Leave the World Behind
- Downloads：3543
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-12-31 06:52:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Rumaan Alam
- ISBN：0062667645
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick！
Finalist for the 2020 National Book Award （Fiction）
A Best Book of the Year From: The Washington Post * Time * NPR * Elle * Esquire * Kirkus * Library Journal * The Chicago Public Library * The New York Public Library * BookPage * The Globe and Mail * EW。com * The LA Times * USA Today * InStyle * The New Yorker * AARP * Publisher's Lunch * LitHub * Book Marks * Electric Literature * Brooklyn Based * The Boston Globe
A magnetic novel about two families， strangers to each other， who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong。
From the bestselling author of Rich and Pretty comes a suspenseful and provocative novel 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 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 other？
Finalist for the 2020 National Book Award （Fiction）
A Best Book of the Year From: The Washington Post * Time * NPR * Elle * Esquire * Kirkus * Library Journal * The Chicago Public Library * The New York Public Library * BookPage * The Globe and Mail * EW。com * The LA Times * USA Today * InStyle * The New Yorker * AARP * Publisher's Lunch * LitHub * Book Marks * Electric Literature * Brooklyn Based * The Boston Globe
A magnetic novel about two families， strangers to each other， who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong。
From the bestselling author of Rich and Pretty comes a suspenseful and provocative novel 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 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 other？
Reviews
Rebecca Drewry
，
I have no idea what I just read…。。
Caro
，
My last novel of 2021 is a veiled pandemic novel， with vibes of Get Out and The Vanishing Half but not as good。 The racial tension between the couples isn’t exploited enough; the author seems more focused on class。 The pace is off: starts off slow but becomes more gripping as uncanny events start to unfold， then ends quite abruptly。 The sex/nude scenes are ick （why does he use the words ‘mons’ and ‘vulva’？）。 And the narration jumps between characters， which can cause confusion。 Surprised this wa My last novel of 2021 is a veiled pandemic novel， with vibes of Get Out and The Vanishing Half but not as good。 The racial tension between the couples isn’t exploited enough; the author seems more focused on class。 The pace is off: starts off slow but becomes more gripping as uncanny events start to unfold， then ends quite abruptly。 The sex/nude scenes are ick （why does he use the words ‘mons’ and ‘vulva’？）。 And the narration jumps between characters， which can cause confusion。 Surprised this was on Obama’s best books of the year list… 。。。more
Kelsey Palchak
，
every time you think you’re getting close to an answer， you’re not。 most frustrating ending in my opinion
Yasmin
，
Deeply unsettling， which I mean as a compliment， but maybe not exactly what I needed at this moment in time。
Patricia Schjødt
，
I’m so confused about this…
Clementine
，
DNF @ 27% I have only one life， and I can't be wasting it listening to this audiobook full of racist remarks and over-the-top descriptions of body odours。 If could say one thing about this book is that the writing is so purple it has made me question all the other times I called our a book for having purple prose。 Like geez。 DNF @ 27% I have only one life， and I can't be wasting it listening to this audiobook full of racist remarks and over-the-top descriptions of body odours。 If could say one thing about this book is that the writing is so purple it has made me question all the other times I called our a book for having purple prose。 Like geez。 。。。more
Brittany
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Not completely sure how I feel about this book。 It's very bland and doesn't have much of an ending。 The book just sort of。。。 Ends with no explanation。 Not horrible， but not what I thought it would be。 Not completely sure how I feel about this book。 It's very bland and doesn't have much of an ending。 The book just sort of。。。 Ends with no explanation。 Not horrible， but not what I thought it would be。 。。。more
Asha
，
Hmm， while I enjoyed the writing and the ominous setting， I was just expecting a bit more strangeness。
Evie
，
I really don't think suspense novels are my thing。 I need to stop trying with them， tbh。 The end payoff， at least here， wasn't great。 It was a cool idea， but it's been done before。 Something is happening。 Nobody knows what。 There's speculation。 There's confusion。 And you're waiting for something to happen。 And waiting and waiting and waiting。 That's basically it。 I waited。 I got to 90% on my Oasis， and just decided to quickly click and skim through the pages， wondering， "What IS happening？" I do I really don't think suspense novels are my thing。 I need to stop trying with them， tbh。 The end payoff， at least here， wasn't great。 It was a cool idea， but it's been done before。 Something is happening。 Nobody knows what。 There's speculation。 There's confusion。 And you're waiting for something to happen。 And waiting and waiting and waiting。 That's basically it。 I waited。 I got to 90% on my Oasis， and just decided to quickly click and skim through the pages， wondering， "What IS happening？" I don't like being in the dark and then not getting anything great in return。 Again， perhaps suspense is just not my thing。 I'm the type to fast forward through recorded shows/competitions when they waste 15 minutes before announcing winners。 Let me know who won。 I got things to do。 I felt like this here。 And the writing。 The writing was so hard at the start。 Overwrought metaphors and similes。 Direct quote: "She should call out to them but didn't want to drown out their voices should they be calling to her， as convicts were said to utter upon their executions。" Lol。 Why？ Why that comparison？ Was it even necessary？ And these are all over the place。 I should have saved more quotes。 。。。more
Claire
，
Really great concept and some good writing， but needing some severe editing as it was too laboured in places。 I was a bit frustrated by the end， although I'm giving the author the benefit of the doubt and assuming that it was deliberate that （view spoiler）[ we didn't find out the details of the war or disaster， to reflect the confusion you would actually feel in that situation。 （hide spoiler）] If that is not in fact deliberate then I'm just annoyed！ Really great concept and some good writing， but needing some severe editing as it was too laboured in places。 I was a bit frustrated by the end， although I'm giving the author the benefit of the doubt and assuming that it was deliberate that （view spoiler）[ we didn't find out the details of the war or disaster， to reflect the confusion you would actually feel in that situation。 （hide spoiler）] If that is not in fact deliberate then I'm just annoyed！ 。。。more
Brittany Harper
，
DNF at 80 pages in （~20%）。 The book has a promising thriller-like premise， but it is not executed well。 The author takes up several pages to describe something that could have been said in a sentence。 Also， the author seems to jump between character's perspectives too easily （one paragraph I read had three different character perspectives in it - hard to follow）。 At the 20% point， I decided to read some reviews to see if it was worth continuing。 Based on reading many reviews that /nothing really DNF at 80 pages in （~20%）。 The book has a promising thriller-like premise， but it is not executed well。 The author takes up several pages to describe something that could have been said in a sentence。 Also， the author seems to jump between character's perspectives too easily （one paragraph I read had three different character perspectives in it - hard to follow）。 At the 20% point， I decided to read some reviews to see if it was worth continuing。 Based on reading many reviews that /nothing really happens/ in the book， I am deciding to DNF this one。 I hate doing it， but I don't want to waste my time reading a bad to mediocre book。 。。。more
Ipsita Gochhayat
，
Leave this book behind！ I picked it up after spotting it on Obama's list and Roxane Gay's review。 If this book had some higher purpose， I sure failed to grasp it。 A Caucasian family is on vacation at a house and in the middle of the night， the African American owners of the house return。 That's when the talk of impending disaster starts。 There is supposedly power outage in the nearest town， as proclaimed by the owners。 The family treats the owners with heightened skepticism and reluctantly "allo Leave this book behind！ I picked it up after spotting it on Obama's list and Roxane Gay's review。 If this book had some higher purpose， I sure failed to grasp it。 A Caucasian family is on vacation at a house and in the middle of the night， the African American owners of the house return。 That's when the talk of impending disaster starts。 There is supposedly power outage in the nearest town， as proclaimed by the owners。 The family treats the owners with heightened skepticism and reluctantly "allows" them to stay overnight。 Soon the family realises they have no network coverage and the TV is displaying a disaster alert。 By next morning， everyone in the house is filled with uncertainity， tension and fear。 For the second half there is a lot more buildup on this fear and emotion and sense of impending disaster。 The book tries so hard to create an air of mystery it is almost tedious。 The idea of this vague thriller could probably have done well with much better narration。。。 and maybe a believable disaster to end with。 。。。more
Sharon
，
Moves a little slowly， but if you slow down with the book and learn to appreciate what it is， you realize how good it is。 There is no grand reveal of what is going on， so it’s less of an apocalypse and more like a ruined vacation that the characters must learn will be their lives now。 Parents grapple with the possibility they will never see their children again， or that they can’t protect their children in a now-unpredictable world。 People used to being in control stumble around until they let g Moves a little slowly， but if you slow down with the book and learn to appreciate what it is， you realize how good it is。 There is no grand reveal of what is going on， so it’s less of an apocalypse and more like a ruined vacation that the characters must learn will be their lives now。 Parents grapple with the possibility they will never see their children again， or that they can’t protect their children in a now-unpredictable world。 People used to being in control stumble around until they let go of the desire to control。 It’s more of a psychological exploration than an actual disaster book， meant to bring characters through un-understandable events and see how those events shape the characters。 。。。more
Georgette
，
Yep， just as I feared: pretentious with unnecessary， extraneous detail and no actual point。
Julia
，
Disturbing， confronting， fiction not to take you away but to consider your own place in the world。 I did feel compelled to finish this book， but to get it over with。。。 The writing was urgent， second-by-second， and while I’ll say this was a good book， don’t recommend this book to anyone。
Olivia Swindler
，
This book was not at all what I thought it would be after reading the blurb。 The writing was beautiful at moments but I found hard to follow and the ending made the rest of the book feel a little meh。 Also way too many metaphors for me。
Emma Boyd
，
I normally like books that made me think but this was incredibly boring and literally had no resolution in the end to reward you。 Not a fan
Kit Stallings
，
Whaaaattttt did I just read？ Very confusing， was definitely entertained。。 then puzzled？
Shelly
，
This book was very strange- is the world ending or what？
Lannitra
，
This is an interesting book and worth a read。 After reading it， take some time to view things each families' and each person's perspective。 This is an interesting book and worth a read。 After reading it， take some time to view things each families' and each person's perspective。 。。。more
Frazer MacDiarmid
，
Quite intense， had me pretty shaken at points。
Verity
，
（Why）（are）（there）（so many）（brackets）（？）
Jud Gonzales
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I had to read this book in one sitting because I knew if I didn’t， I would never pick it up again。 The writing is over-extravagant with descriptions that could easily be conveyed using singular words。 It was almost like Alam was attempting to force-feed my imagination which really turned me off from enjoying the story。 The characters were beyond boring and one-dimensional。 From what I could gather Amanda only enjoyed wine and sex。 Clay = cigarettes。 The kids were expected， and the story rarely m I had to read this book in one sitting because I knew if I didn’t， I would never pick it up again。 The writing is over-extravagant with descriptions that could easily be conveyed using singular words。 It was almost like Alam was attempting to force-feed my imagination which really turned me off from enjoying the story。 The characters were beyond boring and one-dimensional。 From what I could gather Amanda only enjoyed wine and sex。 Clay = cigarettes。 The kids were expected， and the story rarely mentioned their thoughts aside from Archie’s weird ramble of porn and Rose’s want to make a friend of her age。 I found that they didn’t even seem to be a family， at least that’s what Alam’s writing conveyed。 When Archie was violently sick， Amanda and Clay decided to have sex instead of immediately looking for some after a strange sonic boom。 And then his teeth started to fall out。 And the response was - lackluster。 I felt more like I was reading a slapped together story consisting of rambling and streams of consciousness rather than a novel。 The first two-thirds of the book could have been condensed into the rising action。 I only became interested towards the last thirty or so pages and then， suddenly， the book ends on a conclusion that the world was ending。 In all honestly， it was a huge disappointment and extremely mind numbing。 There were several times I would say aloud， “why the hell should I care？”。 Especially after reading a long winded tirade about Amanda and Clay’s weird hyper fixation on sex。 I couldn’t discern any theme， character arcs， hooking plot lines。 Would not recommend。 。。。more
Wendy Rose
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Rumaan Alum - Leave the world behind - 146 - 6 12 21I kept reading thinking there would be a plot or a resolution。 And looking at other reviews I wasn't the only one disappointed。 Some suggestions that it was deliberate - you have no more idea of what's going on than the characters but I just found it irritating。 Story is that not particularly likeable - rich white NY family rent a luxury house for a holiday in Long Island。 Supposedly very rural and remote。 Then the owners turn up and ask to sta Rumaan Alum - Leave the world behind - 146 - 6 12 21I kept reading thinking there would be a plot or a resolution。 And looking at other reviews I wasn't the only one disappointed。 Some suggestions that it was deliberate - you have no more idea of what's going on than the characters but I just found it irritating。 Story is that not particularly likeable - rich white NY family rent a luxury house for a holiday in Long Island。 Supposedly very rural and remote。 Then the owners turn up and ask to stay because there's a complete blackout in NY which has become widespread societal dislocation。 Details a bit thin there。 And it limps on from that。 It never quite became believable。 。。。more
Rekha
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Happened to watch Don’t Look Up while reading this book and that’s all I could picture。 Not sure if that’s good or bad， but an interesting coincidence given I had no idea about the premise of either the film or the book。
Sharonjc55
，
Dnf
Laurel
，
This was a page turner， which I liked。 I also enjoyed the way the author subtly critiqued modern culture and technology through the lens of the molasses-like unrolling of a disaster。 The ending could have been a lot better。 It was like he just got tired and quit。 （spoiler alert） In some ways that added to the book， though， as I could relate with where the characters were （spent！）， knowing that things were about to get a lot worse。 I also like the way the way the daughter was empowered in the end This was a page turner， which I liked。 I also enjoyed the way the author subtly critiqued modern culture and technology through the lens of the molasses-like unrolling of a disaster。 The ending could have been a lot better。 It was like he just got tired and quit。 （spoiler alert） In some ways that added to the book， though， as I could relate with where the characters were （spent！）， knowing that things were about to get a lot worse。 I also like the way the way the daughter was empowered in the ending， as I was frustrated with how she seem stifled by her parents through the book。 。。。more
Kate
，
This book was wild。 Can't stop thinking about it。 This book was wild。 Can't stop thinking about it。 。。。more
Luke Gorham
，
Read this is a poetry collection the other day: Never ask a story for answers， or it will / swallow you alive in punishment。 Apt。 Love how much this book pisses off lazy readers。
Carrie Reed
，
I has trouble putting it down。 A very timely read in the midst of the pandemic。 Eerie and intriguing all wrapped up in world where it felt at times I was binge-watching a series on tv and had to see what happens next episode。
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