Leave the World Behind Book Reviews

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Eh. Too many words. Not enough explanation. Could have been really intriguing but wasn’t.

Could have been so much more.... If you’re looking for an exciting, thrilling disaster, end of the world type book this is not the book for you. This was mostly about a parents drive to protect and care for their children, maybe. I’m honestly still not sure. Also the way humans interact with one another. It could have been so much more but it was repetitive and drawn out. I’m also still unclear if the event was a biological attack or a physical attack and the author possibly is as well. I’m just glad I read it on Libby instead of actually buying it.

Page turner!. So good & so tense. It’s a slow burn thriller in the way that plays can be thrillers- by slowly turning the screws. Would make a great movie, fingers crossed it gets made!

Armageddon with useless characters. Annoying characters Sexual references totally gratuitous. Why did these characters do anything they did. The plot line would be interesting if it were not 2020 and it didn’t feel like Armageddon with the pandemic. It was sloppily written and sloppily edited.

Good read for a long flight home. Great character development and enjoyed the suspense.

Confused. Not sure who is rating books these days. Pointless and boring!

Not a good ending. Had a good premise and a decent story but nothing was resolved in the Jan and just left you hanging. Felt like I had read half a book.

Not sure I get it. The writing was engaging but never really went anywhere. I kept waiting for more and was disappointed when it never came. I finished the book feeling confused and a bit let down.

A dystopia. Mysterious quiet terror. A day in the life of a family begins like any other and then life is forever changed in just a moment. We are given glimpses of “what happened” in the world but we’re never quite sure. The author depicted this middle class white family as prejudiced and uncouth while the owners of the Airbnb property were a cultured and well educated Black couple. It’s a hauntingly timely story and there is much to think about after reading it. Who we are, how we live our lives, so much that we take for granted. Each time I came out from reading this book I was relieved that I was alive in the world today despite the pandemic.

Slow and Disappointing. I trudged through thinking something was about to happen. I was shocked to turn the last page because there were still no answers to the situations at hand. All the mini stories were left dangling....

Missing the rest. This book was the WORST waste of time. So many dangling stories left unfinished. It was like the author got bored of writing and just handed in the book to print. Do NOT waste your money.

Slightly Underwhelming but Entertaining. The novel moves a little slowly and at times the detail was tedious. Still, I found myself wanting to keep turning the proverbial page. It’s fairly short and the ending caught be by surprise. Not surprise of the exciting type but surprise in that the end came in a sudden and unsettled way. It’s like the storyline was finally set and the book ended.

Didn’t get it. I was really, really excited to read this book. It got a lot of buzz... I was pretty disappointed. The book was overly descriptive, and the story line had no point. It ended so odd.. I wouldn’t recommend this.

Disappointed. At first this sounded like a great book, but man was it difficult to plow through and read.

A Book Where Nothing Happens. This book could have been so many things- commentary on race, class, humanity, or an apocalyptic too-topical tragedy. Instead it read like a book written based on a challenge of using SAT words. The sexual scenes were simply excuses to use the word “tumescent” and felt gross and out of place, very clearly written by a man. There was so much plot bubbling under the surface that never came up, the narrator forever dropping hints about the future of this world but never telling us... like the narrator was too distracted by these flat and boring characters to give us any real information. There was a moment where I thought the book was going to borrow from the movie District 9 and everyone was going to turn into a flamingo instead of.... what I guess was radiation poisoning that only affected one character? Not how that works but ok. I would have preferred a flamingo-based ending honestly! If you came here swayed by recommendations turn back and read anything else.

Waste of time. There’s no ending and no plot. Don’t read!! It’s a complete waste of time. The book has moments where it pulls you in but it explains nothing. It just ends abruptly... I even thought it was a series for a second because I couldn’t believe it just ended out of no where

Terrible. Terrible book that built up too a lackluster ending. I feel like I read this whole book waiting for something to happen only for absolutely nothing to happen. Waste of time.

Terrible!!. How does anyone like this book? The writing is beyond annoying. Just a lot of drivel about nothing. Author is particularly fond of creating visuals of vomit and other bodily functions as well as unpleasant odors. Can’t believe I wasted my time and money on this.

The Ending into a New Beginning. In this novel, Rumaan Alam brings a refreshingly new voice to the End Times story that we all know. in this novel. His eerily familiar descriptive style of narrative will have you wondering if he hasn’t been following you everywhere at all times. It is not a stream of consciousness explosion but instead a flow of dialogue and subtext that captures the modern day human experience in a style similar to that of Jonathan Franzen. The cleverly selected touch of details provide the necessary stage props to complete the set and setting before dropping the anvil of drama on your head. The conflict presented is particularly cringy because it deals with something so relevant to contemporary life, our spaces, rented or owned. How we move through them, depend on privacy and mark ownership, even when just fleeting. Throw in the racial and political themes and you have a boiler room of tension waiting to explode. Holding it all together is the slimmest sliver of humanity. Rumaan measured approach to discussing race, class, and gender power dynamics be leaving them always in the foreground without being heavy handed about it is refreshing. Like an additional character these themes affect the way in which we interpret how the perplexing situation should be handled. Finally, the crutch of technology is so cleverly addressed through the course of the story. Rumaan shows who we are, would be, and aspire to be without the constant presence of technology.

Ponderous. Who cares about who named girl liberty……I bored me from first page……ugh

Boring. A lot of the same....over and over. The end

Expected more. Heard review on NPR that this book was good one written during COVID. Wish I’d read reviews here before purchasing. It wasn’t dreadful. But it wasn’t satisfying either.

Please don’t read this.... This was the worst book I have ever read in so many ways. Don’t waste your money.

Outstanding. One of the best books I’ve read in so many years. Read in a few hours.

Unsatisfying. That’s it, just unsatisfying.

Eyes hurt from rolling. This book could have been so much better. I hated the writing style, overly descriptive for no reason other than to smash a bunch of words together. Picked up a bit 75% of the way through, but then just ended. Entire plot was shallow, characters were flat. So much wasted potential.

Anticipation no action. I was just waiting for a plot twist and nothing ever came of it

Different. Ambiguously haunting; a great reminder or prelude ...

Should be 100 pages. Decent story line, relatable characters but unnecessary details and just overdone. Not the ‘page turning thriller’ I was expecting. No thank you.

Boring. I wasted too much money on this book. The premise was interesting and had potential but nothing really happened. There was no resolution, no explanation, just a series of bizarre events. And bad dialogue to the mix. Not worth the money

????. Hated it at the beginning, started to like it, then hated it again. Ending made me look for the other book (which does not exist). So many unsolved plot lines?? I just don’t understand. Also I hate the way gross smells are so heavily elaborated upon within the first 50 pages.

Good read, okay ending. The book kept me enticed the whole way though, finished it in 3 sittings! Wish there was more closure at the end, kinda a let down to end where it did.

Couldn’t put this down!. What a thriller!

Descriptions and vocabulary slowed down the plot. Written by an excellent writer. But he often fell in love with vocabulary and descriptions, which slowed down what was interesting plot. Good concept, but this book left me wanting more story, more activity, more movement.

Kept me interested but didn’t love ending. A little slow at times, but the end kept me turning pages and had me hooked. However, it did seem like the book just stopped and ended in a very strange way.

Perfectly unsettling pandemic read. This book is unsettling and beautiful. It is frightening yet reassuring. If you like the wry observations about modern life in Don DeLillo’s _White Noise_ or the slow fade out at the end of the world in Nevil Shute’s _On the Beach_, you will like this book.

Oh man. Where do I start?! I ditched work to finish this book. Please make a sequel? I want more but kinda don’t, in a good way if that’s possible. Without ruining the end I will tell you this book is thought provoking and weird and truly riveting all at the same time. You are on a journey that is a train wreck and you can stop reading. I am recommended mg this book to my friends and family, just so I can talk to someone about it!

Exciting until it isn’t.... I’ll start off by saying I was expecting a disappointing ending after reading the reviews. However, the sample I read had me hooked so I had to buy it & keep reading. I read it all in one night in the dark on a cold night. Perfect. The author did a great job writing to make you feel as if you were there with the characters experiencing the dread, panic, and rationalizing of events out of their control. Sometimes this droned on...however, I’ve read worse. The tension builds and builds as the book goes on but alas it doesn’t give you a satisfying end. This was obviously the author’s intention - a cruel joke ha - but not every book is meant to have a neat little ending to tie up all the threads & I’m okay with that the longer I thought about it. It’s almost as if this is a pilot/prelude to an apocalyptic show/movie. And there’s definitely room for more episodes. The only real gripe I had with this book was the promise of bubbling racial dynamics and dialogue that was supposed to be a main theme (per dozens of publication reviews) — this was a lie. It was there but the author didn’t do it any justice and it was mentioned in passing. I wish he’d done more with the topic. Read this book if you’re okay with mysteries that don’t have a solid neat ending. I’m curious to see how the Netflix adaptation will translate — Denzel !!

Quick Read. Good for a flight or a trip.

Made no sense. It was NOT a page turner. Although it was written well, I did not enjoy the plot.

Good read but no ending. It was a good read with a lot of what I would argue are true human thoughts and actions during some emergency which is never defined. Enough is said to allow you to assume what is happening and the book takes on an air of what would likely happen in a true emergency. However, it’s a book and a story so the expectation is for the story to come to a point and have a defined end and it doesn’t. It’s almost as if the author gave up or ran against a hard deadline to complete the book. Had it not been in the soon to be on Netflix section and on sale I’d be more mad about it but I fell for the hype. 1 star or 2 is fair but mostly disappointed I read it.

So Unique. Such a different way to tell an apocalyptic story. Really enjoyed his subtle writing that made the characters’ situation more disturbing. Not really knowing what was happening as the reader made their fear and confusion relatable. Very good read.

It’s okay. A lot of vivid descriptions and characterizations that fail to give the rising tension in this story it’s deserved outcome by ending with a frustratingly empty conclusion.

Well-crafted glimpse into terror. Gorgeously written, but also maddeningly unsatisfying. It’s a story of a moment, or a few, without answers. An eloquent side-note to something much larger, much darker lurking just beyond.

Disappointing.. I had high hopes for this book after hearing an excerpt on NPR. The book was a major letdown. Overly flowery in language for no good reason. Read like the “man trying to write a woman” joke. Too much useless, irrelevant description and a lack of character development (beyond the unnecessary sexual aspect). Ending was just frustrating. If you want any kind of a resolution, forget it. It’s like the last few chapters are missing.

Leave the World Behind. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It kept me wanting more, held my suspense and got me thinking. Loved it!

Trash Book, Terrible Ending. The writing was so detailed for no reason. I was rolling my eyes for the majority of the book and had to force myself to finish it. The sexual parts were pretty weird, grossly detailed, and had nothing to do with the story. The book FINALLY started picking up in the last quarter of the book and I thought that the pain that I endured reading this book would be worth it, but boy was I wrong!! I’m assuming the author wanted the ending to be “thought-provoking” or whatever but it really just leaves you with zero answers to anything. I rarely find a book that I flat out don’t like, but this one left me no choice. I don’t recommend this book by a long shot!

Quit on Page 4. **Edited and changed from 2 stars to 3. Once I got past the first 15 pages or so, it was a better read, but the first few pages are rough for reasons listed below…. Why did I not read the reviews first?! It reads like a high school writer trying to throw in way too many descriptive and overly sophisticated words to make them appear more intelligent. Couldn’t stand to read it. Waste of money.

3ish of 5. I enjoyed it at times. It is story that sticks with you. Characters are real and relatable, but thoughts and reflection were too rapid and contrary for me. It felt like riding too fast downhill on an old wobbly bike. Crash ending.

Letdown. So disappointing! No resolution. You don’t find out what happens as it ends abruptly. It’s like the book was too cool to tell you what “disaster” happened because it was about human interaction. I wanted more.

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Leave the world behind. Painful. Just painful and this book had a rambling nothingness to it.

Suspensful. This book gives the suspense of what happens of there is a cyber attack of the sort in the suburbs of New York to a white family who is on vacation on an rental property. They get interrupted by a black family who are the owners of their vacation home and tells them of the weird things going outside. It’s pretty suspenseful as you don’t really know what kind of attack or natural disaster is going on. All you know is they got to work together and stay to together to figure things out as weird things keep coming up. The book is good. The adaptation in Netflix is not bad either( Doesn’t deviate too much from the book). I normally don’t like thrillers/suspense as I have a vivid imagination of my own but this one is mild and not bad for the faint of heart.

Verbose. Interesting concept but this story could have been written as a short story by Stephen King, who alike have made it a much more pleasant read. The writer seems only interested in showcasing his vocabulary and stringing together big words in order to solicit praise. Very tiresome.

Verbose nailed it. Yup……..lots of big words. I had to pause many times to look up definitions, they don’t necessarily make the story any better, just ruins the flow. Nothing special about the story, maybe the movie will help with what the author was trying to convey.

Worst. Worst book I have ever read. I read it to the end and still really don’t know what it was about.

Spectacularly thrilling. Absolutely wonderful read. Thrilling and mysterious but also filled with insights and uncomfortable truths. One of the best books I’ve read this year.