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A review by millennial_dandy
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
3.0
3.5 rounded down to 3
The title 'Leave the World Behind' is cleverly deceptive. I indeed read this book to 'leave the world behind' and instead found myself, just like the central families, dragged back to some fairly harsh realities.
There are a number of topics Alam attempts to tackle in this relatively trim novel, but the most salient are race and class. He does a really good job capturing the rather pathetic neo-liberal, middle-class white identity, though the first chapter or so is a bit on the nose for my taste, especially considering that later scenes involving these identities are so much smarter and more subtle.
This is one of those books where the style won't be for everyone. It's very concept-heavy, and there are swathes of the novel that are incredibly dialogue-heavy and serve to chew over some of Alam's preoccupations and rely a lot more on telling than showing, which isn't everyone's cup of tea. As a result of these sections, the pacing can sometimes feel all over the place, though I would argue that the inconsistant pacing serves to help build the sometimes dreamy atmosphere and the sense of being outside of time.
The plot is actually two plots. The first is my favorite of the two, and the section I'll probably remember best and think about most often. Alam lays bare so well the very real way in which 'home' is more of a concept than a matter of ownership. When we're on vacation, the hotel is 'home' even though it's super temporary and designed to be relatively anonymous. I've certainly caught myself slipping and saying 'I'm going home' rather than 'I'm going back to the hotel' from time to time. In this case that feeling is the basis of the central tension in the first plot.
A family staying at an Air B&B property have made themselves quite at home when one day a couple claiming to own the house arrive and ask to stay over. There's this deliciously awkward relationship that develops between the two families as the family renting the property doesn't want the owners there, but since it's not really their house, they recognize that the request by the owners isn't a genuine one; they could, theoretically, just mosey on in like...well, like they own the place.
Neither family really cares for the other, and everyone is silently very judgemental, though outwardly they all feel obligated to maintain social niceties.
The real kicker of this part of the novel, though, is that the family renting the house has no way of confirming that this other family is who they claim to be, i.e. the owners, as a mysterious event nearby has knocked the internet out of commission.
I loved this part of 'LTWB' and I wish the entire novel would have been about this question. But instead, we enter into plot number 2 which is a more straight-forward apacalypse story.
Plot number 2 is alright, it's ok. But I spent all of January this year reading apocalyptic fiction so by this point I'm a bit 'apocalypsed out.' Especially considering that Alam's apocalypse doesn't break any new ground in the genre and is fairly standard fare. Hence, the 3 instead of 4 star overall rating; the bonus .5 is because of just how good the first plot is.
Anyone who likes this novel would likely enjoy the film 'The Invitation' and vice versa.
I can't get enough of the 'awkward social situations made somehow worse by the constraints of politeness' plot device, so I'm definitely the target audience here.
It's worth reading, but probably more so if you haven't just read a bunch of apocalypse/dystopian novels and short stories.
The title 'Leave the World Behind' is cleverly deceptive. I indeed read this book to 'leave the world behind' and instead found myself, just like the central families, dragged back to some fairly harsh realities.
There are a number of topics Alam attempts to tackle in this relatively trim novel, but the most salient are race and class. He does a really good job capturing the rather pathetic neo-liberal, middle-class white identity, though the first chapter or so is a bit on the nose for my taste, especially considering that later scenes involving these identities are so much smarter and more subtle.
This is one of those books where the style won't be for everyone. It's very concept-heavy, and there are swathes of the novel that are incredibly dialogue-heavy and serve to chew over some of Alam's preoccupations and rely a lot more on telling than showing, which isn't everyone's cup of tea. As a result of these sections, the pacing can sometimes feel all over the place, though I would argue that the inconsistant pacing serves to help build the sometimes dreamy atmosphere and the sense of being outside of time.
The plot is actually two plots. The first is my favorite of the two, and the section I'll probably remember best and think about most often. Alam lays bare so well the very real way in which 'home' is more of a concept than a matter of ownership. When we're on vacation, the hotel is 'home' even though it's super temporary and designed to be relatively anonymous. I've certainly caught myself slipping and saying 'I'm going home' rather than 'I'm going back to the hotel' from time to time. In this case that feeling is the basis of the central tension in the first plot.
A family staying at an Air B&B property have made themselves quite at home when one day a couple claiming to own the house arrive and ask to stay over. There's this deliciously awkward relationship that develops between the two families as the family renting the property doesn't want the owners there, but since it's not really their house, they recognize that the request by the owners isn't a genuine one; they could, theoretically, just mosey on in like...well, like they own the place.
Neither family really cares for the other, and everyone is silently very judgemental, though outwardly they all feel obligated to maintain social niceties.
The real kicker of this part of the novel, though, is that the family renting the house has no way of confirming that this other family is who they claim to be, i.e. the owners, as a mysterious event nearby has knocked the internet out of commission.
I loved this part of 'LTWB' and I wish the entire novel would have been about this question. But instead, we enter into plot number 2 which is a more straight-forward apacalypse story.
Plot number 2 is alright, it's ok. But I spent all of January this year reading apocalyptic fiction so by this point I'm a bit 'apocalypsed out.' Especially considering that Alam's apocalypse doesn't break any new ground in the genre and is fairly standard fare. Hence, the 3 instead of 4 star overall rating; the bonus .5 is because of just how good the first plot is.
Anyone who likes this novel would likely enjoy the film 'The Invitation' and vice versa.
I can't get enough of the 'awkward social situations made somehow worse by the constraints of politeness' plot device, so I'm definitely the target audience here.
It's worth reading, but probably more so if you haven't just read a bunch of apocalypse/dystopian novels and short stories.