Leave the World Behind
By Rumaan Alam
- Release Date: 2020-10-06
- Genre: Family Fiction & Literature
Description
Now a Netflix film starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans and Kevin Bacon. Written for the Screen and Directed by Sam Esmail. Executive Producers Barack and Michelle Obama, Tonia Davis, Daniel M. Stillman, Nick Krishnamurthy, Rumaan Alam
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
Finalist for the 2020 National Book Award in Fiction
One of Barack Obama's Summer Reads
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
Good read but no ending
2By Mncm27It was a good read with a lot of what I would argue are true human thoughts and actions during some emergency which is never defined. Enough is said to allow you to assume what is happening and the book takes on an air of what would likely happen in a true emergency. However, it’s a book and a story so the expectation is for the story to come to a point and have a defined end and it doesn’t. It’s almost as if the author gave up or ran against a hard deadline to complete the book. Had it not been in the soon to be on Netflix section and on sale I’d be more mad about it but I fell for the hype. 1 star or 2 is fair but mostly disappointed I read it.Ponderous
2By HoyadermWho cares about who named girl liberty……I bored me from first page……ughGood read, okay ending
3By cleaning 4 funThe book kept me enticed the whole way though, finished it in 3 sittings! Wish there was more closure at the end, kinda a let down to end where it did.Slightly Underwhelming but Entertaining
3By Couch Pot8oThe novel moves a little slowly and at times the detail was tedious. Still, I found myself wanting to keep turning the proverbial page. It’s fairly short and the ending caught be by surprise. Not surprise of the exciting type but surprise in that the end came in a sudden and unsettled way. It’s like the storyline was finally set and the book ended.Quick Read
4By sunaugsGood for a flight or a trip.Not sure I get it
3By Apryle&AvaThe writing was engaging but never really went anywhere. I kept waiting for more and was disappointed when it never came. I finished the book feeling confused and a bit let down.Unsatisfying
2By NickCabral6781That’s it, just unsatisfying.????
2By FhfhjgcHated it at the beginning, started to like it, then hated it again. Ending made me look for the other book (which does not exist). So many unsolved plot lines?? I just don’t understand. Also I hate the way gross smells are so heavily elaborated upon within the first 50 pages.Couldn’t put this down!
5By jenny 1222What a thriller!Expected more
2By carocrossHeard review on NPR that this book was good one written during COVID. Wish I’d read reviews here before purchasing. It wasn’t dreadful. But it wasn’t satisfying either.