Leave the World Behind
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Leave the World Behind
Buy Now for $21.99
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Narrated by:
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Marin Ireland
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By:
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Rumaan Alam
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam, read by Marin Ireland.
NOW A MAJOR GLOBAL NETFLIX ADAPTATION STARRING JULIA ROBERTS, KEVIN BACON, ETHAN HAWKE AND MAHERSHALA ALI
*A THE TIMES #1 BESTSELLER*
*THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
*A BARACK OBAMA SUMMER READING PICK 2021*
'Intense, incisive, I loved this and have still not quite shaken off the unease' DAVID NICHOLLS
'I was hooked from the opening pages' CLARE MACKINTOSH
'Simply breathtaking . . . An extraordinary book, at once smart, gripping and hallucinatory’ OBSERVER
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A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong
Amanda and Clay head to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a holiday: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they've rented for the week. But with a late-night knock on the door, the spell is broken. Ruth and G. H., an older couple who claim to own the home, have arrived there in a panic. These strangers say that a sudden power outage has swept the city, and – with nowhere else to turn – they have come to the country in search of shelter.
But with the TV and internet down, and no phone service, the facts are unknowable. Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple – and vice versa? What has happened back in New York? Is the holiday home, isolated from civilisation, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one another?
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FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2020
FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2021
A DAILY TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, IRISH TIMES AND TIME BOOK OF THE YEAR
Everyone is talking about LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND
'You will probably need to read it in as close to one sitting as possible’
Sunday Times
'A page-turner taking in themes of isolation, race and class’
Guardian
‘A book that could have been tailor-made for our times’
The Times
‘A literary page-turner that will keep you awake even after it ends’
Mail on Sunday
'An exceptional examination of race and class and what the world looks like when it's ending'
Roxane Gay
'A thrilling book – one that will speak to readers who have felt the terror of isolation in these recent months and one that will simultaneously, as great books do, lift them out of it'
Vogue
'Explores complex ideas about privilege and fate with miraculous wit and grace'
Jenny Offill
‘For the reader, the invisible terror outside in Leave the World Behind echoes the sense of disquiet today in a world convulsed by the pandemic’
Financial Times
'Alam's achievement is to see that his genre's traditional arc, which relies on the idea of aftermath, no longer makes sense. Today, disaster novels call for something different'
New Yorker
'Read it with the lights on'
Jenna Bush Hager, October Book Club pick
What listeners say about Leave the World Behind
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- elizabeth b.
- 24-05-2021
Wonderful just wonderful
This is terrifically well written book and a totally unique idea. Marin Ireland is a great narrator in fact the whole book is brilliant.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Willa Arantz
- 04-03-2021
Couldn’t stop listening!
Thoroughly enjoyed this book although it’s story was disturbing, it was beautifully written and I felt I was right there, suspenseful & gripping from the very start.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kelly
- 02-09-2021
captivating!
Was totally drawn into this. Have kept thinking it over and over since finishing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Layla Sacker
- 09-06-2021
Prescient
This is not a world of heroes who have to face a world they cannot understand. These are ordinary flawed and human people, dealing with a world they cannot explain and with no access to a source to get an explanation. The slow building of details, the methodical listing of the things that give our lives routine and stability serve to create a narrative of at times unbearable tension. I am delighted to have discovered this author and most certainly will add this name to my list of favourite excellent writers.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jaz
- 20-11-2023
Fear of the unknown - read it!
I really enjoyed this book. The narrator is brilliant and really helped build the sense of tension and fear of the unknown. I didn't feel that it went into as much depth on the race divide as I thought it would have, but it was subtly layered in. For me, it touched more on gender roles and norms, which I found interesting especially when the characters are faced with a dilemma. I believe this book portrays a catastrophic event that is plausible in our current, modern world and it did have me wanting to know more. The unexplained and unexplainable leads to fear and chaos, which is what got me hooked. It's a dystopian novel that plays into themes of "thy shall love my neighbour as thyself". I'm excited to see how they make it work on the silver screen! I would recommend it for those who love dystopian horrors or 1984 esque books.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nicholas
- 13-07-2021
wonderful novel
beautifully written and performed. An incredibly human story and so poignant for our current time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emma
- 15-03-2021
Finished in a day!
I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't what I was expecting at all and kept me intrigued and entertained until the end. Helped also by the great narrator. Would definitely recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- zpgxglohlmewlfpz
- 07-10-2022
different take on the world goes to s#$t
A different take on what happens when the world falls apart. Marin Ireland is perfect as always.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- NatiG
- 18-12-2023
So wanted this to be good… hmm
I bought this excitedly assuming that as Netflix had made this into a movie it would be amazing, and while I did desperately listen right to the end, unable to turn it off in the desperate hope to reach it’s climactic conclusion, unfortunately it did not deliver a satisfying ending. It left me with really little insight into the main characters and realising that it had all felt a little too stretched out with too little substance.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Linda Mattheyse
- 20-01-2023
A bit weird
The storyline is an interesting and creative concept: two families, strangers, finding themselves in the same house, and the tensions that arise therefrom. However, I found the back-story a bit strange and unsatisfying. It has an almost sci-fi feel towards the end. The salvation is in the performance though, the reader is excellent. She was so good at portraying the various characters.
Overall, eh… read it and see what you think.
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1 person found this helpful