leave the world behind by Rumaan Alam

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
241 pages

What’s it about?
Clay and Amanda drive away from Brooklyn with their two teenage children looking forward to a summer vacation on Long Island.  They have rented a nice house with a pool out in the countryside and envision barbecues and day trips to the beach.  On their second evening there is a knock at the door and their vacation changes. New York City is experiencing a blackout and the homeowners have returned to the country.  But is it safe?

What did it make me think about?
 I could not help but to think of the beginning of the pandemic when I read this book.  Are we ever really prepared for our world to change?

Should I read it?
 I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.  The story was suspenseful, but in a different way than I expected.  Mr. Alam's observations on race, class, and even parenting are thoughtful, "Her distrust was not of her parents but of the world that they had made, and maybe she was right."

Quote-
"They had asked themselves questions when they decided to have children- do we have the money, do we have the space, do we have what it takes- but they didn't ask what the world would be when their children grew."

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Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Exit West by Moshin Hamid

8 stars