Amidst the somewhat petite band of Pakistani authors writing in English, Daniyal Mueenuddin enjoys both acclaim and success. Though his maiden novel, In other rooms, other wonders succeeded in wooing the critics internationally, it won't be the favourite of the ordinary Pakistani audience.

In other rooms, other wonders is the story of an ex-bureaucrat and a potent landlord, K.K Harouni; senile, trusting and dependable. The novel, through seven different short stories, some of them already published in certain American publications, depicts the life incidences of the man himself, his extended family, servants and sidekicks, all inter-linked through flimsy bonds. Generally spanning all the way from Islamabad to Lahore and from Karachi to Paris, it's essentially the feudal southern Punjab where the story keeps its soul. Drinking elites, unfaithful wives, sly subordinates, lavish farmhouses; you'll get this all.

There's the adroit electrician Nawabdin, experienced in slowing the pace of electric meters in the short story Nawabdin Electrician. Saleema, decrepit and wreck, manipulates the most trusted servant of Harouni to make her way in his household. Provide, provide is about Jaglani, Harouni's associate, and the blizzard when he falls for a married woman. In the story About a burning girl, Mueenuddin underlines the fatal family politics, prevalent in the country. A desperate for job Husna consents on becoming the keep of the dying landlord to make some money. We also meet two desperate lovers, Sohail and Helen, rushing through the streets of the ever romantic Paris in the story entitled Our lady of Paris. Lily is the journey of a couple, from a passionate affair to a failing marriage. The last story is about the servant Rezak, A spoiled man, as the title reads, his make-shift home, loyalty and the retarded, deserting wife.

Kick starting with the famous Punjabi proverb, "Three things for which we kill – Land, women and gold" the story is actually about these assets. It's nothing but the colossal riches of the old Harouni that make him the hub of the novel. Saleema, Husna, Zainab and Leila are the different women, appearing at different junctures in the novel, only to leave deep impacts. Mueenuddin doesn't endorse the stereotypical Pakistan. Though his vision is far beyond the clichés, he exposes further realities that are disturbing nonetheless. However, one feels that all the stories, in one way or the other, meet the same culmination: illicit relationships, parched marriages or abandonment. Daniyal could've imparted all these stories entirely different colours, but the writer couldn't fully exploit the parallel-running benefit of these stories.            

Saying, as many have been, that this book reaches to the core of Pakistan is the shell of the truth. Here, too, the characters belong either to the lowest or the highest class, ignoring the intermediates. Much is left desired when it comes to painting the real portrait of Pakistan. There's no paperback edition of the book available, so to decide whether or not you should spend on this book, read some of the short stories available online on its official website: www.inotherrooms.com. However, the characters in this book are all human. You might not side with them, but you won't question their authenticity either. As a writer, Daniyal sure is a talent to watch. He might bring laurels to the nation through his explicit story-telling in the future, but for the time being, Pakistan sure has seen better fiction.