Our lady Alice Patty

Less than three minutes in front of the interview panel, Alice Patty deeply knew that she would not get the advertised job as a: junior substitute nurse / fourth grade, and a sharp prick in the back of her neck warned her that not getting that job might not be the worst thing that could happen here. The committee had not asked her any questions yet, but she realized that all her preparations — her neat white uniform, her new file, the dull brown lipstick, the breathing exercises she did to calm her pounding heart, even the banana she ate on the bus to curb her stomach upset — were failed consultations. A lawful money going down the drain in the forbidden sink, as her father Joseph Patty says, will make those Muslims clean their excrement, then complain about the foul smell. Our brothers in religion at the Sacred Heart Hospital? They will give you a sermon, then ask you what caused your foul smell. She had been in this room before, and had always stood and received orders: Did you clean the floor, Alice? Why didn't you clean it? Who do you think will wipe the blood off the floor, Alice? Your father? But her being forced to speak while sitting on a chair frightens her. Muhammad Haneef was born in Okaara, Pakistan, in 1964, and graduated from the Pakistan Air Force Academy as a pilot officer, but he soon resigned to dedicate himself to writing. His first novel, The Exploding Manga Issue 2008, was listed on the longlist for the Booker Prize, and on the shortlist for The Guardian's First Book Award, and he won the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book, and the Shakti Bhatt Award for Best First Literary Work. His second novel, Our Lady Alice Patty 2011, was listed on the shortlist for the Welcorne Book Prize and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.