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  • Leave the World Behind

  • By: Rumaan Alam
  • Narrated by: Marin Ireland
  • Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (165 ratings)

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Leave the World Behind cover art

Leave the World Behind

By: Rumaan Alam
Narrated by: Marin Ireland
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Publisher's Summary

NOW A MAJOR GLOBAL NETFLIX ADAPTATION STARRING JULIA ROBERTS, KEVIN BACON, ETHAN HAWKE AND MAHERSHALA ALI

*A THE TIMES #1 BESTSELLER*

*THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

*A BARACK OBAMA SUMMER READING PICK 2021*

A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong

Amanda and Clay head to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a holiday: 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 with a late-night knock on the door, the spell is broken. Ruth and G. H., an older couple who claim to own the home, have arrived there in a panic. These strangers say that a sudden power outage has swept the city, and - with nowhere else to turn - they have come to the country in search of shelter. But with the TV and internet down, and no phone service, the facts are unknowable. Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple - and vice versa? What has happened back in New York? Is the holiday home, isolated from civilisation, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one another?

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2020

FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2021

A DAILY TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, IRISH TIMES AND TIME BOOK OF THE YEAR

©2020 Rumaan Alam (P)2020 HarperCollins US

Critic Reviews

"I have not been this profoundly unnerved since Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go." (Carmen Maria Machado)

"The fall’s biggest novel." (Entertainment Weekly)

"An exceptional examination of race and class and what the world looks like when it's ending." (Roxane Gay)

What listeners say about Leave the World Behind

Average Customer Ratings
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Sleepy

I found this book had to much waffling in it and not much story. The people in it seemed so dumb. I was so bored with this book I’m not quite sure how I finished it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A bit weird

The storyline is an interesting and creative concept: two families, strangers, finding themselves in the same house, and the tensions that arise therefrom. However, I found the back-story a bit strange and unsatisfying. It has an almost sci-fi feel towards the end. The salvation is in the performance though, the reader is excellent. She was so good at portraying the various characters.
Overall, eh… read it and see what you think.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

captivating!

Was totally drawn into this. Have kept thinking it over and over since finishing.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful novel

beautifully written and performed. An incredibly human story and so poignant for our current time.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful just wonderful

This is terrifically well written book and a totally unique idea. Marin Ireland is a great narrator in fact the whole book is brilliant.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Reasonable narration but otherwise there isn't much to enjoy. The plot is just a premise to stitch musings together. Not worth it.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Shit ending

What just happened, the only reason I listened to the end was to find out wtf was going on. It was painful getting there, and no result? I’ll never get those hours back. Thanks Rumania!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Depressing, lacking depth and character.

I struggled through this book as I was not able to return it.
A poorly written, going nowhere novel that felt like a waste of time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant discomfort

I hated it, but not because it was a bad book. It's so good I listened to the whole thing while hating it and finding new ways to hate it. I couldn't put it down and by the end, briefly felt as though I had contracted a physical illness. Absolutely engrossing.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

So wanted this to be good… hmm

I bought this excitedly assuming that as Netflix had made this into a movie it would be amazing, and while I did desperately listen right to the end, unable to turn it off in the desperate hope to reach it’s climactic conclusion, unfortunately it did not deliver a satisfying ending. It left me with really little insight into the main characters and realising that it had all felt a little too stretched out with too little substance.

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