Leave the World Behind: A Novel

Review "A suspenseful tale that examines the complexities of race and class." -- "USA Today""Cuttingly prescient about the current emotional atmosphere...This is a thrilling book--one that will speak to readers who have felt the terror of isolation in these recent, torturous months and one that will simultaneously, as great books do, lift them out of it."-- "Vogue""Riveting and claustrophobic...delivering a dazzling and dark examination of family, race, class, and what matters most when the impossible becomes possible."-- "Esquiure" Product Description A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrongAmanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe.Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other? Suspenseful and provocative, Rumaan Alam’s third novel is keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood, race, and class. Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped—and unexpected new ones are forged—in moments of crisis. About the Author Rumaan Alams writing has been published in New York Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books, the Wall Street Journal, the Rumpus, Washington Square Review, Gettysburg Review, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere. He started his career in fashion publishing at Lucky magazine, has written extensively on interior design for Domino, Lonny, Elle Decor, ArchitecturalDigest.com, and elsewhere. He has worked in advertising as a copywriter and creative director. He studied at Oberlin College and lives in Brooklyn.