Leave the World Behind

Brian Plunkett reviewed Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Leave the World Behind - 4 Stars

4 stars

This was a fast, intense read. I originally set it aside because the omniscient narration was rubbing me the wrong way. It constantly jumps between the characters' thoughts/points of view; over a few pages, for example, you will see a single conversation through the eyes of four different people, as they react to each other, etc. At first, it struck me that this approach gave the story kind of a shallow feeling, in contrast to one that has you seeing things through the eyes of a single character (or maybe a few characters, with the perspective/point of view alternating among the chapters).

But luckily I decided to give it another try, and then I realized that the omniscient narration is essential for this book. Every time the characters say or do anything, there is immediate commentary about what they're thinking, so you get to see their motivations, doubts, shame, mental …

This was a fast, intense read. I originally set it aside because the omniscient narration was rubbing me the wrong way. It constantly jumps between the characters' thoughts/points of view; over a few pages, for example, you will see a single conversation through the eyes of four different people, as they react to each other, etc. At first, it struck me that this approach gave the story kind of a shallow feeling, in contrast to one that has you seeing things through the eyes of a single character (or maybe a few characters, with the perspective/point of view alternating among the chapters).

But luckily I decided to give it another try, and then I realized that the omniscient narration is essential for this book. Every time the characters say or do anything, there is immediate commentary about what they're thinking, so you get to see their motivations, doubts, shame, mental gymnastics, etc. It's fascinating.

Overall, it is very suspenseful and makes pointed observations about New York and many aspects of life, including parenting, racism, intergenerational and class tensions, self-delusion, and environmental degradation.

Because so much of what matters in this book takes place inside the characters' heads, I would say that it was almost unfilmable. So I'm really interested in seeing what the Netflix show does with it. [Note: I watched the movie and thought it was pretty good]

Joerg reviewed Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

A fart, not even wet

1 star

I have no idea how this got these rave ratings. Someone had about a quarter of a short story and then filled in odious amounts of ramblings that are pseudo-ominous with bizarre sprinkles of discussions of race and class written by those aliens from the cartoon that do not really understand even the most basic human things but try to imitate them.

JuanMoreStory@bookrastinating.com reviewed Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

A slice of life with a (too) mysterious backdrop

4 stars

This book was more of a slice of life than mystery than I thought it would be, and not in a bad way.

The omniscient narrator lets the reader look into the different perspectives of all the characters. This was especially entertaining as a character will think one thing, say another, and another character will think that they don't believe them.

I'm not sure if this count's as a spoiler, but the mystery of what happened in the world at large is never explicitly answered. The narrator will only give snippets of things occurring outside of the house. But like I said, I was more curious about the character's reaction to the same lack of info and to each other's flaws.

Overall it was an enjoyable read. Just expect more drama and less mystery.

Rick Klau reviewed Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Review of 'Leave the World Behind' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Mind-bending. Underlined a line in the middle of the book that sums up the book (and the experience reading it): "Whatever they thought they understood was not wrong but irrelevant." Unsettling, provocative, original.

memorysnow reviewed Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Review of 'Leave the World Behind' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I'm not sure whether the dread this book caused me was due to the story or the prospect of having to read another page. The promising premise was sabotaged by various failings: a cringe-y, 'splainy narrator; a lack of plausible cause for the strange happenings in the book; and finally, the author's disdain for all of the characters left no possibility of redemption or sympathy. Would not recommend.

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