Daniyal Mueenuddin - This Is Where the Serpent Lives | Contemporary Fiction | Hardcover

SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE SUMMER BY THE GUARDIAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, DAILY MAIL, NEW STATESMAN AND THE WEEK

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. Hailed as a standout novel of 2026, this brutal, funny, and brilliantly told story is set to captivate readers.

Moving from Pakistan's sophisticated cities to its most rural farmlands, the novel captures the extraordinary proximity of extreme wealth to extreme poverty in a land where fate is determined by class and social station. Daniyal Mueenuddin paints a powerful portrait of contemporary feudal Pakistan and a farm where the destinies of a dozen unforgettable characters are linked through violence, love, resilience, and tragedy.

Follow the journeys of characters like Yazid, who rises from abject poverty to become a trusted servant to an affluent gangster, and Saqib, an errand boy entrusted with leading his boss's new farming venture, determined to rise above his rank by any means necessary. Witness the complexities of relationships as wealthy landowner Hisham reminisces about his past, and young teacher Gazala falls for Saqib's bold promises, only to uncover his plans to skim profits from the farm.

In matters of both business and the heart, Mueenuddin's characters grapple with choosing between moral paths and those that ensure survival within the tight grip of caste, capital, and social power.

Specifications:

• Author: Daniyal Mueenuddin
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Page Count: 368 pages
• Dimensions: 14.6 x 3.4 x 23.6 cm
• Item Weight: 570 g
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Publication Date: January 13, 2026
• ISBN-10: 1037200055
• ISBN-13: 978-1037200052

This masterful storytelling is a triumph, offering an excoriating epic of class and power that is sure to be heard about again and again.