Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND by Rumaan Alam shares an eerie story set in the near future when a family heads for vacation only to find that “something” has happened to disrupt communications networks.  While there are some obvious parallels to our current uncertain world, I found this rather ominous tale to be a well-written means of escape.  Alam’s novel was nominated for the National Book Award and called “a brilliant, suspenseful examination of race and class” by The Washington Post’s reviewer. And, yes, there are insightful comments: “his wife felt it important, not to do the moral thing necessarily, but to be the kind of person who would. Morality was vanity in the end.” And so, the vacationers (a White family) attempt to deal with disruption to the electric grid (“he had not realized how much light connoted safety, and how much dark its opposite”) when the when the owners (a Black couple) of the rental property seek refuge there. Apprehensive at first, they gradually come to rely on each other. The somewhat ambiguous ending merely reinforces Alam’s exhortation: “To enjoyment …. To the enjoyment of any moment in life, I guess. Enjoying any moment is a victory.  I think we need to hold on to those.” LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly.