Leave the World Behind

Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind is a tense, stylish novel that uses an unsettling domestic scenario to explore class, race, and societal fragility. When two families are forced together during a mysterious blackout, their attempts at civility quickly erode under pressure. Alam masterfully builds dread while revealing the unspoken assumptions that govern social interactions. The novel’s ambiguity is deliberate; it places readers in the same disorienting uncertainty as the characters. With sharp dialogue and an eerie sense of inevitability, Alam delivers a story that critiques privilege and vulnerability without sacrificing narrative momentum.