Leave the World Behind
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-18 03:17:48
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Rumaan Alam
- ISBN：B08FJ75WSS
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A magnetic novel about two families， strangers to each other， who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong
Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City， quality time with their teenage son and daughter， and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week。 But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell。 Ruth and G。 H。 are an older black couple—it’s their house， and they’ve arrived in a panic。 They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city。 But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down， and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe。
Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa？ What happened back in New York？ Is the vacation home， isolated from civilization， a truly safe place for their families？ And are they safe from one another？
Suspenseful and provocative， Rumaan Alam’s third novel is keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood， race， and class。 Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped—and unexpected new ones are forged—in moments of crisis。
Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City， quality time with their teenage son and daughter， and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week。 But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell。 Ruth and G。 H。 are an older black couple—it’s their house， and they’ve arrived in a panic。 They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city。 But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down， and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe。
Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa？ What happened back in New York？ Is the vacation home， isolated from civilization， a truly safe place for their families？ And are they safe from one another？
Suspenseful and provocative， Rumaan Alam’s third novel is keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood， race， and class。 Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped—and unexpected new ones are forged—in moments of crisis。
Reviews
Lisa
，
This is a 2-3 star book for me。 It was quite compelling to read， in spite of/because （？） I had had it spoiled for me。 I'd assumed from the description that it would be too scary for me， but knowing what happens completely removed that aspect for me， so that even the tooth part was not too bad！I found the writing style pretty off-putting， not because it was bad， but because it was effortful。 No darlings were killed in the writing of this novel。 Also， there were so many statements that rang false This is a 2-3 star book for me。 It was quite compelling to read， in spite of/because （？） I had had it spoiled for me。 I'd assumed from the description that it would be too scary for me， but knowing what happens completely removed that aspect for me， so that even the tooth part was not too bad！I found the writing style pretty off-putting， not because it was bad， but because it was effortful。 No darlings were killed in the writing of this novel。 Also， there were so many statements that rang false to me: this is what being a parent is， this is how all younger siblings feel， this is what being on vacation is like。 （"Rose had woken with conviction。 That's what it was to be a kid。。。"） Not really？！ Not always？ The characters were a strange mix of specific and general; they all had various backstories and characteristics， but they also stayed vague， maybe so the reader could imagine themself in these positions more easily。 But who is Archie？ What is up with Amanda？ Clay has all these labels put on himself that seem plastered over his cluelessness， but that's about it。 And I didn't understand Rose's motivation for her exploration at the end。 GH and Ruth were much more interesting， and the glimpses into their backstories provided more detail to me。 Maybe the invisible conflict of not being with their children was more compelling， too。The Danny plotline， however， tenuous， was both silly and refreshing to me - it was nice to see an outsider's perspective。 I'm not sure what I made of the book's discussion of race， but the paragraph starting with "George did not trust the place" was outstanding。 。。。more
Terry Gozdur
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I did not care for the writing style of this book， the unnecessary and senseless details， and the ending。 I thought at first I would not finish it but I kept on reading and was disappointed。
Sarah
，
3。5
Sue Ridgeway
，
I didn’t get it。 I feel like he just stopped writing because he was late for something。 It just stopped。 I feel like there should have been at least one more chapter！ I gave it 2 stars because I thought it was the start of something that could have been really good。 But his writing style kind of annoyed me - I felt like he was trying too hard to write a certain way。 Using “SAT words” when less obscure ones would have worked better。
Jenn Hammel
，
This book is unapologetically vulgar， filled with a brutally honest take on the inner thoughts of humans。 It’s an interesting character study kind of book， with a vague worldwide emergency going on in the background。 I think the author accomplished exactly what was intended， but it wasn’t necessarily for me。
Morgan
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The plot was interesting but it took me forever to get through because of the writing。 It was as if the author hit "right-click， synonym" so many times the word choices didn't exactly fit。 It actually began to frustrate me。 This is my fist of his novels， but I'm not sure I will pursue another。 The plot was interesting but it took me forever to get through because of the writing。 It was as if the author hit "right-click， synonym" so many times the word choices didn't exactly fit。 It actually began to frustrate me。 This is my fist of his novels， but I'm not sure I will pursue another。 。。。more
Harmony
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 In my hands: a beautiful hardback， with a bold red cover and black sprayed edges， white deer and red splatters along the length of the pages。 Easily one of the most stunning books I own。 The novel， however， was easily one of the worst I have ever read。 I knew from ten pages in that Leave the World Behind was going to be bad。 Honestly， that is quite an impressive feat; getting me to despise the novel after only ten pages。 So at least it achieved that， I guess。For starters， the writing is a mess。 In my hands: a beautiful hardback， with a bold red cover and black sprayed edges， white deer and red splatters along the length of the pages。 Easily one of the most stunning books I own。 The novel， however， was easily one of the worst I have ever read。 I knew from ten pages in that Leave the World Behind was going to be bad。 Honestly， that is quite an impressive feat; getting me to despise the novel after only ten pages。 So at least it achieved that， I guess。For starters， the writing is a mess。 It is told in third person and reads almost like a stream of consciousness; full of completely irrelevant observations and an unnecessary amount of words。 It jumps in and out of people’s heads， often with no indication of who’s thoughts we are hearing or who is speaking。 There were points where the perspective would change multiple times in one paragraph。 This made it extremely difficult to follow。 The characters were immensely dislikable from the start。 Although there are circumstances where I appreciate a dislikable character， or at least a morally questionable character， in a disaster novel， this is critical to my enjoyment of the story。 If I dislike the character enough to no longer care about whether they live or die， then what is the point in reading about their survival in an apocalypse？ There isn’t one， really。 I forced this novel down purely so I could write a review about all the things I found problematic about it。 The dust jacket claims that Leave the World Behind is ‘attuned to the complexities of parenthood， race and class’。 However， I found the way it examined these topics incredibly uncomfortable。 The main characters are a middle aged white couple， with two teenage children。 They holiday in the home belonging to a slightly older black couple。 Some of the observations about the assumptions about race and class made here were important。 But there were often subtle， and almost snide， racist comments scattered throughout the novel， that perhaps someone less socially aware than I am wouldn’t pick up on。 Other reviews have claimed that this is satire， but I feel that it was neither loud nor exaggerated enough to immediately be read as satire。 Misogyny and sexism filled almost every page of this book。 The worst part was， it seemed to be attempting to not be misogynistic， then accidentally became so when the author was distracted。 There were a lot of grand， sweeping statements from the perspective of Clay （I think） about what it is to ‘be a man’ and the lengths men go to in order to be able to prove that they are ‘the man in control’。 At first， these read as funny and satirical， but there are only so many times you can read about the ‘man to man understanding’ before it starts to feel genuine。 Reading the comments made about women， I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry。 I have to include quotes for this part; I was so shocked by what I was reading I feel like others will have to see it in order to believe it。 ‘She flipped onto her stomach， the sheets warm against her body， so the transitive warmth against her vulva was that of her own body， and flopping around in the bed was an act of masturbation。 She felt clean， ready to feel dirty…’ Very rarely does a book make me laugh out loud， but this paragraph did。 And I was not laughing with the book， but laughing at it。 This was one of those paragraphs that made me think， “should men write books from the perspectives of women？”。 Because， seriously， what did I just read。 It doesn’t even make sense。 ‘She died of cancer—liver， stomach， pancreas—probably from handling the chemicals women like her used to make their hair respectable。’ This had me flipping to the front of the book to double check the book was published in the 21st century。 ‘“I’ve always thought that women need to stick together in the workforce。 Or maybe everywhere。 I’d be nowhere without my mentors。” This was not entirely true。 Amanda had worked for women， but secretly preferred working with men。 Their motivations were so simple。’ What a gross， generalising thing to say， especially because it feels like the author truly meant it。 Just because it is something Amanda ‘secretly’ thinks， it doesn’t make it any more acceptable。 These were only a handful of the quotes that had me balking at the book。 Alongside these horrendous， pretentious and ignorant statements， we had the classic trope of anything likened to masculinity being positive and impressive， and anything likened to femininity being negative and pathetic。 It made me uneasy。Even though the POV changes so frequently throughout the novel， a majority does appear to be from Amanda， especially in the first third of the novel。 This contained some of the most disgusting and ugly descriptions of other human beings that I have ever read in my life， and they were coming from a mother about her own children。 At one point， I put the book down， and spent a while hoping and praying that my own parents have never thought of me in such a way。 The language used was abhorrent and downright hateful， and bordered on vulgarity。 Throughout the whole thing， Amanda and Clay were constantly reminding us that their kids smelt really bad。 Again， I feel like this is a place where quotes are necessary for belief。 ‘Rose paid better attention。 The shadow of a young girl in flower; a bloodhound might find the metal beneath the whiff of entry-level cosmetics， the pubescent predilection for fake apples and cherries。’ ‘Archie， long limbs and acute angles， barely convex chest sprouting brown twists at the pink nipples; Rose， curvy and jiggling， downy with baby hair， her polka-dot one-piece straining just so at the legs， pudendum in relief。’ The sexual metaphors would be weird to describe anyone， let alone children。 And the disrespect of describing her daughter’s use of cosmetics as ‘entry-level’; surely no mother has said that about their own daughter？ It was like they hated their own children。 I’m convinced that the author has never met a thirteen year old or a fifteen/sixteen year old （Archie’s age changes halfway through the novel）。 Going back to the constant reminders from Clay and Amanda that they stunk， I refuse to believe that they would。 At one point， ‘Clay opened all of the windows， banishing the stink of his farting children’。 There is no way children of that age would sit there in the back of the car farting。 Perhaps if they were seven or eight？ But not self-aware teenagers？This is not the only time where the author seemed to age them down by about ten years。 The narrative goes on a two-page-long graphic rant about how the mysterious， unrevealed event had killed thousands。 With barely a break in paragraphs， it describes multiple deaths in great detail， then finished it off by bringing the POV back to Archie and Rose， claiming that ‘nothing matters to children but themselves’。 Once again， I refuse to believe that this would be the case。 They are old enough to recognise that other people dying tragically is greatly upsetting。 I feel it is ignorant for the author to assume otherwise。 This incentive was repeated on the fifth-to-last page， rounding the hatred for the children up with a misogynistic finishing touch: ‘The leader of the free world was sequestered beneath the White House， but no one cared about him， certainly not a little girl tripping through the woods thinking about Harry Styles。’ Look at the silly little girl， tripping as she walked， ignorant to all the important goings-on in the world as she thinks about nothing but Harry Styles！ Yet another major issue involving children is the constant mentioning of Archie’s genitalia。 In no circumstances do I want to read about a fifteen/sixteen year old masturbating， but in here， we had pages and pages of it。 So much so， that it was essential for the plot: the fact that he wasn’t enjoying it like he usually was， was supposed to be a huge indicator that he had developed an underlying and undiagnosed illness。 I promise you， there were so many other ways it could have hinted that the kid was unwell。 It was entirely unnecessary。However， the book is no stranger to saying really weird things about kids。 Amanda goes shopping and starts fantasising about having sex about the man who ‘was maybe in high school but maybe not’。 She even described herself as a ‘mother temptress’。 I nearly gagged。 It was justified and dismissed， because ‘vacations did that， didn’t they， made you horny’。 Ha ha！ Guess that makes a bit of light pedophilia alright， then！ I don’t know why this was shocking， though。 The book was vulgar to a point of being revolting。 Absolutely everything was likened to sex， masturbation， nipples and genitalia。 Even the sturdiness of the walls was described as seductive at one point。 BONUS: fun drinking game！Take a shot every time a character says they ‘don’t know anything about anything’。 。。。more
Michelle
，
this book was boring and had no plot。 It actually touched on being political near the end。 I would definitely not recommend this book。
Emily
，
So glad I waited until after January 2021 to read this。
Brooke Pisarsky
，
I really liked the dark tone to this book， and surprisingly I didn't mind the constant jumping from one POV to another。 That being said， I felt like the author spent so much time carefully finessing the ominous plot， that we never actually reach a denouement。 Kind of like terrific foreplay that results in no climax。 But I do like the writer's style & would be interested in reading him in the future。 I really liked the dark tone to this book， and surprisingly I didn't mind the constant jumping from one POV to another。 That being said， I felt like the author spent so much time carefully finessing the ominous plot， that we never actually reach a denouement。 Kind of like terrific foreplay that results in no climax。 But I do like the writer's style & would be interested in reading him in the future。 。。。more
Samantha “Sam” A
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This book reeled me in with the normal family banter， the normal family activities while on vacation and their thoughts。 I couldn’t stop reading。It was very well written and the story was a slow burn but， the ending left me wanting more。 Maybe that was the point though， maybe the author wanted us to use our imaginations and conjure up our own endings to the families stories。It begins as a normal family vacation to the beach， a town not highly populated。 They eat， swim and just enjoy their selves This book reeled me in with the normal family banter， the normal family activities while on vacation and their thoughts。 I couldn’t stop reading。It was very well written and the story was a slow burn but， the ending left me wanting more。 Maybe that was the point though， maybe the author wanted us to use our imaginations and conjure up our own endings to the families stories。It begins as a normal family vacation to the beach， a town not highly populated。 They eat， swim and just enjoy their selves until， the owners of the house they’re renting， arrive on their doorstep。 That’s when the uncertainty begins and chaos begins。 The days seem to stretch and the fear just intensifies。I really enjoyed this book and in spite of the ending， I think it’s a definite must read。⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 。。。more
Annie
，
Really。 I have no idea what to do with my life， now that this book is over。 What。 In the actual world did I read。 I loved it。
Sami
，
Just finished the audio this morning。 The ONLY good thing I have to say about it is that I liked the narrator。 This book had WAY too many words。 It seemed like the author was trying to get poetic with the writing and make it beautiful and really it was just annoying af。 We found out every single thing in a shopping cart， I heard way more about nipples and penis than I wanted to and I hated Amanda， the mom。 The "thriller"aspect could've been pretty good but the rest of the book ruined it。 Just finished the audio this morning。 The ONLY good thing I have to say about it is that I liked the narrator。 This book had WAY too many words。 It seemed like the author was trying to get poetic with the writing and make it beautiful and really it was just annoying af。 We found out every single thing in a shopping cart， I heard way more about nipples and penis than I wanted to and I hated Amanda， the mom。 The "thriller"aspect could've been pretty good but the rest of the book ruined it。 。。。more
David Eisler
，
Thrilling， suspenseful， insightful， and original take on the disaster genre。 Alam definitely plays with your expectations to make the story even more intense。 Overall it's pretty bleak， but that doesn't mean he's wrong。 Thrilling， suspenseful， insightful， and original take on the disaster genre。 Alam definitely plays with your expectations to make the story even more intense。 Overall it's pretty bleak， but that doesn't mean he's wrong。 。。。more
Jessica Smith
，
This book make me feel uneasy and I'm still processing if that was in a good way or not。 It was a slow-moving pace but I welcomed it。 Would probably make for a good film。 This book make me feel uneasy and I'm still processing if that was in a good way or not。 It was a slow-moving pace but I welcomed it。 Would probably make for a good film。 。。。more
Jaclyn Hillis
，
This book kept my interest throughout， and the ending was very ominous。
Nicole
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really disliked this book。 Book club book。 Started strong and then fizzled out。 It had the potential to be really good。 A lot of the book was very vague and left to reader to interpret？ Was it a nuclear war？ Alien invasion？ Idk and not invested enough to care。 Did remind me a little of The Walking Dead plot。
Lilith Black Bee
，
I guess I am rating it 5⭐ because I couldn't stop reading it？！ Even though it felt raw and ugly and breath taking and so much more all in the same time？！ And usually I don't enjoy this kind of book or writing， don't like when I don't have all the answers and an open ending is what I get， but somehow this book felt like nothing more would need to be added to it。 It's not the kind of book that lets you smiling and happy at the end of it， it's quite the opposite。 It's making you question your own p I guess I am rating it 5⭐ because I couldn't stop reading it？！ Even though it felt raw and ugly and breath taking and so much more all in the same time？！ And usually I don't enjoy this kind of book or writing， don't like when I don't have all the answers and an open ending is what I get， but somehow this book felt like nothing more would need to be added to it。 It's not the kind of book that lets you smiling and happy at the end of it， it's quite the opposite。 It's making you question your own person， your own humanity and what would you do in their places， if you would be a survivor or just lose the fight。 It's giving you an honest look at the human nature， at the raw and unsettling kind of thoughts that we all have sometimes， even we are not ready to face them。 。。。more
Angela
，
An unusual read， with overly-complex prose that is sometimes poetic but more often a bit annoying。 Sometimes， one word is enough， no need for twenty！ I was waiting for the scary bit to kick in but was left disappointed。 I get that the author was going for more of a feeling of unease and dread but this left it a bit flat for me。
Amy
，
A biting commentary on social constructs and the fragility of life set in an apocalyptic thriller。 Brilliant。
Arielle Ali
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The narrator of this novel uses awkward and annoying phrasing that made it difficult for me to keep reading。 I was grossed out by the strange body descriptions （more mentions of balls and bag areas than most erotica） and offended by the pedantic explanations of all the ways humans ruin the world， create constant trash， etc。 I kept going because I wanted to find out how the families would combust or fight （they don't really） and what was causing the blackouts （we never find out）。 I finished this The narrator of this novel uses awkward and annoying phrasing that made it difficult for me to keep reading。 I was grossed out by the strange body descriptions （more mentions of balls and bag areas than most erotica） and offended by the pedantic explanations of all the ways humans ruin the world， create constant trash， etc。 I kept going because I wanted to find out how the families would combust or fight （they don't really） and what was causing the blackouts （we never find out）。 I finished this novel with a feeling of disgust with myself。 I should have stopped reading after the first paragraph which struck me as annoyingly arrogant and repetitive。 。。。more
Alicia Zook
，
I’m。。。confused。
Marnie
，
This was a little stressful to read in the middle of a pandemic， but I couldn’t put it down。 I would have liked a bit more resolution at the end。
Isobel Andrews
，
4。5/5。 I looooved this and now I can't stop thinking about everyone dying 4。5/5。 I looooved this and now I can't stop thinking about everyone dying 。。。more
Nakeli Hendrix
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I don’t even know what this was。 The synopsis was more exciting than the actual book。 I can’t even say what actually happened， I was so confused。 I kept waiting for something interesting to be revealed but it never happened。
Laura Geraci
，
3。5
Catherine
，
3。5
Claire Brasser
，
Blech。 So much promise， completely underdelivered
Smpcheng
，
Quite disliked the style of writing - I feel like if I wrote this way， my English teacher would have retuned my manuscript full of red ink。
Chris
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Loved this novel。 I won't say too much but I'm even more excited it's being made into a move with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington （pitch perfect casting）。 And I know it's only March， but an excellent beach read。。。 Loved this novel。 I won't say too much but I'm even more excited it's being made into a move with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington （pitch perfect casting）。 And I know it's only March， but an excellent beach read。。。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Leave the World Behind
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Leave the World Behind&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft