This was a very mixed listen for me. I loved the narration by Marin Ireland and that was one of the reasons I kept listening to Leave the World Behind. I was attracted by the synopsis and the positive pre publication reviews for the novel and I feel it started off well and had original intentions. However it was a slow placed listen that lacked tension and I found myself losing interest throughout. A promising novel but ultimately unsatisfying.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to and review this digital audiobook.

When the book finished, It was a WTF moment. Is that it?

It took me a while to get into it, almost over half way but never really understood what was actually happening. Even at the end when I was left hanging, not being sure of the point of the plot.

The whole idea of the disease is good but I don’t think it was well narrated, too many things but not enough in depths.

And as I said, I am not even sure what the point of it is as my questions were left completely unanswered.

Would be interested to know what you think of the book Bookstagram!

This review will be accurately short since this book has left me short on words
The end was mind-blowing and I still need people who I can talk to about it

Not because it wasn’t good, but because I felt that one of the most attractive component was missing

A middle aged white-couple along with their two children are staying happily in a secluded, luxurious Airbnb staycation, up to the moment a midnight knock is disturbing the silence of the house
Being mortified by ‘who in the name of God is disturbing them at this hour’, they finally decide to open the door to find the Black owners of the staycation with the most out-of-this-world story, asking them if they can stay the night

Having no phone, no radio, no telephone reception is only increasing the suspense and fears between the 4 strangers, making the atmosphere in the house unpleasant

When I first started reading this book I was intrigued, since it had a potentially interesting scenario, but as I was going further into the action, the story started to fade and I was praying for a little action typical to any type of thriller books

This book is focusing more on the character’s feelings and their precarious fears rather that any action at all. The premise is that you never know what is going to happen, so the tension and the anxiety are build around the absence of knowledge

It’s a dark, twisted, claustrophobic story which explores the family drama as you have been caught up with other strangers in the same house, which suits better to be integrated in the fiction genre rather than being considered a thriller, in my opinion.

Even though this book wasn’t my cup of tea, I am still looking forward to see more of this author's future works

Many thanks to @netgalley and the publisher @bloomsburypublishing for providing me a proof audiobook in exchange of an honest review 
⭐⭐⭐🌠

This was an absolutely breathtaking listen & I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. The story is mesmerising & the narrative very clearly spoken.

I don’t know about this one. Parts made me want to love it. With intrigue and suspense, I wanted to read on. But on the flip side, there were times when I wanted to DNF. Slow paced and not thriller enough for me.

As I only had extracts it is hard to judge the whole book. It is an interesting premise and definitely left me wanting to read or download the whole book as I want to know what happened.
The main character Amanda was slightly annoying and chapter 3 was just like listening to someone’s shopping list.
The narrator was good and engaging telling the story in an immersive way that made me want to keep listening and left me disappointed that I only had extracts as I would like to listen to the whole book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4072912277
I received a copy of ‘Leave the world behind’ from NetGalley as an audiobook, in exchange for an honest review. I have read very few books like this. I really liked how it was told in third person; I felt that it helped to build the atmosphere of the book giving that eerie feeling, and leaving you feeling distanced from the real world. We follow Amanda and Clay and their two children Archie and Rose, who go away to the Hamptons on Holiday. They have rented a house for the week, that is in the middle of nowhere next to the woods. Before long we find out that something strange is occurring but we don’t know at that point, until Ruth and George turn up who own the house. We then soon find out that a blackout has occurred. Things take a turn from there and normality disappears. All six of them are left in this house trying to figure out what is going on outside in the world to cause the blackout, it becomes clear with time that this is something sinister. This book has plenty of twists and is gripping from start to finish. It explores the levels of trust we have when put into dangerous situations, as well as race and class. For those that enjoyed this book I would recommend ‘A Children’s Bible’ by Lydia Millet which has a similar premise and feels slightly dystopian in nature. Overall, I was thoroughly surprised by this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

I really liked the premise and the social commentary underneath it all, Amanda you're so annoying! But the lack of ending left me a bit dull. Overall enjoyable!

I can’t decide if I loved the prose or hated it. I know I’ve rarely read a book and felt the need to look up the definition of so many of the words. The story is captivating and addictive. You just have to read to the end and whilst I won’t give any spoilers I must say I want a follow up.
I’m not going the whole hog and giving it a five star because there were passages that had me thinking they could have been left out without losing anything but I do wish there were half stars as the novelty of this clever book deserves more that the four stars I’m giving it.

After listening to the sample of the audiobook, I’ve been left wanting more. What starts off as an normal, everyday situation seems to change into something a lot more sinister. Although I only received a sample of this novel I can tell it is something I would enjoy, it seems mysterious and there’s a real element of fear that comes through in the sample. I can’t wait to read the real thing and then I can provide a more thorough review

This is review of the sample I was sent for the audiobook leave the world behind. Three chapters which included 3,7 and 16. The family getting ready for their holiday, a very descriptive list of the food they were packing which made me feel very hungry! Then the first encounter of the family with the new couple, a bizarre situation of manipulation and fear. Then the couple seemingly living with the family and getting ready for an outing. An odd sample to send as I cannot really review on plot or flow as these were disjointed chapters however, the atmosphere created was clever, I felt very nervous when the visitors were at the door, despite them attempting to alleviate fear, they were doing a very good impression of politicians, by not answering questions directly.

The narrator has an easy flow to her voice which is pleasant to listen to, I am now keen to read the rest of this book to fill in the gaps. Why are the couple at the door? What happens after they move in?
Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the sample ARC.

Loved this. A quietly insidious book that crawled under my skin and left me thinking about it weeks later.

Loved the story in the audio book format. Really original, good writing and narration.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

I've got very mixed feelings about this one!

I loved the sharp observations, the weaving in of major issues within our society & the plot had great potential.
BUT I didn't love the lack of ending & I found the characters unengaging.

It does stay with you for few days & it does make you think but all things considered, it is a middle-of-the-road book for me ...not worth all the hype!

Disclaimer: A huge thanks to Bloomsbury UK Audio & NetGalley for sending me this title. All opinions are my own.

This is a delayed review after being approved on NetGalley for the audiobook on the day it was archived so I was unable to download. I was able to get a copy of the ebook so I could still review it.
DNF at 42%. Plot way too slow for me, although it starts well. I ended up losing interest and even though I expected a big ending, I couldn't persevere through to get there. I know others have loved it though

This book has justifiably had huge hype. Believe it. So gripping and thoughtful and despairing and joyful. It has everything, whilst also examining important themes of class and race in a non-woke way.

Wow what do I say about this one?!

I really enjoyed the premise and the tension the author created was phenomenal, the random happenings and gruesome descriptions were brilliant but the book just ended!! I would have happily read another 200 pages of this to find out where it was going and what had happened to bring them all together in that house.

I’m not a huge fan of audiobooks so I thought I’d give this a go after seeing a lot of great reviews for the book and I really enjoyed it!

I thought the story was gripping and thrilling in equal measure if it was a physical book I’d call
It a page turner!

Definitely recommend this!

My review is for the audio version. Whilst I didn’t mind the narrator’s voice, and was excited by the description of the book, the story fell flat for me. Though it was descriptive from the start, I felt some of the description did not help the plot along and I wasn’t sure what the author’s intention was ( for example, references to erections). I did not finish, I simply wasn’t captured by the characters or story telling. Perhaps a paper version would’ve been better so that I could flick ahead and try and pick up at an interesting point.

“Leave the World Behind” begins like a delicate portrait of a typical family going on vacation to a rented home in a remote part of Long Island, but it soon turns into a much darker story filled with dread. At first it feels like an Anne Tyler novel and then slides into Cormac McCarthy. I think it's clever how Alam draws you into the lives of parents Amanda and Clay to fully understand the minutiae of their psychology and self-centredness. They are probably no more egotistical than most people, but definitely justify their attitudes and actions based on notions of inherent privilege. Therefore, they find it deeply challenging and frightening when, after settling into their accommodation, an older black couple named the Washingtons arrive on their doorstep late one night. Ruth and G.H. Washington assert that they are the owners and need to stay in their home because there's been a peculiar blackout in NYC. While they have no means of getting information through the news or internet, we follow the story of how this group is terrifyingly cut off from larger world events as the world descends into chaos. It's a kind of dystopian story as felt through the limited perspective of a group of characters but also says something larger about the flimsy magnanimity of white middle-upper class life.

Recently I read Don DeLillo's most recent novel “The Silence” which has a very similar premise. A group of people find themselves isolated and ignorant about the larger cataclysmic events of the world when they are cut off from the media. It's a potent and timely situation as we increasingly find ourselves utterly dependant on understanding events and the shape of society as filtered through the internet. Yet, where DeLillo's book felt more like a studious exercise, Alam's story was much more successful as a satisfying novel that raises a number of compelling ideas while delivering a chilling, compulsively-readable tale. It's cleverly structured in how we're trapped in the limited perspective of the characters through much of the story, but later on we glimpse the devolving structures of the world. The reader fully understands how everything is going badly wrong but also feels the agonizing fear of the characters as they experience little signs which indicate that they're all in deep trouble. Deer flock past the house in unusually high numbers. Flamingoes unnaturally inhabit their area. Amanda and Clay's son becomes strangely ill. Their control and grasp of the world slowly seeps away and this results in a horrifying kind of derangement. It made this novel an effective, potent and unsettling read.