and Ruth are resolute to stay in the home, and Amanda and Clay search for information about them and the blackout – is tense and uncomfortable to say the least.įinally, the novel ends as one of the most realistic portrayals of how everyday people would react to the world ending.
The eggshell walking by both couples – specifically when G.H. and Ruth, show up late at night after fleeing New York City during a mysterious blackout. Then it quickly shifts to an exploration of race and privilege once the Black owners of the home, G.H. The early sections are filled with the mundane First World problems you find in these stories – disaffected children, workaholic parents, white lies, etc.
It starts as a novel about an upper middle-class white couple and their teenage kids escaping New York City for a weeklong vacation at a secluded and luxurious AirBnb. That may sound desultory, but in reality it was a carefully calculated approach by Alam to keep the reader off balance. “World” is really a collection of several different genres mashed together.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers but it’s hard to talk about the novel without alluding to a few, so if you want to be completely surprised, I’d suggest you skip the review, stop what you’re doing and start reading the book immediately. Its slim length meant I was able to finish it over the course of a single day, and I think that’s the best way to experience “World” as the claustrophobic scenario will unfold for you much in the same way it does for the characters. It was easily one of my favorite reads of the year, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Personally, I found Rumaan Alam’s stellar novel frustrating, exhilarating and completely intoxicating. “Leave the World Behind” received so much pre-publication buzz and adulation it was bound to be divisive, and now that its Goodreads rating dropped over 30 points in a matter of days, it seems that is the case. Why I Read It: After being nominated for The National Book Award for fiction, and seeing #Bookstagram blow up with rave reviews, I put aside “A Gentleman in Moscow” to dive into this once it became available. Recommended For: Fans of thematically similar stories, like “ The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, “ The Mist” by Stephen King and even “ The Walking Dead” (there are no zombies or monsters here, however). Reality: A sure to be divisive, but incredibly enjoyable novel that doesn’t easily fit a mold. Seemingly cut-off from the rest of society, the group must navigate a sequence of stranger and stranger occurrences while questioning if they are entering the end of times.Įxpectation: A racially charged end of the world novel. 100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: Amanda, Clay and their two teenage children have barely begun to enjoy the secluded AirBnb on Long Island when the home’s owners show up late at night after fleeing New York City.
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