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This is a used former library media item. The item contains all former library stamps, markings, stickers, and sleeves. The discs have not been tested for functionality and may have minor scratches. Media cases may contain limited marks or bends from normal wear and tear. The media cover art may not be original. Booklets, inserts, and other bundled materials may not be present with the media item. This is a used former library media item. The item contains all former library stamps, markings, stickers, and sleeves. The discs have not been tested for functionality and may have minor scratches. Media cases may contain limited marks or bends from normal wear and tear. The media cover art may not be original. Booklets, inserts, and other bundled materials may not be present with the media item. See less

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Leave the World Behind: A Novel Audio CD – Unabridged, October 6, 2020

by Rumaan Alam (Author)

19,884 ratings

Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction

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A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong

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?

Suspenseful and provocative, Rumaan Alam’s third novel is 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A suspenseful tale that examines the complexities of race and class."

-- "USA Today"

"Cuttingly prescient about the current emotional atmosphere...This is a thrilling book--one that will speak to readers who have felt the terror of isolation in these recent, torturous months and one that will simultaneously, as great books do, lift them out of it."

-- "Vogue"

"Riveting and claustrophobic...delivering a dazzling and dark examination of family, race, class, and what matters most when the impossible becomes possible."

-- "Esquiure"

About the Author

Rumaan Alams writing has been published in New York Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books, the Wall Street Journal, the Rumpus, Washington Square Review, Gettysburg Review, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere. He started his career in fashion publishing at Lucky magazine, has written extensively on interior design for Domino, Lonny, Elle Decor, ArchitecturalDigest.com, and elsewhere. He has worked in advertising as a copywriter and creative director. He studied at Oberlin College and lives in Brooklyn.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins B and Blackstone Publishing
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2020
Edition ‏ : ‎ Unabridged
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 1 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1799942783
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1799942788
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.7 x 0.6 x 5.6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,312,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #695 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- #711 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #1,057 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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19,884 ratings

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Rumaan Alam

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Rumaan Alam is the author of the novels Rich and Pretty, That Kind of Mother, and Leave the World Behind. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Bookforum, and the New Republic, where he is a contributing editor. He studied writing at Oberlin College and lives in New York with his family.

Customer reviews

19,885 global ratings

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Customers find the book has a great suspenseful plot but an abrupt ending. The writing quality receives mixed reactions, with some praising the prose while others find the descriptive language too much. Moreover, customers disagree on the readability, with some finding it riveting while others say it's boring. Additionally, the character development and pacing receive mixed reviews, with some appreciating the finely drawn characters while others say they don't connect with them, and some find it fast-paced while others describe it as very slow. The book's thought-provoking nature and time value also draw mixed reactions, with some finding it provides lots to think about while others find it nonsensical and a waste of time.

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Suspenseful story Readability Writing quality Thought provoking Character development Pacing Time value Closure

503 customers mention "Suspenseful story"200 positive303 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's suspenseful plot, with some finding it amazing while others note that the ending is abrupt.

"...It’s murky, it’s dark, and requires that you ponder the characters’ flaws in manners, customs of class, and the fractures of their racial insight...." Read more

"Sometimes, a book captures the spirit of the times, perfectly reflecting the emotions and experiences of humanity at that moment...." Read more

"...No thrills, no tension. Lots of uncomfortable sexualization of everyone (but mostly the teens)...." Read more

"...And I felt right there, next to them. The story keeps getting interesting, you start wondering what's going on and if Ruth and George are truly the..." Read more

381 customers mention "Readability"194 positive187 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some finding it amazing and riveting, while others describe it as boring.

"Was a different kind of book for me, part of book club pick. I think everyone thinks of these kinds for things but not openly...." Read more

"...gets weird and they enter this weird numbness... But it feels repetitive to me, even boring at moments......" Read more

"I enjoyed this book, but not nearly as much as other books. I was so disappointed to get to the end of the book when I realized it just....stopped...." Read more

"...can say is that I felt sometimes scared, sometimes lost, sometimes overwhelmed, depressed, invisible, anxious, while reading this story, and its..." Read more

316 customers mention "Writing quality"132 positive184 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book, with some praising its masterful prose and noting it's an easy read, while others find the descriptive language too much.

"...that make you really sense the setting are good, but Alam takes it far beyond descriptive and into distractive...." Read more

"...Yes, there are great phrases all around, reflections about relationships, parenthood, even a bit of racism... The topics and the situation are all..." Read more

"...The ashamed, (sometimes literally) masturbatory writing for the men in the story, the only characters with any kind of agency, is further example of..." Read more

"...The merry go round is no longer relevant. The prose is lovely. The plot is both sinister and very mundane...." Read more

133 customers mention "Thought provoking"75 positive58 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the book's thought-provoking nature, with some finding it engaging and having potential, while others find it indulges in unnecessary details.

"...The second group will see how meticulously the author leads us along, through a detached omniscient speaker, who points out widespread destruction..." Read more

"...And the plot thickens. The author throws in some strange and even cataclysmic events, though the actual events are not very clear...." Read more

"...While looking for some clear answers and a reassuring conclusion, I do not believe that was the author's goal...." Read more

"...of avarice (that creepy vibe shining through yet again) and reptilian ignorance, like a T. Rex wandered up to the author's laptop and decided to..." Read more

121 customers mention "Character development"51 positive70 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some praising the finely drawn and dimensional characters, while others find them poorly developed and difficult to connect with.

"...It’s murky, it’s dark, and requires that you ponder the characters’ flaws in manners, customs of class, and the fractures of their racial insight...." Read more

"...She absolutely nails all the inflections for every character, the dramatic charge of the dialogues, their doubt, fears and anguish... She was..." Read more

"...Oh...one more thing...the character development was none existant...." Read more

"...I liked the characters, for the most part they behaved the way any one of us might in the circumstances...." Read more

48 customers mention "Pacing"24 positive24 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some finding it fast-paced while others describe it as very slow and taking a long time to get going.

"...Short quick moving chapters. What bothered me was input of too much detail at times. Did I need to know the pasta was Barilla?..." Read more

"...It's pretty clear that they all feel like time is going slower, like everything gets weird and they enter this weird numbness... But it feels..." Read more

"...to preorder - it is the first book in years that I have read cover to cover without pause!..." Read more

"...As events unfold very slowly ( most of the book takes place within a 48-hour time span), I could not help but wonder how I would behave in such a..." Read more

187 customers mention "Time value"45 positive142 negative

Customers find the book to be a waste of time, describing it as unenjoyable, nonsensical, boring, and obnoxious.

"...When it turned grim and uncomfortable, I felt comforted by trying to guess the narrative’s classification...." Read more

"...setting are good, but Alam takes it far beyond descriptive and into distractive...." Read more

"...Rather depressing really. Doesn’t make me want to buy anything else he writes." Read more

"...The reader is gifted with bursts of cold, clinical clairvoyance. Yet these glimpses are completely incomplete...." Read more

28 customers mention "Closure"0 positive28 negative

Customers express dissatisfaction with how the book ends, noting that it abruptly stops, fizzles out, and leaves survival questionable.

"...But this book just stops, as if Alam suddenly decided, "Alright, that's enough to fill up a book. I think it’s time for a vacation."..." Read more

"It’s slow to get started. Then when you think it’s going to pick up, it just ends. Characters are not very deep...." Read more

"...disappointed to get to the end of the book when I realized it just....stopped...." Read more

"...I didn't like any of the characters - all weak. and basically stupid. I couldn't stand spending one hour with that useless group of people...." Read more

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switterbug/Betsey Van Horn
21st century spasm
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2021
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

21st century fears are spotlighted in Alam’s new novel. Telling you the genre would be providing a spoiler, because the genre remains evasive and equivocating until close to the end. There are clues, winks, and a MacGuffin or three along the way. When it turned grim and uncomfortable, I felt comforted by trying to guess the narrative’s classification. It’s murky, it’s dark, and requires that you ponder the characters’ flaws in manners, customs of class, and the fractures of their racial insight. The author also offers glimpses of the future (not available to the characters), not to kill reader discovery, but rather to pique our curiosity and add that low level buzz of paranoia. That is what keeps us anxious and disturbed throughout—what happens in the near future?

As far as the theme, I would ask: what defines safety? Is it home, family, neither? Is it a fluid concept with no landing place? Are we more trusting of our family, our familiars, or do we depend on the resolve of strangers that share none of our enmity? Behind each question is another, even more cryptic question. The narrative takes you into hard corners and tough spaces, each chapter installing your further into the balance of crisis and normalcy.

Amanda and Clay, successful NYC parents, decide on a vacation with their teenage kids to an Airbnb in upstate New York, rural and far away from the closest neighbor. Each of them has an agenda that comes closer to clashing as conflict comes calling at night. At the moon hovers, sights and sounds have an almost hallucinatory effect on the reader and characters. A herd of thousands of deer; strange birds; alarming noises; a Black couple at the door claiming to own this Airbnb and needing to escape an incipient catastrophe in the city. Is this true? What to believe? Is this crisis or guile? Fact or fabrication?

Trust the author by following him into the guarded, vacillating decisions of the family, collectively and individually. They seek the typical stability of home--drinking, cooking, sleeping, and tidying. Clay seeks short bursts of escape—to smoke, to think. Amanda worries about their teen children, and keeping bellies full. There are intervals that separate reader from characters—we know what Alam has revealed in his circumspect style, and periodically my mind pinged or ponged over what was happening, and why was this happening. “It was like some tacit agreement; everyone had ceded to things just falling apart.”

Literature lovers will appreciate how interior exertions often outweigh exterior commotion.

Addendum: This is a book I read in 2020 that I'm finally reviewing.

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24 people found this helpful

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Ethan
A Chilling Reflection of Uncertainty
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Sometimes, a book captures the spirit of the times, perfectly reflecting the emotions and experiences of humanity at that moment. In the fall of 2020, as the world grappled with the uncertainty and fear brought on by the pandemic, the threat of COVID-19 was overwhelming. We watched helplessly as this invisible virus upended our lives, changing them forever. The worst part was that we could not do anything but hope to stay safe. Tragically, many lost their lives before a vaccine was developed, and we slowly began to adjust to our new normal.

Rumaan Alam's novel Leave the World Behind was released that October and quickly captivated readers around the globe. The story of two families forced to coexist under one roof as the world around them spiraled into chaos mirrored our new reality and resonated deeply with readers. As is often the case, I avoided reading the novel during its initial hype, only recently rediscovering it on my shelf. I started it eager to see if the story still had the same impact as during that unprecedented year.

Amanda and Clay are eager for a getaway. They’ve rented a luxurious Airbnb in a secluded part of Long Island, far from the stress of the city. Along with their teenage son and daughter, the couple plans to spend the next few days relaxing and unwinding, free from the burdens of their everyday lives. But little do they know that everything they’re trying to escape is about to intrude on their vacation, starting with a knock on the door on their very first night.

When Amanda and Clay open the door, they find an older couple, Ruth and G.H., who claim to be the owners of the house. Why are they here? The couple is clearly distressed, explaining that a massive power outage has hit the city. They've arrived at their country house in search of their own safe haven. But can Amanda and Clay trust them? With no way to verify their story—since phone and internet services have gone out, and the power is soon to follow—they have little choice but to let Ruth and G.H. in, becoming reluctant housemates in an increasingly uncertain situation.

A growing sense of uneasiness permeates each page of Leave the World Behind. Rumaan Alam crafts a narrative where characters are thrust together by sheer circumstance, generating interpersonal drama that echoes the outside world's chaos. As I read, I couldn't help but recall the days of quarantine, confined within the walls of my home with little certainty about what the future held. Even years later, that lingering anxiety haunts me. Alam captures this feeling brilliantly, weaving it into the plot and the characters themselves.

Tensions simmer between the two couples, divided by age and race, adding an extra layer of mistrust that fuels the mystery of what’s happening in the world. Why has the power gone out? Why are flamingos flying in the sky? And what was that deafening noise that shattered the windows? Answers are elusive, but that’s not the novel's purpose. Alam invites us to question everything, knowing full well that drawing conclusions may lead us astray. While this approach may yield mixed reactions from readers, I can see why this story has resonated so deeply with many. We lived through a unique moment in time that left us with more questions than answers. Leave the World Behind offers a chance to reflect on that experience through the lens of fiction, providing a sense of catharsis that only a well-crafted story can deliver.

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5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

UH
Did not fulfill the expectations
Reviewed in Sweden on October 15, 2024
Verified Purchase

Lame story.

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Paul@Aude_France
Scary
Reviewed in France on February 10, 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
A very intense novel that should be read within as short a time as possible to keep the tension going. Throughout the book, the author builds a feeling of menace which at first the reader might believe is just in the characters' imaginations but which gradually becomes real.

This is also a book about being a parent, especially a father as the fathers in the story struggle with helplessness and despair. Not to mention their own fear.

Very much recommended.

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zania
awful book
Reviewed in the Netherlands on October 19, 2023
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
not interesting. pointless. waste of time. you can tell the author thinks that detailed descriptions and metaphors means good storytelling. gross. the book starts and ends nowhere.

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Joe Granacki
Great book for these Covid times.
Reviewed in Canada on December 16, 2021
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Donˋt read if you have high anxiety. Show us how fragile we are. Chapter 3 I found to be a gem.

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Ovidio Perera Moser
As expected no end
Reviewed in Spain on October 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very well written, with incredible descriptions, but you never get to learn what happened. You read on waiting to find out, but you reach the end and nothing. So typical of many writers.

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Leave the World Behind: A Novel Audio CD – Unabridged, October 6, 2020

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars 21st century spasm

4.0 out of 5 stars A Chilling Reflection of Uncertainty

Top reviews from other countries

1.0 out of 5 stars Did not fulfill the expectations

5.0 out of 5 stars Scary

1.0 out of 5 stars awful book

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for these Covid times.

3.0 out of 5 stars As expected no end

21st century spasm

A Chilling Reflection of Uncertainty

Did not fulfill the expectations

Scary

awful book

Great book for these Covid times.

As expected no end