Thursday, September 02, 2010

In other rooms, other wonders


Daniyal Moinudeen's In other rooms, Other wonders does not tell the story of one or two individuals, it tells the story of an entire class of people, destined to serve and to be forgotten. They are the people that run elaborate kitchens in the mansions of rich folks, the drivers who drive rich men's wives around in glitzy cars, the watchmen, gardeners and plethora of people whose only job is to keep the apparatus of the rich working. For some it is lifetime of service, for others, it is a stepping stone toward getting something better.

His narratives require improvement, his stories at times lose the structural fundamentals of stories, such as in one story, the focus shifts from one character to another, laboriously. His climax, at times, leaves you with more questions than answers, yet, at other times, his narratives resemble the great story tellers of Russian literature, Chekhov and Pushkin. Yet another problem is the limited domain he deals with, which he may overcome in his future works, but all in all, this book is enjoyable. I would certainly check out his next book.