In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

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In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders.jpg
First edition
Author Daniyal Mueenuddin
Country Pakistan, United States
GenreShort story
Publisher Norton
Publication date
2009
ISBN 978-0-393-33720-4

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is a collection of short stories written by Pakistani-American author Daniyal Mueenuddin, [1] [2] [3] [4] who has also worked as a journalist, lawyer and a businessman. His book has won The Story Prize, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and other honors [5] and was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize [6] and the 2009 National Book Award. [7]

Contents

Stories

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." [8]

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References

  1. "Sex and Other Social Devices". The New York Times . 6 February 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  2. "Michael Dirda on In Other Rooms, Other Wonders". The Washington Post . 15 February 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tales From a Punjab Mango Farm". The Wall Street Journal . 31 January 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  4. "Writing the Unknown Pakistan On Point, interview". ON Point Wbur.Org. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  5. "Interview With Daniyal Mueenuddin". Beyond The Margins. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  6. "Fiction". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  7. "National Book Awards – 2009". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  8. "Daniyal Mueenuddin Takes Home Story Prize". Poets & Writers Magazine blog. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2012.