Transitions between scenes are often unclear, and it was not always obvious how one page related to the next. This makes the narrative harder to follow and undermines coherence. While the story eventually comes together, it feels under-edited. This is the book’s greatest weakness.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Ryo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.

There's so much violence and yet also dark humor in this book, with an interesting cast of characters. It gets a bit confusing at times, and the ending felt quite abrupt and underdeveloped, but I found this book pretty entertaining despite the sometimes dark plot.

The book starts with Prime Minister Bhutto's execution, which Captain Gul fails to get a picture of, so he gets banished to OK Town. There, Sir Baghi runs the Rebel English Academy, where he is suddenly introduced to Sabiha Bano, a widow whose husband died under mysterious circumstances. The main characters are quite well done in this book, having distinct and memorable personalities. The author also introduces ambiguity about who really holds power and how terrible some people actually are, and the gradual reveal of people's true selves was quite well done, I thought. The various plots with Gul, Baghi, and Sabiha all of course get intertwined by the end, and the way their stories all intersect felt set up well, with their individual stories fleshed out before it all comes together.

It does get a bit confusing when there are a bunch of minor characters that come in and out of the plot. They didn't seem particularly memorable, unlike the main characters, so their introduction just created confusion for me. The end also felt rather abrupt, with a big climactic scene happening near the very end, and then only a short chapter right after that to describe the fate of one of the characters. I wanted to know more about what happened to the others, but the book ends there without really going more into the aftermath of the climax.

I found the book rather humorous in a lot of parts, while at the same time there's a lot of extreme violence, including self-immolation and just straight-up murder. That the book manages to combine the serious things with the humorous tone is quite skillful. I do wish some of the minor characters were better developed and the ending were less abrupt, though.

[Dieuwke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bhutto is hanged in Pakistan, and everyone has an opinion on it. A martyr to some, an inconvenience - at best- to others. A disgraced Intelligence Officer, Captain Gul (which may or may not be his real name) has been banished to OK Town, and he is to silence protesters by any means necessary. We also meet Molly, the imam of the local mosque, and his once-upon-a-time brother Sir Baghi, who teaches English at the mosque's premises.
Molly has once saved Sir Baghi from prison, and being into men, and not women, and not believing in Allah, Sir Baghi would love to change the world by means of revolution, but he's grown up, and tied to his saviour Molly. So when Molly brings him a widow, the young Sabiha, as a refugee seeking protection, he can't say no. And really, he is by far the safest place for Sabiha, daughter of two political prisoners, and freshly widowed under very suspicious circumstances.

Both the local police officer (a brute, but goodness, all men are brutes in this book, casual brutes to make it worse) and Sabiha were once students of Sir Baghi.

So it's a bit of a dance. All these characters dance around, are in and out of the mosque and/or the English Academy trying to adept to the changing (political) landscape.

Through her own writing we learn the past of Sabiha, and there's no denying in real life it's not all men, but always men, in this book it is all men. So her having a gun, and protection... yes. Good for her. Meanwhile the current affairs are quickly coming to a clash and it's hard to tell anymore who's good and who's bad, who gets to be the hero, and who has power.

It took me a bit to het into the power dynamics, and I'm with Sabiha because honestly, she's right when she says she's always a prisoner but the bars change. Once I knew who was who though, and saw how the lives interconnect, it was an intriguing read.

3,5 stars rounded up

I received an eARC from NetGalley / Grove Press in return for my honest opinion and I can't thank them enough
Out 17th of Feb 2026

[Memoona]

A dark and chilling story that exposes the ugliness and hypocrisy of our society.
Set against the grim background of Zulfiqar Ali’s Bhutto hanging in 1979.
It centres on Sabiha Bano, a young innocent woman with a love for sports, who ends up victim to power hungry men who cross her path. Caught in a crossfire, she seeks refugee in an english academy run by a rebel in a mosque! But will it save her?
Hanif’s pen works like a merciless knife . He slashes through the moral corruption of our country intelligence officers, policemen, maulvi’s hiding their ugliness behind the mask of faith. The novel exposes the ever corrupt character of men who in their corruptness has never failed to disappoint us, reflecting a society that repeatedly fails its most vulnerable.
The way the character of Sabiha Bano is portrayed with resilience despite being victum of all the above. It will without a doubt linger with you long after you finish the book.

The themes explored are not every one’s cup of tea. Even dark humor cannot hide the nakedness of the truth. Some reader may find the language too vulgar or the themes too sexual. But the reality is, we being a victim of the same society know that the portrayal is far from unrealistic.
In a nutshell, it is precisely because of these themes that you might like the book and because of the same reasons you might not like it.
For me it was a mix of both. Like watching something with reluctance because you know that even though you don’t like it, deep down you recognise the truth it reflects.

[Farah Farooq · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

i really wanted to like it but one liners can only take you so far. but seriously hanif should be writing screenplays- if this was turned into a tv show, i’d watch the shit out of it but as a book, it’s a hundred pages too long and self indulgent.

[Christi Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Well written and so brave! I won this book on a Goodreads Giveaway and one of the best books I've read in a while!