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grcyng's review
3.0
well-written
an interesting expression of class/caste in Pakistan, but it became almost banal after about three stories
there's something to be said about a forever un-happy ever after... yes it can be deep and meaningful, but in this instance it was just whammy after whammy after whammy, and nobody won
an interesting expression of class/caste in Pakistan, but it became almost banal after about three stories
there's something to be said about a forever un-happy ever after... yes it can be deep and meaningful, but in this instance it was just whammy after whammy after whammy, and nobody won
lagarrett's review
4.0
Read a couple of these in the New Yorker and thought it was worth reading the rest... A series of intertwined short stories around a landowner's family and servants in Lahore. Characters interesting although not necessarily likable. Use of the language and descriptions wonderful. Certainly a very small slice of life in Pakistan. Even though the stories are related they can be read individually.
agnestrooster's review
4.0
Great writing but oh how sad a picture he draws of people's motives and the role inequality plays.
glennab28's review against another edition
4.0
in my experiences with short stories i've concluded that they few i've thoroughly enjoyed have been because the people in them were all connected, thereby allowing for more depth and character development. this book promised that but really the characters were only tangentially related, namely through the powerful harouni family. nevertheless i really liked this collection. when the second story nearly made me teary i figured this had to be a keeper. the stories are timeless, dealing with all kinds of people on different sides of the so-called feudal system (which, despite seeming archaic, still seems to be a fairly accurate term) and how people in various circumstances negotiate power. all with a mix of love and tragedy. wonderful introduction to life in pakistan, something about which i'm still very curious.
thingtwo's review
4.0
Mueenuddin writes a series of short stories about life in Pakistan. I got the feeling after reading these that I was reading about the same man, marrying the same woman, falling in love - or lust, or whatever - with the same "other" woman, and then watching how things fell. When I complained to a Pakistani friend of mine, he accused me of looking at the stories through American eyes. Maybe women in Pakistan don't expect to be cared for after the death of their spouse, lover, etc. Maybe women in Pakistan don't expect to have the children they bear loved by the father of said children. Maybe. Maybe it's no wonder there's so much turmoil in Pakistan today.
whoazoh's review
3.0
Not what i expected when i bought it. very focused on the lives of the rich. i enjoyed the stories about the servants thougj
isagnome's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
arodplatypus's review
4.0
I'm glad I read this, but, fair warning, it is not an uplifting read. I wish I'd come upon the stories as part of anthologies because the themes and even some of the plots are very similar to one another. If I'd read them each spaced over time and bookended with other authors, I would have been able to focus on more of each story's subtleties as opposed to their emerging patterns. I know little of Pakistan and knew nothing of the crumbling feudal and agrarian systems, so this was an enlightening, empathetic read. I appreciate how Mueenduddin repeatedly turns an eye to the often overlooked female and servant class experiences, but being the son of a wealthy landowner, I wonder how accurate his depictions actually are of those people lives that are so different from his own?
sheemsinbk's review
3.0
I really wanted to like this. It's another one of those books with fourteen chapters which are basically interrelated short stories. I'm always looking for a clue as to how they are related. in this case, the relationship was so tenuous that it became a distraction. It didn't help that every female character is a shrew, a whore or at thief. The author should be able to do better than that.
hunter_akridge's review
3.0
I thoroughly enjoyed the process of reading this book. But that ease also frightened me. Wasn't I reading about violence, poverty, inequality, the afterlives of colonialism, heteropatriarchy? As told from moments of drama in the life stories of an array of fictional characters that span Punjab's class spectrum, everything else fell out. Of course, a novel shouldn't necessarily be weighed down by analysis, history, and the like. But I worry that the effervescent movement of these characters, their enviable fall into chaos actual obscured the isms working in the background. These moments of drama are sensational, often centering around a relationship between a man and a woman. The woman is too often either victim to her circumstance or otherwise devilishly manipulating it. This to, upon reflection, is troublesome.
All of this being said. It was an truly enjoyable read and gave me a window into a world I am largely ignorant of. In short, it was a fun bit of escapism.
All of this being said. It was an truly enjoyable read and gave me a window into a world I am largely ignorant of. In short, it was a fun bit of escapism.