Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Book #74: In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

Title: In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
Author: Daniyal Mueenuddin

This is the third time I've checked In Other Rooms, Other Wonders out of the library. As much as I like fiction, I don't really enjoy short stories (I don't know why, it makes no sense), and it wasn't until I found out that the stories loosely connect (like in Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth) around a central character, that I convinced myself that I could read the book, because isn't a novel just a bunch of connected stories?

The stories in In Other Rooms, Other Wonders mostly take place in Pakistan, and focus on people who have connections to wealthy landowner KK Harouni. However the characters range from servants, to electricians, to fallen gentry, rising local politicians, and other wealthy Pakistanis. All in all, they give an interesting picture into the ways that people from different, clearly delineated social classes interact. Mueenuddin focuses particularly on the vulnerability of women within the culture. My favorite story is "Our Lady of Paris," which seemed particularly close to the author's heart and experience.

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