Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (#112 in 2020)
Amanda and Clay take their two teenage children out of the city for the week for a vacation. They travel to rural Long Island for a break from the hectic day-to-day and are relaxing until they hear a knock on the door late at night... Ruth and G.H., the supposed owners of the house, have come looking for help and with news of a mysterious blackout in NYC. This becomes an all-too-familiar story full of mystery, suspense, trust, isolation, and uncertainty.
Leave the World Behind is about how we, as humans, respond in times of disaster (ain't that relatable for 2020?), and how each person's reaction is vastly different from those of their friends and family members. Rumaan Alam creates an atmosphere that is stifling as the characters remain "stuck" in their physical space and technologically isolated from news of what events have transpired. Wrapped up in all the tension and uncertainty of the world's events are the discussions of race and economic status and how those factors contribute to privilege and the dynamics of a family.
Alam's writing is vivid and full of sensory detail, captivating a reader and surrounding them with creatively constructed prose. Swim through these sections and embrace them for the beauty they hold, but don't get bogged down trying to dissect each instance of vivid description. The dialogue between characters is what keeps the plot moving, and the prose is what sets the mood.
There are only a few modern authors who have managed to master the pre-apocalyptic style of storytelling: Chuck Wendig with Wanderers and Ling Ma with her novel, Severance. While vastly different plots, these three all contain the same elements of suspense and the same harrowing feeling of what it means to be alone, even if you’re in the company of someone you know.
If this book was a sound, it would be the eerie, piercing silence that comes before a big scary boom.
If this book was a feeling, it would be the silent panic when you hear a bump in the night and cannot see through the blackness. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to @eccobooks and @librofm for my ARC and ALC.
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