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A review by whatellisreadnext
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ง๐ฆ๐ต๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ. ๐๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ดโ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.
Amanda and Clay leave New York City, and head to a remote house for a vacation in Long Island. They're both enjoying spending time with their kids and letting life slow down for a while, but the spell is quickly broken by a late night knock at the door. It's the owners of the property. They are frantic, saying a sudden power outage has swept across the city. Can these people be trusted?
This book is ๐ฅ.
I have never been so stressed by a book, but so unable to put it down. Leave The World Behind is the epitome of watching a car crash happen. It's claustrophobic and aggravating, you feel as in the dark and stuck as all of the characters.
The writing can be quite jarring at first, for the first 30 pages I struggled. I was wondering what the hell I'd let myself in for, but I stuck with it, and soon got into the swing of things. I've never read anything like it before, Rumaan Alam writes in a way that gives the reader a chance to hear everyone's thoughts. It adds a whole other layer to the narrative. The author effortlessly uses this technique to create such an accurate examination of race and class, amidst all of the other chaos going on.
Technology dependence is a big big theme, with the TV and Internet going down almost immediately. It just made me think how absolutely screwed we would all be. The thought of trying to get somewhere, when you don't know the area, without Google maps, just made me feel sick๐
Leave The World Behind is much more than a suspense filled end of the world novel, it goes so much deeper than that, and it feels especially apt to have come out in 2020. I know this one is quite polarising, but I urge you to give it a go, just know that the ending is pretty open. I truly haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it over two weeks ago, it's a book that claws into your brain and never leaves.
Amanda and Clay leave New York City, and head to a remote house for a vacation in Long Island. They're both enjoying spending time with their kids and letting life slow down for a while, but the spell is quickly broken by a late night knock at the door. It's the owners of the property. They are frantic, saying a sudden power outage has swept across the city. Can these people be trusted?
This book is ๐ฅ.
I have never been so stressed by a book, but so unable to put it down. Leave The World Behind is the epitome of watching a car crash happen. It's claustrophobic and aggravating, you feel as in the dark and stuck as all of the characters.
The writing can be quite jarring at first, for the first 30 pages I struggled. I was wondering what the hell I'd let myself in for, but I stuck with it, and soon got into the swing of things. I've never read anything like it before, Rumaan Alam writes in a way that gives the reader a chance to hear everyone's thoughts. It adds a whole other layer to the narrative. The author effortlessly uses this technique to create such an accurate examination of race and class, amidst all of the other chaos going on.
Technology dependence is a big big theme, with the TV and Internet going down almost immediately. It just made me think how absolutely screwed we would all be. The thought of trying to get somewhere, when you don't know the area, without Google maps, just made me feel sick๐
Leave The World Behind is much more than a suspense filled end of the world novel, it goes so much deeper than that, and it feels especially apt to have come out in 2020. I know this one is quite polarising, but I urge you to give it a go, just know that the ending is pretty open. I truly haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it over two weeks ago, it's a book that claws into your brain and never leaves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Vomit
Moderate: Racism