Book review: This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Dangerous aspirations

The focal point of the story is deceptively simple in its linked concepts: greed, overarching ambition, not knowing `one`s place` in life (Pakistani society, in this particular case), the courage required to step out of line, and the inevitable nemesis that comes to those who do step out of line. The one major takeaway, so pertinent to us who live in Epsteinish  times: that power acts as a super-shield, protecting all under its umbrella.

Daniyal Mueenuddin follows his acclaimed debut `In Other Rooms, Other Wonders` with this ticking metronome of a story: to and fro it swings inexorably, never once letting the reader`s attention drift. The arch of the metronome introduces several characters to us, and we know all their lives will be intertwined at some point or the other.

There is Bayazid, the lumbering giant big on loyalty above all else. We stay long enough with his story, meeting his mentor, his friends, the love of his life,  to start wondering if he`s the protagonist.  Eventually we see him as trusted aide and chauffeur to industrialist and landowner Hisham Atar, he of old money and power.

Then  the focus shifts smoothly to the US-educated Hisham and his elegant wife, sharp- as- a- pin Shahnaz. We meet their socialite friends, and see just how the upper crust in Pakistan lives; houses in London, only the best champagne and caviar served at their tables, game shoots, networking like mad, drugs done casually, a conveniently lax bar where morals are concerned…it could be the wealthy anywhere in the world. Hisham has a farmhouse and land at an estate called Ranmal Mohra which he visits on and off, with his wife, with his friends, driven there by Yazid. Of course, the estate manager is stashing away Hisham`s money, giving an up-and-comer ideas.

The story then moves  to Mohammed Saqib, son the gardener at Ranmal Mohra, introduced to Hisham by Zayid, working his way up slowly and steadily, first a staff member at Hisham`s Lahore house, much favoured by Shahnaz,  then becoming a farm manager at Ranmal Mohra. The story settles, tells us about Saqib`s secret ambitions, his intelligently calibrated handling of his employers, his love for Gazala whose Hindu roots cast a shadow over her family.

And it doesn’t take us long to realise that here is the main peg: Saqib whose diligence, hard work, careful planning and quick improvisation, is but a cover for his personal ambitions, his desire to snatch as much as he can from the somewhat naïve and trusting Hisham Atar.

When the tale reaches its cataclysmic conclusion, we aren’t sure whether to sympathise with Saqib or silently acknowledge that this is the way the wheel turns everywhere, that restoring the status quo is of primary importance.

Pakistan`s history from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto`s time onwards is touched upon,  but lightly. All the characters get their defining details, the author acting like an pointillist artist.

This is a story with a simple core, powerfully told. Daniyal Mueenuddin is indeed a gifted writer.

This is Where the Serpent Lives. By DDaniyal Mueenuddin. Penguin Books. 343 Pages. 

This review ran THE HINDU`s  Literary Review section on 3 May 2026.