Reviews

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

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lofrando's review against another edition

The descriptions and discussions about the children in the book were triggering for me. I did not feel comfortable finishing the book, and stopped reading about halfway through.

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

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4.0

I went back and forth on whether to give this book three or four stars, and ultimately landed on four stars because I found the back half of the book much more compelling than the beginning. Maybe it resonated with me because we are living through a pandemic and there have been so many moments of intense uncertainty the past couple years, but I thought Alam successfully created a tension and anxiety that only built as the book went on. Like other reviewers, I found the constant sexual references a bit much; they took me out of the narrative because it just seemed unrealistic to me that people would be so conscious of their bodies in a time like that. None of the characters are particularly sympathetic, but the theme of parenthood is artfully drawn, and the bond within the families is believable.

You definitely leave the book with a million questions, and have a million questions throughout the narrative. At times that is frustrating, but I think Alam's depiction of how a crisis like that would unfold is fairly accurate. Regular people wouldn't know what was going on or what to do, and there would be no answers, or at least satisfactory answers. I found Alam's sneaky comments about the world events that the characters didn't know about slightly grating in their snideness and smugness, and it felt convenient that he didn't explain the crisis (at times it made me feel like he just couldn't come up with a traumatic enough crisis). But it did effectively shake me and make me feel odd and unsettled, which was likely the whole point.

cuddleemily's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Steady... Makes you think

mostephanitely's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

bigleebowski's review against another edition

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3.0

Feels like a mumblecore thriller/drama where anything you imagine to be the cause of this mystery is better than what we actually get. You can tell this was stormed up or in some part adjusted to fit a COVID lens, as it absolutely plays with themes of paranoia, isolation, and fear mongering, among others. I liked the intrigue and the prose, but the third act and ending fell incredibly flat. There were slight vibes of a possible Twilight Zone episode direction it could have taken, but then it decides to remain more so in the mundane lane.

I haven’t looked at the Netflix cast for the future film adaptation yet, but while reading it, I envisioned:

- Amanda: Meghann Fahey/Rebecca Hall
- Clay: Adam Driver/Dan Stevens
- Ruth: Ruth Negga/Viola Davis (after it’s revealed she’s older)
- G. H.: David Oyelowo but then Denzel Washington/Delroy Lindo (after you find out he’s older in age)

anniehayez's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? It's complicated

1.0

I’m sure someone would love this book but it’s not for me. I picked this up for a quick summer thriller. Instead I was bogged down but a book almost exclusively about what people are thinking and feeling when they have no clue what to do. It put me in a month long reading slump and just could not grab my attention. It was well written and has an interesting concept but it’s not my kind of book. I was especially disappointed by the ending.