Leave the World Behind

This was a fast, intense read. I originally set it aside because the omniscient narration was rubbing me the wrong way. It constantly jumps between the characters' thoughts/points of view; over a few pages, for example, you will see a single conversation through the eyes of four different people, as they react to each other, etc. At first, it struck me that this approach gave the story kind of a shallow feeling, in contrast to one that has you seeing things through the eyes of a single character (or maybe a few characters, with the perspective/point of view alternating among the chapters).

But luckily I decided to give it another try, and then I realized that the omniscient narration is essential for this book. Every time the characters say or do anything, there is immediate commentary about what they're thinking, so you get to see their motivations, doubts, shame, mental gymnastics, etc. It's fascinating.

Overall, it is very suspenseful and makes pointed observations about New York and many aspects of life, including parenting, racism, intergenerational and class tensions, self-delusion, and environmental degradation.

Because so much of what matters in this book takes place inside the characters' heads, I would say that it was almost unfilmable. So I'm really interested in seeing what the Netflix show does with it. [Note: I watched the movie and thought it was pretty good]

A normal middle class family from the city books an AirBnB out in the country for a vacation. A chance to be away from it all in a place that is very away from it all. They arrive to find they don't have cell service, but the home does have cable and internet. All is well. Until it's not. The owners show up unannounced, asking to stay, offering to refund the money. They report a blackout in the city. This novel really feels like this is how the world would end from my point of view, living down a dirt road, away from too much but still close enough to easily obtain the conveniences of civilization. I really liked this novel; it's very good. But also I am at my limit for apocalyptic fiction. I do not wish to imagine what it would be like if the world ended in front of my eyes anymore. Content warning for some body horror stuff involving teeth near the end.

It's been a while since I've finished a book in one sitting. Literally the only reason I finished this book at all is because I listened to it over my shift at work, and I was essentially a captive audience. Thank God this was a short book, because this was not a good book.

So we have one family, a working mom, a somewhat dense dad, and their two teenage kids, who rent an AirBnB for a period of time (did they even say how long?). This particular house is out in the middle of nowhere in Long Island, no cellular reception, and very few (and distant) neighbors. Shortly into their stay, we meet the other family, the owners of the home, older, wealthy, African Americans. Spooked by apparently a power outage on the east coast, they decided to flee to their vacation home and sort things out there. Things....do not get sorted.

This is billed as a thriller, a horror, a mystery to be solved, but I felt none of that reading this. Certainly some strange events occur, but I was hoping it was all building towards some Big Reveal at the end. I felt intense dislike for Amanda, and vague dislike for just about everyone else. The writing seems like it attempts to be prose-y and flowing, but comes off excessively wordy and clunky instead. The author also does not seem to miss any attempt to shoehorn in genitalia references, and we even get a clunky sex scene or two between the mom and dad.

The ending also.........doesn't exist. Seriously, we get no conclusion. It felt like the author just quit writing in mid-scene. Was it war? Nuclear fallout? Disease? Aliens? No idea. Hints dropped pointing to any number of solutions, but nothing conclusive. What happened to the two families? Did they live (happily?) ever after? Did they die horrible deaths as their teeth fell out of their heads (wtf was up with that anyway)? Did they adapt to life without gasp cellular phones?? No clue.

This was almost a one star book for me. I gave it a second star for flamingos in the pool in Long Island and the ridiculous image that conjured. You have been warned.