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This is Where the Serpent Lives

‘Set to be a standout novel of 2026’ (Guardian) from a prizewinning ‘literary magician’ (The Times)

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This is Where the Serpent Lives

By: Daniyal Mueenuddin
Narrated by: Daniyal Mueenuddin
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Bloomsbury presents This is Where the Serpent Lives written and read by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Intimate and epic, elegiac and profoundly moving: a tour de force destined to become a classic of contemporary literature

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. Yazid rises from abject poverty to the role of trusted servant to an affluent gangster; Saqib, an errand boy, 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.©2026 Daniyal Mueenuddin (P)2026 Penguin Random House LLC Destiny Genre Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Heartfelt Tear-jerking
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Critic reviews

Set to be a standout novel of 2026 ... Brutal, funny and brilliantly told ... Mueenuddin’s writing is always fluent and often very funny. He brings the smells and tastes of Pakistan to vibrant life; the birds and trees feel as present as the weight of history and the impossible tangles within tangles of corruption and responsibility ... The portrayals are immediate, the storytelling instantly involving (PATRICK GALE)
Mueenuddin’s powerfully absorbing novel charts the intricate interplay between landowners and their servants in a feudal Pakistan
Mueenuddin offers a profound meditation on identity, class and privilege in a deeply conservative and patriarchal society ... A masterful storyteller, bringing together beautifully realised characters and a compelling plot
Expect to see this epic novel all over prize lists in 2026 ... Mueenuddin is a sort of literary magician ... It’s a rich stew of kindness betrayed and moral ambiguity that makes the reader angry and helpless; lots to think about, lots to feel
These are absorbing studies of class, caste and character; of mores and manners; with greed, corruption and entitlement pulsing throughout. 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
An extraordinary book that had me on the edge of my seat (TOBY JONES)
This is brilliant: a beautifully written, original, modern, vivid, beautiful, heartbreaking yet brutal novel of power & feudalism in Pakistan ... An instant classic ... the best modern novel I've read for a while (SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE)
All the makings of a classic (VOGUE, All The Best Books To Look Out For In 2026)
A very classic, elegant, immersive novel that is already getting comparisons to the Russian greats … This Is Where the Serpent Lives is funny. It has that fun upstairs-downstairs feeling to it… There are questions of class and even caste and religious division, but it’s so much more than that, because these are characters that are intimately entwined in each other’s lives, and I found it incredibly moving. And the way that Mueenuddin has this very detailed and intricate and understandable universe of characters – I loved it… Your favourite’s favourite book
This is an exceptional novel. From the opening pages, I knew I held a masterpiece in my hands
A future classic, pure and simple ... One of those novels that renews your faith in the possibilities of novels, generally ... Mueenuddin moves effortlessly through the intricate worlds of Pakistan’s castes and classes, from cocaine-soaked parties and American educations to cucumber farming, arranged marriages and feudal law ... Immaculately and intimately Chekhovian. Simply put, the novel is a triumph
It is a political novel in the deepest sense; it will win awards, and it will deserve them ... Mueenuddin has written a remarkable book
All stars
Most relevant
Use of language was excellent making the story truly vivid. The story was beautifully read

Book review

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This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin is set in Pakistan and moves fluidly between the glittering cities and the rural, feudal farmlands that still shape so much of the country’s social fabric. At its heart are two intertwined lives: Yazid and Saquib, whose stories reveal the complex layers of power, capital and class that govern opportunity and ambition.

We first meet Yazid as a young boy, separated from his parents and left to survive on the streets. He is taken in by a kindly stall owner who feeds him, shelters him and insists he earns his keep. From there, we follow Yazid as he grows, finding his way in the world until he becomes a chauffeur and trusted servant to wealthy landowners. Now positioned within the inner workings of privilege, Yazid takes a young servant boy, Saquib, under his wing. He teaches him how to conduct himself properly within the household, and Saquib proves himself an able and perceptive student.

As Saquib gains the trust of his employers, he is entrusted with overseeing a new farming enterprise they wish to establish. This is where the novel truly opens out. Mueenuddin gives a vivid and unsettling insight into how influence is exercised and maintained, and we are left wondering whether Saquib’s ambitions can be achieved honestly — or whether the structures around him make that impossible. The writing is richly descriptive and revealing, and each new character feels fully realised as they enter the story.

Though it isn’t a long listen, it felt epic in scale — immersive, layered and emotionally resonant. I tend to judge audiobooks by how I feel when they end, and this one left me breathless, entranced and thoroughly bereft.

I’m giving it five stars. It’s a brilliant listen — a book that’s hard to put down, even in audio form.

A Quietly Powerful and Deeply Absorbing Novel

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What a brilliant piece of work - a must-read. Great characterisation, beautifully written. A very moving experience.

Stunning storytelling

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Highly engaging and educating. Taught me a lot about life in Pakistan, poverty/wealth and life really isn’t fair!!!

Outstanding -must read

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