Book Appointment Now
What went wrong while leaving the world behind?
Not only was “Leave the World Behind” by Rumaan Alam presented as Jenna’s October ’20 pick, but it was also a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award in fiction. On paper, it honestly has all the makings of a hit, so what went wrong?
Read With Jenna frequently features pulse-pounding mystery and thriller novels as part of its book-of-the-month, with the book club founder gravitating toward riveting reads that keep one on the edge of their seat. And Alam’s “Leave the World Behind” does check all of those boxes, as it’s an eerie story that unfolds with the kind of tension that slowly creeps on you and keeps you guessing. But according to many reviews, the book never really delivers on the suspenseful storyline.
At a 3.15-star average and more than 160,000 ratings on Goodreads, only 11% of reviewers awarded it 5-stars, while the majority settled on a 3-star rating. One reviewer called it “one of the biggest disappointments of 2020 for me in the book world… It just did not hit the mark.” Many didn’t even finish it as they felt the prose was a bit pretentious. Those who did finish were often left feeling frustrated and upset that there was no real ending, with one reader that said, “This book was just not for me. I hated the way it just abruptly ended.” The strong reactions definitely prove the book struck a chord, but it just might not have been the one readers expected.
