I’m going to be honest with you (as always!), but I very nearly gave up on this book. Several times.
The beginning of Leave The World Behind is so slow that it became a bit of a grind. It was just so dull, focusing on these awful rich people worrying about where the sunscreen is. Honestly, I did not give two hoots what Amanda was buying from the grocery store, because yes, YES, we did have an entire chapter dedicated to listing literally everything she bought. And yes, it felt all so wasteful.
And don’y get me started on the oddly frequent way they described the children’s skin; it was uncomfortably weird in the way it kept being mentioned but wasn’t in the slightest way plot-serving, just…because? I don’t know. It was all a bit unsettling and not in a clever, creepy way, but in a “was this necessary?” way.
But, I did stick with it, and y’know what I’m actually glad that I did, because it turned into a book that played on everything I love.
The dread creeps in, when the owners of the property turn up, completely unannounced with word of a power outage in New York City, and from that moment none of their technology works. They don’t lose electricity (which, I’m not going to lie feels a little odd, in hindsight), but they no longer have access to their phones, the internet or television.
There are no explosions or dramatic reveals, but instead there is silence, as the group come to this slow and horrifying realisation that something is very wrong and no one is coming to explain it. There is permanently something looming over us (the characters, and us as the readers), as we realise how isolated they are, as the world clearly is crumbling around them, but they don’t know in what way.
There’s no neat ending. In fact, there’s no real explanation at all. Instead, Alam drip feeds us little tidbits of information relating to what is happening, and those moments are so subtle that I personally found them terrifying and incredibly effective at building an intense sense of unease.
I’m not sure about anyone else, but I am a lot more scared of the unknown, than I am by monsters, and I think that is what gave this book such a great tone.
Looking back, I think I have begun to understand why those earlier and mundane chapters were so important. They represented a world that is normal. A world that we would all prefer to have, when faced with the alternative.
So yes, I did hate this book at first. I thought it was boring and overhyped, and I do still think the obsession with the children’s bodies was incredibly creepy. However, I finished the book a few days ago (as of writing) and in all honesty, I am actually still thinking about it. I’m thinking about how I’d cope without my mobile phone, unable to communicate with anyone back home, what was going on with the deer and the flamingoes? What was the noise in the distance? Did the noise make Archie sick, or was it the tic? There was mention of planes, but I have so many more questions about them.
The book makes us realise how fragile we all are.
If you want a fast-paced disaster story, then Leave The World Behind is definitely not for you. However, if you’re a fan of slow-paced deep-rooted dread and unknown fear, then this is definitely an interesting read.
I have seen the trailers for the film, and I’ve read a few things about it, but in all honesty, from what I’d seen, I’m definitely going to give it a miss. I have a lot of issues with the casting choices, plot changes and even some of the scripting, so I don’t really think I’m missing anything.