In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

This collection of stories is insightful and by turns luminous and bleak. Mueenuddin takes the stories of a wide range of people, from poor servants to the landed rich, to form a cross section of Pakistani society, the common thread being their relationship to an old aristocratic land-owner and his family. It is full of poetic detail and Mueenuddin's characters are complex, fully realised and sympathetic, but the overall picture is of a divided society in which very few stories have happy endings. Considering the setting, the stories feel very secular, with very few overtly religious elements - it is much more about families, money, power and influence. I suspect that many of these stories would stand up well to multiple readings

A collection of loosely linked short stories set in more-or-less present day Pakistan. Highly illustrative of life in the decaying feudal system as younger members of well-placed families feel the pull of the wider world, and begin to reject the rigid social and familial structures of past generations. I found the interpersonal relationships very unsettling in most of these stories...so little real communication, or true affection, and despite many references to the contrary in reviews and blurbs, no lightness or humor that I could detect. I feel I learned quite a lot about this society, without coming to understand it very well. Some of this is down to my lack of enthusiasm for short fiction in general---I just get acquainted with show more characters and their situations when I have to leave them behind. And endings are so often abrupt, or ambiguous. Still, the writing here is outstanding, even brilliant at times. And if you have a better relationship with the short form than I do, by all means add this collection to your list. show less

The stories in this collection layer to form a picture of Pakistan's social structure. The local society and economy is centered in a few landowners, who often live in one of Pakistan's larger cities like Lahore or Islamabad and have managers who oversee their country estates. In most of the stories, the main characters are trying to improve their living conditions by securing positions within a landowner's household as employees, servants, or, in the case of some of the women, as mistresses.

Most of the stories have a tone of hopelessness or resignation. Security is tenuous, dependent on the health and financial stability of the landowner/employer. Most of the protagonists must decide whether to cast their lot with another person; once show more the choice is made, they rise or fall with that person's fortune. Even the wealthy characters have limited choices since their responsibilities are defined by society.

“About a Burning Girl” stands out from the rest of the stories with its first-person narrator and its humorous tone. This was the most enjoyable story to read. The one that may haunt me longest is “A Spoiled Man”, in which the thoughtless kindnesses of an American woman set in motion a cruel chain of events. There's not a weak story in the collection. Highly recommended. show less

This outstanding debut novel is a collection of connected short stories centered around an aging feudal landlord and his estate in Pakistan. They profile family members and servants, managers and mistresses. Each narrative is compelling, each character richly and vividly created. All of these portraits together creates an equally vivid picture of contemporary Pakistan - the social divisions, the rich and poor, the retreat of the old ways, the adjustment to change. Once started, this book is irresistible.

Daniyal Muenuddin’s vehicle for familiarizing readers with life in Pakistan from the middle of the last century through modern times, is a mesmerizing collection of interconnected short stories. Eight stories that share themes of loneliness, loss and class differences as well as a connection to K.K. Harouni, civil servant and feudal land owner. Mueenuddin brilliantly weaves together the stories and the resulting mosaic is a compelling look at the lives of modern jet setters and destitute farm workers, women servants and women professionals, people comfortable in their place in the world and others struggling to grasp that elusive brass ring.

Don’t look for sprawling narrative here. The author makes use of the littlest details, the show more smallest gestures to illustrate the difficult climb up the social ladder. In the opening story, “Nawabdin Electrician,” the title character

“flourished on a signature capability, a technique for cheating the electric company by slowing down the revolutions of electric meters, so cunningly done that his customers could specify to the hundred-rupee note the desired monthly savings. In this Pakistani desert, behind Multan, where the tube wells ran day and night, Nawab’s discovery eclipsed the philosopher’s stone. Some thought he used magnets, others said heavy oil or porcelain chips or a substance he found in beehives. Skeptics reported that he had a deal with the meter man. In any case, this trick guaranteed his employment, both off and on the farm of his patron, K.K. Harouni.” (page 13)

Mueenuddin has set the stage for a string of characters that are forced to contrive any number of thorny solutions to assure their victory in life in the Punjabi desert. And the solutions are as varied as the characters. In the title story, a young woman is in desperate need of a job and goes to an elderly relative with connections, only to become his mistress, and failing to realize the consequences when he dies. A young maid uses sexual favors to advance herself and is left on her own when her lover returns to his wife. An electrician is brutally assaulted as he tries to save his most valuable possession. A young bride discovers she’s entered into a marriage she can’t possibly honor. An opportunistic politician finds that his influence will not extend beyond his death.

And always in the background the Pakistani police:

“I sat eating toast with marmalade, poured a second cup of tea, and then picked up the “Pakistan Times” and took its crisp virginity, inhaling the scent of damp ink and newsprint. I enjoy this paper because it gives me no information except that which is sponsored by the government. It never disrupts my morning.” (page 100) And:

“Instead he put her in the office of the secretary, who every afternoon took down in shorthand a few pages of Mr. Harouni’s memoirs, cautiously titled ‘Perhaps This Happened.’” (page 113)

Tragic, humorous, plaintive, a narrative that takes the reader from feudal Pakistan through the changes that have led to the present social condition in that country, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is a wonderful read. Highly recommended. show less

This is a haunting work, with emotional land mines sewn into a series of seemingly uncomplicated short stories. A young woman with no prospects seduces an elderly rich man to gain a few luxuries. A woman rejects her wild youth to settle down with a stable husband. An internationally-tense meet the parents scenario. While the bare bones of each plot is simple and unsurprising- this book challenges all preconceived notions of the power-struggles between men and women. And while everything is doomed and damned with unconquerable fatalism, the richness of the emotions captures the pure blind hope of being in love. While the characters fall into stereotype relationship disasters- the hidden mistress, the duty-bound husband, the show more class-conflicted, the age-inappropriate, the workplace romance--- all those typical situations that cause hum-bug moralists to tilt their heads and think "Should have know better..." Mueenuddin creates this magical intimacy that allows the readers to connect with that moment- that throw caution and reason to the wind moment- where someone lets temptation get the better of them. And the reader gets to feel that hope, while under no illusion that there will be any happily-ever after.
The other unique aspect of Mueenudin's work is "when" he allows his characters to fall in love. After intense manipulation- callous indifference- cold calculation- a decision to settle-- all unromantic scenarios--- he still lets these stained creatures find some measure of genuine feeling. And so, for however brief a flash- he makes all of these bedraggled tales- love stories. And that makes this work very poignant, and very sad. show less

This is a beautifully crafted collection of eight linked stories, centered around a wealthy landowner. The setting is Pakistan, both the cities and the rundown villages. Some of the stories focus on the lowly, the servants and farmers and others take a look at the managers, the privileged offspring and crooked politicians. Poor women do not fare well in this feudal society, relying heavily on rich patrons, with no future guarantees.
This was a fascinating peek into a country I was not really familiar with and now I have a little better grasp of the people and their society. The writing is strong, fluid and vivid. An impressive debut.