A review by tashadandelion
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

 I came to this book with high expectations after reading several rapturous reviews from high-end publications, but found myself ultimately disappointed. Like any good literary novel worth its salt, there's plenty of introspection around minute feelings and reactions, but that occurs to an extreme fault. The rhythm of the story is constantly interrupted by description of each person's reaction to each piece of dialog to the point where it grows distracting and bewildering almost from the start. Over time, as the mounting dread from the destructive (view spoiler) builds to a peak, Clay's and Amanda's behaviors, words, and reactions grow strangely more unclear and useless. I don't pretend to have survived an apocalyptic event just yet, but I've been in emergency situations before, and I don't recall humans behaving the way Clay and Amanda do, especially in reaction to (view spoiler). I mean, if the goal is to make this particular couple look like a pair of the most dithering idiots on the planet, then: goal achieved. It doesn't make for very interesting or engaging reading, though. The novel shows one couple (GH and Ruth) who has their sh*t together and is also empathetic and one couple who doesn't and is self-involved. It's hard to draw anything culturally meaningful from this, and I'm not entirely sure the author intended that to be done (maybe an interview somewhere states it clearly; I just don't know). I think I would have appreciated this story more if it hadn't just wandered off a cliff with no clear meaning given to anything. 
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