This was a fast starter for me, drifted in the middle and then CAPTURED me in its end. A clever look on race, class, gender and privilege. Rumaan Alam yet again delivers the societal awakening many of us need
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Thank you to the publisher for the early review copy

'Entitlement' is a thought-provoking novel about money and power which centres around the relationship between Brooke Orr, a 33-year-old Black woman, and her employer, wealthy white billionaire Asher Jaffee.

The novel is set in New York City towards the end of the Obama administration. After several unfulfilling years teaching at a charter school, Brooke has recently started working for the Asher and Carol Jaffee Foundation, an philanthropic organisation dedicated to giving away all of the wealth that Jaffee has accumulated through his business ventures. Brooke becomes Asher's protégé, initially tasked with overseeing a conservation project to reintroduce oysters into New York Harbor, and then seeks to persuade Asher to donate to an arts program set up for underprivileged Black young people. But the more aware she becomes of Asher's extreme wealth, the more she starts to believe that she deserves some of it for herself.

This novel explores what it means to exist in a world driven by money where even owning an apartment is an impossible dream for many inhabitants of NYC, and the ways in which this fixation with money can warp all of our interactions and relationships with others. I found it an engaging and frequently unsettling read; at times, I struggled with the omniscient third-person narrator's rapid switching between perspectives, but the disconcerting effect was perhaps deliberate.

I have seen this novel compared with Henry James and Edith Wharton's 'money novels', and it also reminded me of Forster's 'Howards End' which is deeply concerned with the ways in which money affects all our exchanges with others. In its exploration of the interplay of race, gender and wealth, it also reminded me of an earlier novel for this year, Kiley Reid's 'Come and Get It'. This is novel which gives us plenty to think about and discuss. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending an ARC to review.

I was expecting more from this book given the authors previous work Nevertheless it was very thought provoking. A very interesting premise when Brooke a thirty three year old ex teacher begins work for a foundation headed up by Asher Jaffee who in his eighties wants to give away his money to worthy courses. The entitlement lies in the old adage power corrupts and ultimate power ultimately corrupts..Extreme wealth can be enormously corrupting as we found out. hard to find an empathetic character.

Brooke is a young black woman who has recently had a career change. After nine years as a teacher she has started working at a charity owned by an old billionaire who wants to give all his money away.

Asher, this old rich guy, takes a firm liking to Brooke and declares her his protégée. As such, Brooke feels wealth & power is within touching distance and will do what she needs to in order to secure both for herself.

I absolutely got second-hand embarrassment in the latter half of this novel. But I wish it had all gone further! Yes it’s cringey but it felt like it was building up to something more and ended up quite tame? I enjoyed where it was going but wasn’t thrilled with the destination I suppose. I needed more for the cringe I felt!

The quirky, punchy style appealed, as did the unusual characters, drawn to each other in unusual circumstances. Both in need, one in want, neither entirely honest about their intentions. The billionaire’s altruism is potentially suspect; his new assistant to help disperse his wealth before his death is not as detached as she indicates. The challenges of wealth affect them both and morality takes a hit as entitlement creeps into the scenario. At times poignant, ultimately brutal, this is a thought-provoking read which raises a number of issues. I did wonder midway through where it was leading, but overall it was a compelling read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I was initially quite disappointed in this book. I thought Leave the World Behind was one of the best books I read in 2020/21 so i was delighted to get an advance copy of this book. Unfortunately, I found it very, very hard to get into and I found the writing to be very disjointed in parts. almost as if it was deliberately written in the English of a non native speaker. I was bemused by the various scenarios presented regarding just one event, as when Brooke is in the cafe with the woman and the dog. We are given 4 or 5 versions of what happens but what did happen and why do we get different versions? I think I was well over halfway through the book before I started to enjoy it.

It is hard to connect with Brooke or indeed any of the characters, I found Brooke to be unappreciative and far too inclined to think that the world does not appreciate her and that that is not fair but i was surprised at how much she was affected by her proximity to the fabulous wealth of her mentor. I felt for her when her championship of Sister Ghalyela's school does not turn out as she had hoped. Asher is not very nice either, doling out his excess wealth on whims.

The ending of the book from the party onwards is very interesting though and lifts the book to being thought provoking and memorable. There is a line I found devastating "maybe all black women in America had in their veins the knowledge of where the kitchen was."

I will go for 3.5 up to 4.

An unsettling novel about a young black woman, who, upon meeting a billionaire, starts seeing her world and personality unravel, as her world crumbles under the weight of the discrepancy between her life and that of her new friend and mentor.

The book is a scathing critique of social inequalities and the psychological effects these have, over and above any tangible quality of life aspects. It describes the steady erosion of self and morals, as a sense of entitlement starts governing one's life. The depiction of how disconnected the lives of the ultra-rich really are from the rest of us is, while not entirely new, refreshing in its handling of the more psychological aspects of that experience. Effectively, we see how the morality of a billionaire, bordering on sociopathy, infects a regular(ish) person, and destroys everything they hold dear. This exposes the intrinsic horror in his morality, which is only socially acceptable (or at least tolerated) when practiced by an ultra rich person.

I really liked the book - it was well written and hard to put down, the psychological profile of the protagonist was nuanced and complex, and the ideas at the core of this book were interesting and revealing. It was also unsettling - the last 30-40% of the book were really upsetting, really bringing home the unraveling of our protagonists. These scenes were emotive and hard to stomach, and, at the same time, excellent reading.

I highly recommend to anyone interested in exploring additional facets of the socio-economic divide in society, and the psychological implications of being confronted by it. It's not an easy read, but a rewarding one nonetheless.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

An interesting book as we follow Brooke, a young Black woman desperate for her own flat and desperate to succeed in her work in a non-profit, giving away the money of an old billionaire. She becomes greedy and careless, she alienates her friends and family. It was a bit slow at times but enjoyable nonetheless.

Free ARC sent by Netgalley.

Brooke never has enough. As a young black woman raised by a white mother, whose best friend has a trust fund in the millions, she's always aware of what's missing. And when, at her new job, she captures the attention of a billionaire philanthropist, she finally has what she wants: money and power, the opportunity to decide what gets what and, as the lines become blurrier, to finally get what she thinks she's entitled to. This is a compulsive novel which never veers from its central concern: entitlement. Brooke is unbearable at times, completely unable to see what she already has, and as she makes increasingly reckless decisions, the book becomes agonising to read. Gripping and thought-provoking in equal parts.

This is a thought provoking read. Having read some of the author's earlier work, I was intrigued to read this book and I'm grateful to the publisher for allowing me to read this prior to publication.
From the onset, this finely tuned story engages and interests you and the reader will get pulled deeper and deeper as they progress. The story poses some interesting points about integrity and morality and the conflicts between material and corporate worth and honesty and purity.
I can honestly say that I found this a very well written and strong book and worthy of the time and concentration required, to fully appreciate and to contemplate such a book.

Great premise but somehow there's no spark. Some of the dialogue in particular feels leaden, a bit first draft-y, as if the author's trying to work his way towards what he wants to say. And the head-hopping is distracting.

This novel explores ambition, privilege, and philanthropy, all set against the backdrop of NYC's 1%. The story centers on Brooke, a 33-year-old Black woman who lands a prestigious job at The Carol and Asher Jaffee Foundation. What starts as an opportunity to do good and make a difference quickly spirals into a tale of arrogance and obsession, as Brooke becomes increasingly entangled in the world of wealth and power.

The author does a brilliant job of raising questions about what it means to do and be good, particularly when enormous sums of money are involved. Brooke’s journey from a promising new hire to someone who feels increasingly entitled is fascinating and uncomfortable to watch. The characters are deeply flawed, which makes them more real and relatable despite their unlikability.

The book’s ending is unexpected and unsettling, leaving the reader with lingering questions. This book will leave you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page. A solid four stars from me!

Sadly, I didn't finish this book.
I was so excited to get access to this arc as I loved 'leave the world behind', but from the beginning I found this story dense, and tough to get through. Maybe if I had persevered, it would have gotten easier and better but I didn't have it in me.

This book made me feel deeply uncomfortable and icky.
We all know how money and power can corrode relationships.
I found it hard to care for anyone in this world of well to do people, and how they deal with other people having a lot more money than them.

Many thanks to @netgalley and @bloomsbury for the advance copy in return for my honest review.

Entitlement tells the story of Brooke Orr, a disillusioned 33 year old former high school teacher, who goes to work for philanthropist and multi-millionaire, Asher Jafree. The octogenarian Jafree has set up a foundation to constructively dispose of his vast wealth before he dies. Brooke soon makes an impression on her employer, becoming his protégée, seeking out suitable community projects for Jafree to donate to. While at the start, Brooke wants to become “an angel on the shoulder, a force for good”, she is quickly seduced by the transformative power of money.

I enjoyed this book, though not perhaps as much as Leave the World Behind. Nonetheless, this was a revealing analysis of the business of saving souls and the eternal pursuit of happiness. 3 stars from me.

Ok my dislike of this book is mostly on me as I thought it was going to be a similar genre to Leave the world behind but it’s definitely literary fiction which isn’t really my thing. I felt like the book was really slow and to be honest, boring? If literary fiction is your thing then you may love it but the writing style/lack of plot wasn’t for me.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A sad story in many ways as the ability of the extremes of wealth to do good are set against the devastating powers of that same wealth to distort and corrupt. Playing this out within each of the two main characters shows just how fine is the dividing line. An uncomfortable read as a result but this makes the message all the more real.

I’m not sure about the reading experience. But I think that was the point of the book. I will definitely be thinking about this book after my reading experience.

This sounded really good and I was quite open-minded about it but the writing style is just not for me. Previous work by this author was quite good and enjoyable, unfortunately this one didn't hold the same vibes for me and I DNF.

Rumaan’s first novel blew me away. The world he created and brought us into was one that felt devastatingly believable. This one is much the same, smart and gripping.