A highly thought-provoking novel about a white couple who go vacationing with their teenage kids at an Airbnb when they find a late night knock at the door. It's the owners of the home, a black couple, with news that the there is something terribly wrong, an unknown event has taken out all the power along the east coast.
Told in 3rd person, allowing the reader to delve into the minds of the characters we begin to see hidden biases and and only slight glimpses into what's going on in the world outside their safe haven. It may be an apocalyptic situation.
As the days go by, tensions are high between the two families revealing issues of race and class. This is a character driven novel with a lot of big words- bring your dictionary to the reading nook when you tackle this excellent book. This would make a great book club novel to have discussions go on and on. It was freaky, it was smart, it was a pandemic (we know about those!). 5 brilliant stars for this novel- also a BOTM book and Jenna's book club pick!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this nightmarish ride!

I had no idea what to expect going into this and woah, I don't even know what to say. This was eerie, creepy, bizarre, and something I could not stop reading. I felt tension the entire time. This is unlike anything else I've ever read.

There has been a lot of buzz about this book, especially since it is being made into a motion picture. Although it is not typical of the genre I enjoy, I thought I would try it. Understand that this is not a light, beach read. I think you will either love it or hate it. No meh about it.

I surprised myself in that I really liked it. You know the premise…I won’t go into it here. Be advised, though, that you never really do find out what is going on in the world.

What did I like about it? The author’s use of language. The descriptions…the almost stream of consciousness descriptions and astute observations of life. This is a book that you want to take your time with, savor and reflect on those observations. And, let the book be a warning…….

Leave the World Behind tells the story of Clay and Amanda, who while vacationing on Long Island with their children, receive a late night knock on the door of their rental home, only to find the owners, a well-off Manhatten Black couple, asking for entry as they escape a mysterious black-out in the city. Each of the adults are scraping to come to terms with their current circumstances and what, I anything, they can or should do to survive when they have no idea what actually happened.

Alam uses perfect pacing and direct, sometimes even aggressive prose to propel the reader through the story, all the while deftly providing commentary on everything from race and class to our overwhelming need to be connected via our cell phones to the world at large. The narrative sweeps back and forth from scenes resembling normal life to scenes straight out of a horror novel, reminding the reader of how normalcy can still creep in despite the very surreal events reminding the characters that something has gone wrong.

I also enjoyed the omniscient narrator for this novel; it allows the reader to know just a little more than the characters, though not much. I actually wouldn't recommend this novel for anyone who needs things explained to enjoy a book.

For everyone else, though, I definitely do think this is a great example of a literary thriller that really draws the reader in and wholly recommend it.

This book is the weirdest, strangest, most suspenseful read for me this year for SURE. I went into Alam's Leave the World Behind without any clue what was happening and I ended the book without a clear understand of what happened but not really caring because the story was so suspenseful.

It's best to go into this book without any context - just know that a white family (Clay, Amanda, Archie and Rose) travel out to the depths of remote Long Island for a vacation, staying in a rental. When the owners of the rental show up, a Black older couple named G.H. and Ruth, telling the family that there was a blackout and something bad is happening in NYC, the two families must work through this crisis together.

Alam really does a great job of building tension. Are G.H. and Ruth telling the truth or are they up to something more sinister? Will Clay and Amanda accept the other Black couple or will their "nice white people" liberal racism come out? It's interesting (and super frightening) reading this book while living in a pandemic. It made me think about how prepared my family is for a disaster, and where I would go to feel safety and comfort.

Overall, many people won't like this. It is just vague enough for folx to not understand, feel bored, or disappointed with the ending. But I fell into this story about the cross sections of race, class and status, the impacts of humans on the environment and what it means to feel safe.

This is a horror story. I did not know that before I read it and I was very surprised. Its not the kind you read before Halloween to get you into the spirit, it is an end of the world, what will happen to me and where will I be kind of horror story. It’s not my usual genre, therefore I am not comfortable rating it high or low. It’s very readable, though very slow at times, but I kept going not knowing what was going to happen and it kept me hanging. Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the e ARC!

Leave the World Behind is a story that thrums with tension, which begins to bubble up from underneath as the story goes on. As the characters become more freaked out, you are sure to follow suit, making for a very anxiety-inducing reading experience.

This story is a deft thought experiment of all the 'what-if's you've briefly contemplated—what if you were in a vacation home and someone knocked on your door at night, what if there was a blackout across the entire country, what if we went to war, what if there was a nuclear disaster, what if we were stranded, what if, what if, what if. The list could go on and on. While the story revolves around the collision of two families at a vacation home outside of New York City, Alam includes moments that touch on racism, parenthood, power, gender norms, and more. The level of anxiety and tension in the story makes these ideas jump from the page even more—nothing remains under-the-surface in this story.

This is a solid, engrossing, and quick read that will wrap you up in what slowly turns into a nightmare. I'm not sure this was my favorite reading experience, since I was super stressed the entire time, but it is a really interesting and clearly powerful novel.

This book was disappointing to me. I feel like the author did not even know where he was going with the story. It jumped around so much it was hard to follow. While I like the idea of an open-ended ending for readers to come to their own conclusion, I feel like the whole story was just for me to figure out. The author did not provide anything at all for the reader except a bunch of jumbled descriptions that contradicted themselves.

All you really need to know about Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind is that it is a finalist for the National Book Award.

But, if you want a little more info, also know that this is a slow build suspense novel that makes observations about race and class that are subtle on the surface, but carry a deep punch.

Between the short cliff hanger chapters and play between creating questions and giving answers to mysterious moments, I couldn’t put this one down. Be warned though, although there are both spooky and gory moments, it is somehow neither a thriller nor horror, but rather it’s own genre of excellently paced literary fiction.

"They were equipped to handle certain fears. This was something else."

This book had me at the edge of my seat the entire time! I don't want to give too much away but the plot revolves around a Brooklyn family who rent a house on Long Island where they can "leave the world behind," only to be surprised by visitors with news of a happening no one quite understands.

I've seen reviews that say the book is overwritten, but I found Alam's writing colorful and vivid. The scenario the characters find themselves in makes you question how you would act in a similar situation and I found myself relating to their behavior and concerns, especially when we're still in the middle of this global pandemic. Who do you trust in moments of crisis? What will you risk for your family's safety? And can you find a way to go on when life as you know it may no longer exist?

I can't say I enjoyed this book but I couldn't put it down either. It made me think and freaked me out. It was dark and unsettling. It's not a book for everyone but it's one I won't soon forget.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and the author for an advanced copy to review.

A middle-aged white couple and their two teenage children have rented a luxurious home in the Hamptons for summer vacation. They have planned a quiet 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. The home is in the middle of nowhere and cell service is practically non-existent. However, their quiet vacation is abruptly interrupted by a late night knock at the door. The black owners of the home are at the door with a story of a major unknown event that knocked out the power along the east coast.  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? 

This book is smart. Rumaan Alam writes in a style that I absolutely loved: beautiful prose and vocabulary while also being accessible and not bogged down. The story is a fantastic commentary on race, class, and family. The book seeks to combat stereotypes as well as highlight the role of unconscious bias. The author gives the reader a look into the thought processes of all involved, which reveals hidden biases. The underlying themes of age, class, race, and the blindness of modern life bubbles beneath the surface. I give credit to the author for respecting the intelligence of his readers by handling them all with a light touch, which makes more of an impact. The beginning chapters meanders along and what looks at first glance to be mundane filler, such as the vacationer’s grocery list, is very revealing, as is later made clear. Atmospheric, character-driven, and anxiety-inducing, this is a literary mix of genres that totally worked. It definitely gave me a creepy, supernatural vibe and each chapter was full of suspense. This book was a page turner for me that was difficult to put down. I felt like with each chapter, I was racing toward the end of the book, desperate to find out what mysterious and possibly supernatural force was at work. Unfortunately, I found the end of the book to be incredibly disappointing. As a lover of thrillers, I spent the entire book waiting for the plot twist or shocking reveal, neither of which ever came. The book never provided an explanation for the odd and abnormal forces at work throughout the book. Instead, it just left me with more questions than answers. I'm sure that was purposeful as Rumaan Alam is clearly a smart author; however, it left me, as a reader, with something more to be desired. 

[#gifted] Thank you Netgalley, Rumaan Alam, Ecco, and HarperCollins for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leave the World Behind is an eerie novel with an apocalyptic feel that explores issues of truth, trust, and uncertainty heightened by a remote location and lack of basic services. Two families--from different ethnicities, generations, and social strata--are left to grapple with the unease of being in each other's company as they are forced together because of a major power outage and lack of information from the outside world. These relative strangers must find a way to overcome their individual and shared fears amid signs from nature of intense foreboding and ominous change.

As they make overtures to establish mutual trust, one thing is certain: life as they know it is no longer a given, and the world will be forever changed. These six strangers must unite in a singular mission of survival as they come to terms with what the future may hold.

This haunting, addictive read is spellbinding in its own right--and also conjures feelings about our current uncertain times and the unknown collective future we face in the midst of a global pandemic.

The tone, structure and pace of this book is surprisingly compelling. From the very beginning when the simple vacation of a middle class family runs into the reality of an approaching apocalypse, all the details build upon each other. The wealthy owners of the vacation house arrive, there is a total blackout and we have only the crumbs of the future sprinkled expertly in the narrative to know , this will not end well. This book is also supposed to be about race and class. I saw it more as families being families and worrying and doing the best they can. The writing style is unassuming but very refreshing even as we anticipate the coming doom..

From reading the synopsis alone, Leave the World Behind had me thinking it would be a thriller with some social commentary, but the story is more than that (in a good way). After I finished this one, I read one review that described this book as genre-bending, which is spot-on. Yes, there is suspense and social commentary about race and class, but there are also sci-fi elements and themes of coming-of-age, parenthood, and marriage. I found this multifaceted approach to telling the story intriguing.
This is the first novel I’ve read by Alam, so I don’t know if the writing style is consistent with his other work, but I struggled with it early on and had difficulty engaging with the story as a result. I was fortunate to receive the advanced audiobook version as well, and found myself more receptive to the writing via that medium. However, the story still fell flat for me. While I appreciate how the narrative was constructed and that it was ultimately something more than a thriller, the tone was dry and I could not be brought to care about the fates of these characters - even the children. I’m not saying every story has to have entirely likeable characters, but because I was already struggling with the writing, having no character I cared about made it difficult to appreciate the larger themes of the book.
I think this book became a victim of its own hype for me. It’s been selected for celebrity book clubs, long-listed for the National Book Award, and named to multiple most anticipated books lists...and I just don’t get it. Yes, the story is provocative and relevant, but the execution is just not there. 2.5 stars

Different than any thrillers I’ve read. Thought it was going to be a different type of story but it was satisfying all the same. A family on vacation. When the owners show up with news of a blackout. Then alarming noises, animals acting strange and a weird sickness come into the story. A missing child. A parents nightmare. Page turning and compulsively readable but the ending left me unsatisfied. This is a new to me author I will try his other books

4.5, rounded up

Not a plain old thriller!

This book tricked me! Here I was reading a book about an apocalypse! This is NOT my genre! I went into it blind, like I love to do, and I thought I was getting a plain old thriller. But I don’t want to scare off people—this is more like apocalypse light. There’s no gore, no dead bodies, no zombies. And there is distance (covering my mouth so I don’t say more). I think of it as a family drama with weird things happening.

First, a quick and vague plot synopsis: A rich, white family rents a ritzy, remote house for a summer vacation. It’s mom and dad and their two teens. In the middle of the night, the elderly black owners of the house show up.

The idea of a thriller was stuck in my head, so I thought sinister people, not sinister outside forces, were the players here. Being genre-dumb has its perks, though—from the second there was a knock on the door, I saw endless possibilities of disaster.

Joy Jar

--That knock-knock was no joke. The scene became one of the tensest I’ve read this year, because I absolutely had NO idea what was going on. Fantastic suspense, fantastic writing! I was right there inside the family’s heads and skins, total immersion. The writer is a smart cookie and knows how to spin it so that the family’s fear becomes our fear.

-The language and style are sophisticated; always a giant plus! Every sentence is carefully placed and is perfect and wise. The book is philosophical without being pedantic or dense. Great new vocab words for those of us who like to learn them (which I then promptly forget, lol—but it’s fun at the time).

-There are juicy little hints that something is wrong outside paradise. I was right there next to the characters, trying to figure out what was happening.

-Loved how the writer portrays fear and desperation. Hope, shock, worry, all mixed in the stew. Very realistic. Characters are committed to the hope that everything will be fine. They downplay, rationalize, insist. Here are these six people, all scared, all in their own personal hell, and yet forced to interact. You really get a sense of what it feels like to be disconnected and isolated yet have people around. The couples are strangers, so motivations and preferences are unknown. No one knows what to expect from the others. And since the situation is scary, they can’t just relax and socialize. The way all this is done is very clever and eerie.

-The apocalypse doings are creative.

Complaint Board

-Do I really need to hear about every single thing in a grocery cart? The list of foods is hugundous! Major yawn! The food shop is at the beginning, and I feared I’d be exposed to some serious detail-itis throughout the book. (Didn’t happen, phew!) Later, as I realized I was loving the book, I decided to spin it differently (we always make excuses when love comes into the picture!). I decided the list was okay because we got to know something about the family by seeing what they were eating. We saw their snobbery, their secret delights, their junk food—revealing their complicated tastes, giving us hints about their personalities. Sort of “you are what you eat”?

-Greta the Grammarian says a verb tense drove her nuts. (Always beware when I start talking in second person; I’m trying to escape the embarrassment of this gripe!) It happened a couple of times. Here’s one of the culprits: “Our phones reminded us precisely how bad things had got.” I know it’s just me, but I hate that “got” is used instead of “gotten.” I want, no, I NEED, the “ten” at the end. Gotten, gotten, gotten! My linguistically-bent, teacher daughter told me it’s acceptable now to use the “got” structure. (Another one that drives me nuts: He got “bit” by a dog instead of he got “bitten” by a dog.) Argh!! Yes, I know, this is ridiculously minor so why did I even go there? Blame Greta.

-I will tease you with this one word: Teeth. I was a dental assistant when I was 14 (!). I think it messed me up when it comes to teeth because it made me question the parents’ reaction. I will close my mouth now. Read it and find out what the hell I’m talking about.

-I didn’t hate the ending but I didn’t love it either. I wanted more closure. The only big complaint, I’d say.

Even though one couple is white and one is black, I don’t think race came into play very much. It’s definitely not the main gist of the story. Other reviewers felt differently; I might be missing something.

This is a book that will stay with me. Lots of drama. It’s unique, sharp and dark, uncomfortable and scary. If you have fantasies of worse-case scenarios, this might not be the book for you. But if you like a very well-written family drama with fascinating dynamics and world-weird thrills mixed in, grab this one because it is wicked good! I could not put it down. It’s not very long, so fast readers will zoom through it in no time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

DNF @40%

Ugh. I'm so disappointed. I really tried but the writing was so wooden and awful. What was with all fragment sentences??? Very bizarre. I had to read the same paragraph over and over again because I couldn't understand what I just read and I don't have a learning disability so yeah, I blame the writing style for my mind wandering. The plot sounded so intriguing. Such a shame because I think this novel could've been something dark and brooding but I can't forgive lazy writing. Next!

Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Collins for the digital ARC.

What a fascinating and incredibly unnerving novel. What begins as a novel discussing race and privilege slowly transforms into a rumination on living in ~Pandemic Times TM~ and the ending of ways of life as we know it, which is particularly intriguing given that, from what I understand, Alam began this novel before the reality of COVID-19 had settled.

If you are interested in the nitty-gritty of disasters in your fiction, however, I would steer clear of this one: part of what Alam does so brilliantly is to capture the fear of not knowing what is going on, and what impact it may have (for you, for your loved ones, and for the world) as our characters enter into a state of total isolation, without access to anything but one another (and even that reassurance begins to dissipate). If you're willing to get on that thought train (or, more accurately let that all-too-real thought train into your fiction reading) I would highly recommend giving this a go.

Thank you to Ecco (Harper Collins) for providing me a free early e-copy of this work through Netgalley. Leave the World Behind is out now.

Clay and Amanda take their family on vacation in the Hampton's, it is important to note that they are white. One night they get a knock on the door.. who could be there? The owners show up, an older black couple who arrive frazzled stating there has been a blackout. This book is a great example of race, class, and family dynamic. How will we behave when we believe the world is ending?

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and author Rumaan Alam for this copy of Leave The World Behind!

(3.5 rounded up)
Seinfeld Meets Twilight Zone
Amanda, Clay, and their teenagers Archie and Rose are vacationing in an Airbnb home in a remote area in the Hampton, when late at night there is a knock on the door from the owners. They are older and in a panic as there is a blackout in Manhattan and they decided to leave and drive to their vacation rental home for shelter. At first Amanda and Clay are fearful that they were going to be kicked out. G. H. and Ruth assured them they weren’t going ask them to leave but would stay in the “in-law” suite in the basement ~ and, of course, will refund part of their payment.

As the two families live together, tension, fears and strange things happen and they don’t know if they are happening everywhere or just in their a remote area ~ no close neighbors, no TV nor cell reception..

Story had me curious as to what was going on? I love a good thriller/suspense novel but ½ way in I had serious doubts this was going to work for me.

Some parts the writing was great others over- written ~ such as Amanda’s grocery shopping ~ item by item, then the details on smells and body parts especially private body parts and then the description of vomit all were a bit much!

Hmmm BUT I DID finally “GET IT” I questioned if it was a futuristic thriller, a satire or just
a mind game.
I believe Book Clubs everywhere are going to go nutty over discussing this novel!
Did I like it? Hmmmmm

A Netflix movie is in the works with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.
https://www.slashfilm.com/leave-the-world-behind-cast/

Want to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Publishing Release Date October 6, 2020