Reviews tagging 'War'

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

36 reviews

andrews_bookshelf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I'm actually in awe right now. This was an absolutely haunting, traumatizing, powerful, frightening, relevant, ominous, and stunning read. 📚 
Rumaan Alam captured me in the modern-day world he carefully crafted, complete with thrilling events that psychologically affected me as the reader.

This was a VERY different kind of thriller. Themes of war, terrorism, fear, and so much more were tackled in the narrative. Instead of clear and concrete events/answers, Alam wrote of various ominous events that slowly began to affect the same few characters. I found it quite powerful that the setting itself never once changed -
only the perspectives, mental states, and physicsl states of the characters themselves.
 

The character development in this novel was subtle, but was indeed present.
Amanda, as pessimistic and stubborn as she was, learned that Ruth and G.H. were the only other allies that they had. If she would have any chance of making it out of the tragic events that were occuring - they would have to stick together.
Amanda's pessimistic attitude was forced to change throughout the novel simply due to the fact that she had to learn to trust her only other allies.

WHY 4.5? 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨️
Ok so this was absolutely incredible! 😲 😮 😯 🫢 For the most part, I lovedddd how this was written. That ending??? OMG it was so twisted yet relevant yet disturbing all at once. I was shocked to my cote for sure. Still, some parts of the novel were a bit too wordy for me and felt a bit dry or unnecessary.

This was a great book club pick. The discussion will be one to remember, and I definitely recommend this one!
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thatsssorachael's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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mel_bee_421's review against another edition

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tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

The plot drives the book. Unfortunately, the plot is unrealized. There is random sexual imagery that is out of place. By the end I wasn't rooting for any of them. 
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irinalast's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Dislike what is likely how most people would think, feel, and act when the worst happens. No one is a hero, not much hope in the end. 
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ariparip's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I think it would've been better if it had an ending!
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ddclarke's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A literary novel written to sound like a literary novel. Really love the concept and it was pulled off, but without anything that really stood out to me.

Likely hurt by having watched the movie first, which was very faithful and left me little to discover in the pages.
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jessikalange's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I struggled to finish this book and the end is so.... I get what it was trying to do but... 😒
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lauracollins096's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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maggiemcfly's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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hail_archangel's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The best part of this book is the gorgeous cover art. 
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