Then, a few more loud noises sound out, breaking more glass and scaring them all.

That night, a flock of wild flamingos appear on the lawn. Amanda and Clay decide they need to leave to get him to a doctor the next morning. The adults try to prepare for an extended blackout, filling a tub with water in case the water stops running and checking on the food stores. (Unknown to them, not too far away, the deer are scared and trampling everything in their wake.) Clay eventually finds his way home, but doesn't mention getting lost or the woman. Then, a thunderous noise is heard, loud enough to crack the glass on some doors, which scares everyone. They find a shack and a house in a clearing, and Archie gets bitten by a tick. Meanwhile, Rose and Archie go exploring in the woods. He runs into a scared woman, but she only speaks Spanish and so he leaves her. Clay heads to town to assess the situation, but gets lost. The next morning, Rose notices a herd of a few dozen deer outside (what she doesn't see is that there are actually thousands of them). Amanda also catches a news alert on her phone confirming a large-scale blackout across the east coast. At the house, the wi-fi is out, along with the landline, TV and cell service.

It's arranged that they will stay in the in-law unit in the basement until things get sorted. Their main home is in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but they drove back to their vacation home to wait out the blackout. But it turns out George and Ruth are a wealthy and highly educated couple.

They explain that there's been a blackout.Īmanda is initially suspicious of them and is surprised that they could own a home such as this one. It's an idyllic and peaceful vacation until an older Black couple shows up at night, identifying themselves as the house's owners, G.H. They are a middle-to-upper-middle class family who live in Brooklyn. Leave the World Behind is a 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam.Īmanda and Clay drive out to a remote luxury Airbnb on Long Island for a vacation, along with their kids Archie, 15, and Rose, 13. Print (hardcover, paperback), e-book, audiobook

Leave the world behind rumaan alam