Leave The World Behind
By Rumaan Alam
Harper Collins, 2020
Amanda and Clay and their two teenage kids head out from their busy, cramped lives in New York to a lazy, roomy holiday in Long Island. They are delighted with the house they are renting and the quietness of their surroundings. They are happy to leave the world behind as they cannot be reached even by their mobile phones. The kids are reading and swimming. Amanda and Clay manage to find each other. After a couple of days, they hear a knock at midnight that scares the couple. They open to find that it is the owner of the house and his wife - an elderly black couple who wish to stay the night in their own home. Amanda is suspicious and all her racist thoughts come to the fore before she realizes they are the owners. Then all things go crazy. The TV has no signal and all of them hear a loud noise. The two families are scared out of their wits and do not know what is going on. The teens are unaffected even though they do get scared when seven flamingos land in their pool. How do the two families get on? Do they get on? How do the kids react if they react at all forms the rest of the story.
This book reminded me of eating something delicious. In the beginning, you lick your fingers at the tasty frosting/topping and the insightful way the author describes the world of Amanda and Clay, especially their car. You can easily visualize Amanda, Clay and their children Archie and Rose. Then when G.H. Washington and Ruth make an appearance, you are made to wonder what is happening in the world. Can we really leave the world behind? There are several humourous moments but the suspense keeps dragging on. Then the bottom dropped out or rather I realised the book was over but the suspense was not explained away. It was disappointing that all I had left were crumbs while the questions remained. What was the noise? Why did the Archie's teeth just fall off and why was he bleeding after they all heard the noise? Is he okay? Are Ruth's grandsons okay? Does the noise affect only boys or was it completely unconnected with it all? Does Rose get back home? What did she know that the rest of the characters including the reader doesn't?
The writing style is crisp keeping the story suspenseful.Alam doesn't end the story in the traditional way which leaves you unsatisfied as you want all stories to have a beginning, middle and end. Reading it during the pandemic which one doesn't know how it is going to end, maybe this sort of ending makes sense. Leaves you philosophical but angry at ourselves. Why are humans not like trees? Why do we claim so much of the living earth and kill everything in the process of our small journey here called life? Is this how it is going to end for all of us as we keep ignoring facts about climate change and the temporary nature of lives? In the blimp that we call life, why do we hate, kill, support conflict, terrorise the earth and each other? Why do we live as if we are here forever when we know we will be gone in a blimp?
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