So I just finished up In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin the other night. His was probably the only collection of short stories I've ever read. For some reason, short stories don't sounds like a good idea to me. I'm glad I took the chance on this one.
His stories are set in a modern yet feudal Pakistan. They center on the Harouni family and their servants, drivers, cooks & so on. The stories are delicately linked together so that you happen upon tiny nuggets of connection in each story.
The stories reminded me a bit of The Good Earth since they are both about feudal societies where women are without power and must use sex as their only tool to climb their way to the top. And because of this, these stories once again made me grateful for the society in which I live and rights and powers I have.
The stories offer an understanding of modern Pakistan, how corruption still reigns and how connected everyone is. I think this is probably why Mueenuddin decided to frame the book in these loosely connected stories so show how everyone in Pakistan is loosely connected and never really alone.
I really enjoyed this book, the stories were engaging and I really felt like I learned a lot about Pakistan and the people which is really why we read, to learn and understand.
Since it's the Holidays, I won't be starting my next book until everything settles down. So I'll let you know what it is soon!
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