Kindle
$9.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$15.87
Paperback
$13.72
Buy new:
-8% $13.72
FREE delivery May 16 - 17
Ships from: textbooks_source
Sold by: textbooks_source
$13.72 with 8 percent savings
List Price: $14.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
FREE delivery May 16 - 17. Details
Or fastest delivery Tuesday, May 14. Order within 19 hrs 5 mins. Details
Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.72 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.72
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
textbooks_source
Ships from
textbooks_source
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$6.24
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Nice clean copy with no highlighting or writing. We take pride in our accurate descriptions. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Nice clean copy with no highlighting or writing. We take pride in our accurate descriptions. Satisfaction Guaranteed. See less
FREE delivery Thursday, May 16 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 14 hrs 50 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.72 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.72
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Daniyal Mueenuddin
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders Paperback – November 16, 2009

by Daniyal Mueenuddin (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 481 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$13.72","priceAmount":13.72,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"72","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"jQ3VXpuR6ycFCN%2F4OgIHw5eF2QgsmyKbAFQSbrTSYWSVQxE%2BavSMJa9mTfb1LctjIXMtAcScL6yBuAzmv91sIhV8l4FgjbK%2BkwiwOAExRny5f3KHmhwRvNiSbAZmlRnCuu%2Bf2pRlTDE6E2ecnEAea0DW%2FZjs6wc%2FKObqXLcCwNom9xSqHmyH%2Fg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$6.24","priceAmount":6.24,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"24","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"jQ3VXpuR6ycFCN%2F4OgIHw5eF2QgsmyKb0kTvVl1Jd9vENbrI8nz4Gs6gfjPG%2BKZE%2FqRRFC2g5CtOUUmzz7cRUHx8pVZocVrkxw2T1ufwNRyCmTI1kwOYcXPW5yICuzFAno6xVowzVVk2N2aeu5hAsUU3DFG%2BJmPidTC97Ls8ooanQmH45ikgEcJGjC4cRrID","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Winner of the Story Prize
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
Finalist for the National Book Award
Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction

Passing from the mannered drawing rooms of Pakistan’s cities to the harsh mud villages beyond, Daniyal Mueenuddin’s linked stories describe the interwoven lives of an aging feudal landowner, his servants and managers, and his extended family, industrialists who have lost touch with the land. In the spirit of Joyce’s Dubliners and Turgenev’s A Sportsman’s Sketches, these stories comprehensively illuminate a world, describing members of parliament and farm workers, Islamabad society girls and desperate servant women. A hard-driven politician at the height of his powers falls critically ill and seeks to perpetuate his legacy; a girl from a declining Lahori family becomes a wealthy relative’s mistress, thinking there will be no cost; an electrician confronts a violent assailant in order to protect his most valuable possession; a maidservant who advances herself through sexual favors unexpectedly falls in love.

Together the stories in In Other Rooms, Other Wonders make up a vivid portrait of feudal Pakistan, describing the advantages and constraints of social station, the dissolution of old ways, and the shock of change. Refined, sensuous, by turn humorous, elegiac, and tragic, Mueenuddin evokes the complexities of the Pakistani feudal order as it is undermined and transformed.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    November 16, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    5.6 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393337200
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393337204
  8. See all details
Next page
Layla
"Layla" by Colleen Hoover for $7.19
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love. | Learn more

Frequently bought together

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
$14.95
Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Come to Me: Stories
$11.69
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Sabrina & Corina: Stories
$14.78
Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Reading Daniyal Mueenuddin’s mesmerizing first collection is like watching a game of blackjack, the shrewd players calculating their way beyond their dealt cards in an attempt to beat the dealer…In this labyrinth of power games and exploits, Mueenuddin instills luminous glimmers of longing, loss and, most movingly, unfettered love."
― New York Times Book Review

"In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is a collection full of pleasures…on every page there are wonderful, surprising observations and details."
― Washington Post

"The eight short stories of Daniyal Mueenuddin’s enchanting debut are dreamlike, illuminating contemporary Pakistan’s societal contradictions in prose as clear and serene as the contradictions themselves are subtle and tumultuous."
― Boston Globe

"Like Turgenev…Mueenuddin has an eye for the tragedy and beauty in lives that a lesser writer might regard merely as miserable or eccentric…In recent years, Pakistan has been regarded in the West with anger and horror. Perhaps Mueenuddin’s portrait will help to bring it a different kind of attention, colored with sorrow and even fondness."
― New York Review of Books

"Remarkable.… a poignant picture of Punjabi life."
― The Economist

"[Mueenuddin’s] crisp, vivid voice glides effortlessly into his various characters’ heads.… Dark stuff, but full of beauty."
― Entertainment Weekly

"An elegant stylist with a light touch, Mueenuddin invites the reader to a richly human, wondrous experience."
― Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Daniyal Mueenuddin takes us into a sumptuously created world, peopled with characters who are both irresistible and compellingly human. His stories unfold with the authenticity and resolute momentum of timeless classics."
― Manil Suri

"A stunning achievement. This superb collection ranges across a vast swath of contemporary Pakistan―from megacities to isolated villages, from feudal landlords to servant girls―and such is its narrative power that I couldn’t stop turning the page. Daniyal Mueenuddin is a writer of enormous ambition, and he has the prodigious talent to match."
― Mohsin Hamid

"Daniyal Mueenuddin’s Pakistanis are like Chekhov’s Russians, so fully realized that we never wonder over what motivates them. They are living, breathing presences―sometimes brought so close that, I daresay, you hear the sounds of their breathing and the roll of gravel under their feet. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders brings us a new way of seeing the world, and it is one that we could not have anticipated."
― Elizabeth Evans, author of Carter Clay

About the Author

Daniyal Mueenuddin was brought up in Lahore, Pakistan and Elroy, Wisconsin. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Law School, his stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, Zoetrope, The Best American Short Stories 2008, selected by Salman Rushdie, and PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2010. For a number of years he practiced law in New York. He now lives on a farm in Pakistan’s southern Punjab.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 52947th edition (November 16, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393337200
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393337204
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.6 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 481 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Daniyal Mueenuddin

Daniyal Mueenuddin

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Daniyal Mueenuddin, author of the acclaimed "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders," was brought up in Lahore, Pakistan and Elroy, Wisconsin. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Law School, his stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, Zoetrope, The Best American Short Stories 2008, selected by Salman Rushdie, and the forthcoming PEN/O.Henry Prize Stories 2010. For a number of years he practiced law in New York. He now lives on a farm in Pakistan’s southern Punjab.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
481 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Anne M. Hunter
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully crafted stories about Pakistan
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a very well-written, entertaining, and enjoyable set of eight
interlocking stories of varying lengths. It's slim, easy to read, and
yet evokes characters and settings richly and well. All of the
stories are connected in some way to the wealthy Harouni family, where
they owned land for a century that is now being sold off to support
them. Not only the wealthy family members come to life -- we also see
their servants, spouses, and other connections. The author seems to
put us inside their relationships, especially romantic ones. The
class differences between the wealthy dilettantes and the striving
poor are clear, but all are prone to corruption and taking whatever
they can. The area around the lovely city of Lahore where most of the
stories take place comes to life. The stories are mostly set in the
80s, before life there became subject to corruption. So real are
these people to me that I can't help wondering where they've ended up
now that so much has changed. My favorite story was the longest one,
"Lily", where we experience a relationship begin, result in marriage,
and then experience the couple's disappointment with each other.

Both men and women are deeply described. The author turns phrases
beautifully, and made me wish that one could return to Lahore. I look
forward to reading his work in the future, and recommend this book highly
to anyone interested in Pakistan, or just in great stories of life there.
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
meymoon
4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic writing, moving, memorable stories
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a masterfully written book telling a series of beautiful, interwoven stories about everyday life in Pakistan. The writing is simply fantastic. While reading this book, I truly felt like I had been transported to Pakistan and was right there along with all the characters. The author does a great job of giving you a real feel for Pakistan without getting bogged down in unnecessary details. The stories move along at a measured, enjoyable pace while readers feel like they have a good grasp of what its like to walk in the shoes of the various characters. I can't say enough good things about the writing. I have found that nowadays it is very difficult to find such beautifully written books, but this certainly is one of them.

The stories are a series of loosely connected ones revolving around a wealthy landowners in Pakistan. There is a story about the landowner, one about one of his servants, another about a nephew and so on and so forth. The stories don't really follow each other and have no connection other than the fact that all the characters have some connection to the landowner. The stories tackle issues of wealth and the grand and ostentatious lives that the wealthy in Pakistan lead, issues of poverty and how the servant class struggles with daily life and is entirely dependent on the wealthy class for their livelihood, women and their daily struggles with life and motherhood and much, much more.

This is a fascinating glimpse into Pakistani society, the extreme divide between the classes, the rampant corruption in the system and lives of women and their dependence on men for livelihood and respectability.

Because these are short stories, you are left wondering what happens to many of the characters, yet this book is truly worth reading.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
MZ
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book of Wonders
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2009
Verified Purchase
A beautiful collection of short stories by a Pakistani writer, stories that don't flinch from showing the corruption and perils of living in that country for all but the very rich and lucky. The chasms--between rich and poor, native Pakistanis and foreigners, women and men, even between virtue and vice--seem to be at the heart of the stories, which are loosely linked around a wealthy landowner named Harouni. Some of the stories are told from the point of view of women, usually unlucky ones, who know what they have to do to live above the poverty line--it invariably involves becoming the mistress of a wealthy older man--but whose support systems are never more than fragile and transitory. The class system is everywhere evident, though it is not mentioned directly. People know their place in the hierarchy and do their best.
The depiction of life in the shantytowns, or, a cut above, at the servants' level--there are many levels within the servant class alone--are vivid and fascinating to read; without cliché, they ring true and contain surprises. There are no purely bad or good characters; the delight is in the nuances. A poor man builds a transient home for himself which is too small to stand up in, but he's clever, and the tiny dwelling has some charm.
In my favorite story, Nawabdin Electrician, the protagonist is the local electrician, who knows everything there is to know about bootleg wiring and is therefore extremely valuable to his village. The scene in which he talks his boss into buying him a motorbike is a work of art; and we are treated to many other examples of the clever manipulations of the serving class. The bosses aren't fooled, and the whole system of favors is as well established as any set of written law. But people can fall through the cracks so easily, and you come away with a picture of a huge underclass of people whose lives and welfare, no matter how sharp their wits, hang by a thread.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Mercurius
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb short-story sequence set in Pakistan
Reviewed in Canada on July 18, 2021
Verified Purchase
Mueenuddin’s skilful story-telling is richly grounded in a Pakistan in the throes of modernization. Memorable evocations of place and person issue in a loosely linked series of stories, with the longest, “Lily”, affording dark comment on the rest.
Report
Ms. Mary Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Much to wonder about
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2011
Verified Purchase
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is a great collection of short stories. Each story stands alone but they are all linked as they are about the relatives and servants of wealthy Pakistani landowner Mr K K Harouni whose estates are near Lahore. The writing is crisp and unsentimental, the characters are authentic if not always sympathetic and you will find yourself still thinking about them long after the book is finished. If you only want to read stories with happy endings then this is not for you but if you want a very real insight into life in Pakistan across all the class divisions then this is a must-read of a book. Although the stories are sometimes tragic, there are touches of humour throughout. I wish I could write like Daniyal Mueenduddin. Reviewed by Mary Smith author of  No More Mulberries
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful depiction of the class system in Pakistan and how ...
Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
Wonderful depiction of the class system in Pakistan and how each survives Highly recommend it to readers interested in that society or any society in which there is an acute imbalance of power and wealth
Report
Cap Neel
4.0 out of 5 stars Descriptive read
Reviewed in India on December 17, 2016
Verified Purchase
A very descriptive and well written book. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Gets more interesting half way through. Would enjoy reading more from the author.
Report
D1HAJ
4.0 out of 5 stars Evocative, illuminating, intriguing, thought-provoking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
This collection of short stories, set in and around modern day Lahore, captures the very different experiences of rich land-owning Pakistanis and poor, impoverished indentured servants. Each story traces events particular to one individual. Several end unexpectedly, leaving the reader to ponder on the - mostly unhappy - life experiences and behaviours of the main characters. The book evokes the inner thoughts and lives of the characters and presents an intriguing set of insights into the choices and life chances of the better off, and haphazardness of the lot of those born into the lower echelons of Pakistani society. The stories are linked by a common thread, but each stands alone. It was an interesting book, worth reading but as other reviewers have said, hard to say you enjoyed it due to the sad or pitiful twists and turns that befell so many of the characters.
One person found this helpful
 Report