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Pakistan – Published 2026

This outstanding book explores the lives of several wonderfully described characters as they age through a post-partition Pakistan to the modern day. Stories about the class or caste system are usually told be the wealthy, who have seen the poor from their elevated position and now, enlightened, want to redress some balance. That’s one of the reasons why this book is special and different. Mueenuddin himself is from a feudal family, and though American educated, spent many years running an estate in rural Punjab.

The novel concerns itself with about ten key characters, from a range of backgrounds, but most prominent are Yazid, an orphan and a tea stall proprietor, and Saqib, a poor gardener. Each ascend the ranks in the household of Colonel Atar and then encounter significant obstacles. Fascinating are the complexities of power dynamics, corrupt authorities and class treatment across the decades. Mueenuddin invests time in his characters early in the piece so a bond is formed with the reader, by the time the obstacles in their lives occur, we know them intimately. The traits that defined them, and appear admirable when they are young, turn out to be those that betray them.

Other than a visit to through the country from China into India, the Hindu Kush to Lahore, including a Faisalabad Test Match, in the 1980s, and listening to the news, I knew very little about the history of Pakistan. But Mueenuddin pitches his novel perfectly, and we soon understand the socioeconomic conditions that the characters experience.

A contender for awards I hope.

My GoodReads score 5 / 5