In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
2009 short story collection by Daniyal Mueenuddin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is a collection of short stories by Pakistani-American author Daniyal Mueenuddin.[1][2][3][4] It won The Story Prize and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize[5] and the 2009 National Book Award.[6]
First edition | |
| Author | Daniyal Mueenuddin |
|---|---|
| Genre | Short story |
| Publisher | Norton |
Publication date | 2009 |
| Publication place | Pakistan, United States |
| ISBN | 978-0-393-33720-4 |
Stories
- "Nawabdin Electrician"
- "Saleema"
- "Provide, Provide"
- "About a Burning Girl"
- "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders"
- "Our Lady of Paris"
- "Lily"
- "A Spoiled Man"
Summary
The stories uncovers a variegated society in which people's social status and expectations are understood without being explained, and in which the class system and poverty are shown to influence any decision made at a critical moment in the characters' lives. The book consists of eight linked stories written in Pakistan in the 1970s, '80s and '90s, and describe Pakistani culture from within.[3]
Reviews
Sonny Mehta, editor-in-chief and chairman of Bertelsmann AG's Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, says;
"The Pakistani writers are addressing change and what's happening today in the world. There is something completely contemporary in this writing."[3]
Poet and Writer Magazine writes;
"Mueenuddin's book investigates life in his native Pakistan (he was also raised in Massachusetts) through the lenses of individuals in different stations, from an electrician to a woman servant to a farm manager, a position the author himself occupies today. He described himself as being in the profession of identifying characters, both in his writing and in his business at home."[7]