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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is a collection of eight short stories set in the Punjab region of Pakistan in the 1970s-1990s. Each story focuses on a different character and all are in some way connected to K.K. Harouni, the patriarch of a once wealthy land owning family whose fortunes are in decline. Some characters are family members; others work for the Harounis in some capacity including an electrician, a maid, a farm manager. Many of the themes were familiar to me and seem to crop up frequently in literature from this area - corruption, the divisions between rich and poor and the near impossibility of upward social mobility, misogyny and the vulnerability of women, poorer people being forced into impossible situations for want of any other choice. The stories centred on the poorer characters held my interest more than the others, even if they were rather depressing. The socioeconomic and political system seemed deliberately designed to keep poor people down and prevent them from catching a break. All in all this collection did a good job highlighting some of the problems in Pakistan connected with the feudalistic nature of rural society. This impact was enhanced by all the stories being connected to a single family, giving them a consistent through line, highlighting the fact that they were all part of a single story, a story based on systemic issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, and Police brutality