Leave the World Behind
Amanda and Clay, a white couple, have just started a relaxing vacation in the Hamptons with their teen son and daughter when there is a knock at the door. G.H. and Ruth, a black couple who say they are the owners of the home, have arrived from New York. All they know is there has been a blackout. They are worried, and speculating, and could they stay in the home while they figure out what’s happening?
The couples eye one another with suspicion, forced to trust while cut off from the world. Phones, internet, and television don’t work. Large booms and strange animal behavior unnerve them. What does one do, while still safe but suspecting that the world is ending?
This deeply unsettling book is perfect for any reader who is leaning into disaster lit during the pandemic. The tension, language, and interweaving of race and class commentary are subtle and masterful.
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Publisher’s Description
From the bestselling author of Rich and Pretty comes a suspenseful and provocative novel keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood, race, and class. Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped–and unexpected new ones are forged–in moments of crisis.
Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: 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 a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple–it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area–with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service–it’s hard to know what to believe.
Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple–and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other?
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