This Is Where the Serpent Lives - by Daniyal Mueenuddin Hardcover

About the Book

"Moving from Pakistan's sophisticated cities to its most rural farmlands, This is Where the Serpent Lives captures the extraordinary proximity of extreme wealth to extreme poverty in a land where fate is determined by class and social station. Daniyal Mueenuddin's This is Where the Serpent Lives paints a powerful portrait of contemporary feudal Pakistan, and a farm on which the destinies of a dozen unforgettable characters are linked through violence and love, resilience, and tragedy. From Afra, who rose from abject poverty to the role of trusted servant to an affluent gangster, to Saqib, an errand boy who is eventually trusted to lead his boss's new farming venture, where he becomes determined to rise above his rank by any means necessary. Saqib's boss, the wealthy landowner Hisham, reminisces about meeting his wife while she was dating his brother, while Gazala, a young teacher, falls for Saqib and his bold promises for their future before learning about his plans to skim money from the farm's profits. In matters of both business and the heart, Mueenuddin's characters struggle to choose between the paths that are moral and the paths that will allow them to survive the systems of caste, capital, and social power that so tightly grip their country. Intimate and epic, elegiac and profoundly moving, Mueenuddin's This is Where the Serpent Lives is a tour de force destined to become a classic of contemporary literature"--

Book Synopsis

A 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.

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026: Town & Country, Bustle, AARP, Kirkus

Moving from Pakistan's dazzling chaotic cities to its lawless feudal countryside, This Is Where the Serpent Lives powerfully 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.

In 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, This Is Where the Serpent Lives is a tour de force destined to become a classic of contemporary literature.

Review Quotes

"The magic in This Is Where the Serpent Lives is 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." --The New York Times

"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." --The Wall Street Journal

"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?" --Los Angeles Times

"Brutal, funny and brilliantly told. . . . This Is Where the Serpent Lives is set to be a standout novel of 2026." --The Guardian

"This is Where the Serpent Lives is 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." --The Times (London)

"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." --Daily Mail

"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." --Kirkus (starred review)

"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." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Mueenuddin brilliantly exploits the narrative possibilities inherent in the tension between lower and upper classes throughout This Is Where the Serpent Lives. 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." --BookPage (starred review)

"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." --Booklist

"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." --Shelf Awareness

About the Author

DANIYAL MUEENUDDIN was brought up in Lahore, Pakistan, and Elroy, Wisconsin. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Law School, his stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, Zoetrope, and The Best American Short Stories 2008, selected by Salman Rushdie. His collection In Other Rooms, Other Wonders 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.