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*A THE TIMES #1 BESTSELLER**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**A BARACK OBAMA SUMMER READING PICK 2021*'Easily the best thing I have read all year' KILEY REID, AUTHOR OF SUCH A FUN AGE'Intense, incisive, I loved this and have still not quite shaken off the unease' DAVID NICHOLLS'Simply breathtaking . . .
An extraordinary book, at once smart, gripping and hallucinatory' OBSERVER_______A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrongAmanda 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?_______SOON TO BE A MAJOR GLOBAL NETFLIX ADAPTATION STARRING DENZEL WASHINGTON AND JULIA ROBERTSFINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2020FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2021A DAILY TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, IRISH TIMES AND TIME BOOK OF THE YEAREveryone is talking about LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND'You will probably need to read it in as close to one sitting as possible' Sunday Times'A page-turner taking in themes of isolation, race and class' Guardian'A book that could have been tailor-made for our times' The Times'A literary page-turner that will keep you awake even after it ends'Mail on Sunday'An exceptional examination of race and class and what the world looks like when it's ending' Roxane Gay'A thrilling book - one that will speak to readers who have felt the terror of isolation in these recent months and one that will simultaneously, as great books do, lift them out of it' Vogue'Explores complex ideas about privilege and fate with miraculous wit and grace' Jenny Offill'For the reader, the invisible terror outside in Leave the World Behind echoes the sense of disquiet today in a world convulsed by the pandemic' Financial Times'Alam's achievement is to see that his genre's traditional arc, which relies on the idea of aftermath, no longer makes sense. Today, disaster novels call for something different' New Yorker'Read it with the lights on' Jenna Bush Hager, October Book Club pick
Review
Captivating, with beauty in the detail.
I'd heard a mixture of reviews about this book, some warned of it being slow and wordy; some said it was a beautifully written gripping story. After finishing it in two sittings over the weekend i would go so far as to say both are true of this book.
When i started it i found myself put off by the overly wordy slow pace; do we really need a page dedicated to a shopping list? The style of writing hit me straight away as something i didn't enjoy and i honestly thought about putting it down and giving up, however, I'm so glad i didn't! After the first few chapters i got used to the style of writing and found beauty in the details. I started to understand why the book was written in the way it was and I started to enjoy the somewhat over embellished details.
The plot was what gripped me, i wanted to keep reading to find out exactly what was happening. The small hints throughout had me on the edge pushing on forward eager for more information. I'll admit that i wasn't a fan of the sexual content, i just don't feel like it was necessary to the story, i would rather the characters were built up with other information, i certainly wouldn't recommend this story to anyone under 16. I'm a massive fan of 'end of the world' books and films so I had high hopes and i wasn't disappointed; until the end. I had rally enjoyed the story, the plot, the characters and then i felt like the end left too many un-answered questions. I can see what the writer was trying to do i just feel like it needed one or two more chapters to finish it off and I'd have given it another star.
I'd recommend this book to those who enjoy reading beautifully written detailed stories and those who like end of the world thought provoking material. I'm really glad I read it, I think you will be too.
Rating
3 out of 5 stars