{"product_id":"this-is-where-the-serpent-lives-isbn-9780525655152","title":"This Is Where the Serpent Lives","description":"\u003cb\u003eA stunning new work from universally acclaimed Daniyal Mueenuddin, whose debut short story collection won the Story Prize and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize, the National Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE NEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE. NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026: \u003ci\u003eTown \u0026amp; Country\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBustle\u003c\/i\u003e, AARP\u003ci\u003e, Kirkus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMoving from Pakistan’s dazzling chaotic cities to its lawless feudal countryside, \u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives \u003c\/i\u003epowerfully evokes contemporary feudal Pakistan, following the destinies of a dozen unforgettable characters whose lives are linked through violence and tragedy, triumph, and love. Orphaned as a little boy and fending for himself in the city streets, Yazid rises to a place of responsibility and respect in the Lahore household of Colonel Atar, a powerful industrialist and politician, only to find that position threatened by conflicting loyalties and misplaced trust. Born on Colonel Atar’s country estate to a poor gardener, Saqib is entrusted with the management of a pioneering business, but he overreaches and finds himself an outlaw, confronting the violence of the corrupt Punjab Police. The colonel’s son competes with his cherished brother for the love of a woman and discovers that her choice colors his life with unexpected darkness as well as light.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn matters of power and money and the heart, Mueenuddin’s characters struggle to choose between paths that are moral and just and more worldly choices that allow them to survive in the systems of caste, capital, and social power that so tightly grip their culture. Intimate and epic, elegiac and profoundly moving, \u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives \u003c\/i\u003eis a tour de force destined to become a classic of contemporary literature.“The magic in \u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives \u003c\/i\u003eis the up-close work. Mueenuddin makes the reader care about the romantic relationships, and the pages turn themselves. . . . It’s a serious book that you’ll be hearing about again when the shortlists for the big literary prizes are announced.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Mr. Mueenuddin’s characters are vividly drawn, and though his prose is spare, it also offers phrases of great beauty. In these strengths, Mr. Mueenuddin recalls Anton Chekhov.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives \u003c\/i\u003emaps an entire society in flux over six decades while presenting half a dozen portraits of contradictory, sympathetic, flawed, and utterly believable individuals. This subtle, wide-ranging, and enthralling novel makes some demands of its readers, but repays them in full.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives \u003c\/i\u003ewas worth the wait. . . . A many-splendored portrait of one of the most interesting and complex countries in the world, and a shining example of the very best in literature.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Daniyal Mueenuddin returned with \u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives\u003c\/i\u003e, a masterful debut novel set in Pakistan. It begins in 1955 with an orphaned tea seller in the Rawalpindi bazaar, and expands to follow the ‘upstairs, downstairs’ lives of a wealthy family and the men and women who work for them. It is a startling and breathtaking work of fiction that will be remembered as a classic multigenerational epic.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Stunning. . . . Mueenuddin, whose gift for satire shines whether he’s describing society matrons or gangsters, never loses sight of his theme: How do any of us ever manage to justify our treatment of the underserved?” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Mueenuddin has crafted a compelling and sweeping meditation on class and corruption in Pakistan.”\u003cb\u003e –\u003ci\u003eVulture\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“The setting in Mueenuddin's debut novel—a modern Pakistan rife with corruption, feudalism and resilience—thrums with such vitality, it can feel like a character in its own right.” \u003cb\u003e—NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Spanning Pakistan’s bustling cities and feudal countryside, this sweeping novel follows three generations of unforgettable people as they grapple with tragedy and triumph, violence and love, and money and power. Absolutely gorgeous.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Following the lives of characters born with and without privilege, all attached to the estate of a wealthy colonel, and adorned with struggles of the heart, morality, and power, this promises to be one of the year’s seminal literary works.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBook Riot\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Brutal, funny and brilliantly told. . . . \u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives\u003c\/i\u003e is set to be a standout novel of 2026.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThis is Where the Serpent Lives \u003c\/i\u003eis a sweeping parable of power and fortune, set in Pakistan but with universal application. . . . Mueenuddin is a sort of literary magician. . . . Expect to see this epic novel all over prize lists in 2026.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e(London)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“There’s a poised, timeless quality to the masterful storytelling, which—travelling as it does between parched farms, opulent salons and the immensity of the Pakistani landscape—makes this feel at once like a classic.”\u003cb\u003e —\u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“As close to flawless as possible, [\u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives\u003c\/i\u003e] is one of those novels that renew your faith in the possibilities of the genre. . . . A future classic, pure and simple.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Irish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This is an exceptional novel. From the opening pages, I knew I held a masterpiece in my hands.” \u003cb\u003e—Stevie Davies, \u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A potent and nuanced novel about the abuse of an underclass in ways both subtle and overt. . . . Mueenuddin delivers all this in a graceful style that dignifies the lower-caste characters and intensifies the unjustness of their treatment.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“The story threads cohere into a profound and revelatory portrait of Pakistan’s class divisions. Propulsive and peopled with unforgettable characters, this is a masterpiece.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Mueenuddin brilliantly exploits the narrative possibilities inherent in the tension between lower and upper classes throughout \u003ci\u003eThis Is Where the Serpent Lives\u003c\/i\u003e. Like an actual serpent, this smart, satisfying novel coils and slithers along unpredictable, winding paths. Only the most prescient readers will be able to guess where it’s going and where it will end up.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBookPage \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Intricately layered. . . . Mueenuddin writes cinematically, examining and unraveling relationships with meticulous detail and stinging insights, spotlighting the grey areas between the impossible absolutes of right and wrong.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Epic. . . . Spanning six decades, this finely textured generational saga probes with rich irony the power dynamics between Western-educated Pakistani elites and the deferential but shrewd underlings who manage their agricultural estates and serve their tea. . . . Crafted with elegant prose, Mueenuddin’s conclusions are infused with thrilling tension.” \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Shelf Awareness\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eDANIYAL MUEENUDDIN was brought up in Lahore, Pakistan, and Elroy, Wisconsin. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Law School, his stories have appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eZoetrope\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Short Stories 2008\u003c\/i\u003e, selected by Salman Rushdie. His collection \u003ci\u003eIn Other Rooms, Other Wonders\u003c\/i\u003e was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. For a number of years he practiced law in New York. He now divides his time between Oslo, Norway, and his farm in Pakistan’s South Punjab.","brand":"Knopf","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233778282725,"sku":"NP9780525655152","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780525655152.jpg?v=1767742504","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/this-is-where-the-serpent-lives-isbn-9780525655152","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}