Leave the World Behind: A Read with Jenna Pick

by Rumaan Alam

Amanda and Clay head to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a holiday: 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 with a late-night knock on the door, the spell is broken. Ruth and G. H., an older couple who claim to own the home, have arrived there in a panic. These strangers say that a sudden power outage has swept the city, and - with nowhere else to turn - they have come to the country in search of shelter.

But with the TV and internet down, and no phone service, the facts are unknowable. Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple - and vice versa? What has happened back in New York? Is the holiday home, isolated from civilisation, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one another?

An impossibly compelling literary thriller about the world we live in now, Rumaan Alam's novel is keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood, race and class. Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped in moments of crisis - and how the most terrifying situations are never far from reality.

• ISBN10: 0063029227
• ISBN13: 9780063029224
• Publish Date: 6 October 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Marissa Lupe Author]

"Leave the World Behind" by @rumaanalam
What in the what did I just read!? That was my initial reaction.. Let me be clear, it's excellent work, sophistication in the writing, skillfully crafted.
The more I think of how to explain this book, the more I confuse myself.. so I'll try my best.
Alam definitely took me out of my comfort zone, knocking me on my ass more like it when he would throw my worst most immature thoughts back in my face.
I guess that's how he composed the fear aspect, the atmosphere, by removing any and all niceties that society dictates.
He only showed the darkest most naked aspects of fleeting human thought, actually not human thought, privileged American human thought.
When I say "dark" thoughts, I'm meaning the natural thoughts many people have, yet would never actually admit out loud, not desires to be axe murderers, but more simple and everyday unpleasantness.

To summarize, it's a story about the end of the world as we know it. But in the most realistic and basic way, which can be the most frightening.
The writing style is completely different than what I normally read, jumpy but straight forward at the same time.
If you're expecting a lot of action, or zombies, or drama, you'll be disappointed.
But if you can appreciate the bare nakedness of simplicity, truth, than you'll enjoy this book.
I'm left feeling uncomfortable, unsettled, which I suppose is the mark of this novel.