About this title: In the spirit of James Joyce's "Dubliners," Mueenuddin's collection of linked stories illuminates a place and a people through an examination of the entwined lives of landowners and their retainers on the Gurmani family farm in Lahore, Pakistan.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780393068009ISBN:0393068005
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 256 p. Audience: General/trade. First printing hard cover edition. read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780747597131ISBN:0747597138
Description: BRAND NEW HARDBACK. 256 pages. A powerful collection of linked stories about the entwined lives of masters and servants set in pakistan (Hardback) read more
Description: Fine. 0393068005 NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black line on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780393337204ISBN:0393337200
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Former Library book. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Edition: 1st edition
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: W W NORTON & CO INC
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780393068009ISBN:0393068005
Description: New. In the spirit of James Joyce's "Dubliners, " Mueenuddin's collection of linked stories illuminates a place and a people through an examination of the entwined lives of landowners and their retainers on the Gurmani family farm in Lahore, Pakistan. read more
Description: New. PLEASE NOTE: All books are promptly shipped from our UK warehouse using Royal Mail International Priority mail. Heavier or more expensive books are shipped with a TRACKING NUMBER. Professional and reliable bookseller (est.1987). read more
Description: New. Please note that deliveries to addresses in the UK and Europe will be in 4-14 business days. Other countries should refer to Alibris standard times. ISBN10: 0747597138. read more
Description: New. Moving from the elegant drawing rooms of Lahore to the mud villages of rural Multan, a powerful collection of short stories about feudal Pakistan. An impoverished young woman becomes a wealthy relative's mistress; an electrician on the make confronts his desperate assailant to protect his most prized possession; a farm manager rises far in the world—but his family discovers after his death the transience of power; a maid who advances herself through sexual favours, unexpectedly falls in ... read more
Description: New. PLEASE NOTE: All books are promptly imported from the UK using DHL or Royal Mail international mail WITH TRACKING NUMBER. D elivery is typically 5-10 working days. Please do not select expedited shipping. Professional and reliable bookseller (est.1987). read more
Edition: Advance Reading Copy-1st Edition, 1st Printing
Binding: Pictorial Wraps
Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc, New York
Date Published: February 2009
ISBN-13:9780393068009ISBN:0393068005
Description: AS NEW in AS NEW WRAPS. Small 8vo (5-1/2 x 8-1/4) 247 pp. Softcover Advance copy is FINE--unread, unmarked, and AS NEW in AS NEW pictorial wraps. Signed by the author on the title page. (dc) Eight interconnected stories about a landowning Pakistani family and the retainers living on their farm. Publishers Weekly gave this book a Starred Review. Brilliant, charming, and entertaining. Highly collectible in this edition. read more
"If Daniyal Mueenuddin's fictional Pakistani characters are in any way literal then Pakistan must be a sad place. Perhaps that was his intent, to show the sadness of Pakistani home life, if so then he succeeded. To be better informed I need to read more, but I venture to say that Pakistanis aren't as cruel and broken as the characters in this book. I liked his description of the land and scenery. He writes the history of the land so that you can feel the almost magical pull of past stories in his modern day setting."
"This collection of linked short stories is both very well-written, and an eye-opener for readers not familiar with social life in Pakistan. So much depends on social status and wealth, and likewise gender. Women married to wealthy men may or may not have any freedoms: they can be divorced, put aside while the husband brings in another wife, or other women; they may or may not be allowed an education, and if they have an occupation prior to marriage, they do not continue it.
Men who have wealth are likely to have connections in government, or elsewhere, and they can use their money, if so inclined, to bribe for the release of a servant accused of murder, or to look into the disappearance of the wife of a servant. However, the police have their own system of justice, and the arrest for murder can come out little to no evidence, and the investigation into the disappearing wife can involve arresting the husband on no grounds and beating and torturing him.
All but the poorest families have at least a couple of servants, and the servants have their own hierarchy: who has served the longest, who is more closely related to the family they serve. Family connections are important: a poor person having a familial connection to a wealthy family is more likely to be taken in as a servant, though not treated any better. Other servants may be suggested by current servants as a way to help members of their families.
Meanwhile, the servants jockey among themselves for position, and for favors from the higher-ranked servants. A serving woman may sleep with the cook in exchange for better food, despite the lowering of her reputation. If she can sleep with the master, she is both scorned and feared. And when the master dies, she is back on the bottom of the ladder, or lower, having given up her virginity and threatening her possibility of marriage.
The servants, and the farm hands, and other employees also have complicated systems of keeping the books, so unless the master is very attentive, money and supplies leak out unnoticed.
"Great book for learning about the feudalism that so blocks progress in Pakistan. It's a smooth read, but disturbing. Still, I found myself growing attached to even some of the darker characters.
The story is told through a series of short stories that center on one of the feudal families in Lahore. The first story is about one of the family's employeed, but the next about a family member. Some of them you love, some you dislike, some you detest, but they're all interesting.
I was amazed to learn this is a first book for the author. I can only expect greater things to come from him."
"Mueenuddin takes the reader into a his world of Pakistan in a powerful way. Being that the book is comprised of short stories it is easy to follow and he is able to express more of his experiences. What I loved is that the stories all revolve around the same family and their group of servants and friends. The simplicity of the writing also conveyed something about their way of life and how affairs are treated in Pakistan. The only thing I didn't completely like were the abrupt endings to some stories or the way that a couple of them didn't really seem story like. There wasn't a beginning, middle or end and seemed like a jumble of thoughts. Otherwise it was a great read."
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