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Rumaan Alam

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http://rumaanalam.com/

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Rumaan

Genre

Fiction

Member Since

August 2015

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I'm the author of the novels Rich and Pretty, That Kind of Mother, Leave the World Behind, and Entitlement.

My short fiction has appeared in StoryQuarterly, Crazyhorse, Meridian, and elsewhere. I've also written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and the New Republic. I studied writing at Oberlin College. Now I live in New York with my husband and two kids.
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Rumaan Alam’s books

Average rating: 3.1 · 201,346 ratings · 28,891 reviews · 16 distinct works • Similar authors

	Leave the World Behind 3.14 avg rating — 167,646 ratings — published 2020 — 76 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rich and Pretty 2.77 avg rating — 11,134 ratings — published 2016 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Entitlement 2.97 avg rating — 8,485 ratings — published 2024 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	That Kind of Mother 3.07 avg rating — 7,732 ratings — published 2018 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Children's Bach by Helen Garner, Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 3.51 avg rating — 4,081 ratings — published 1984 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Shell Game (Getaway, #6) 2.29 avg rating — 3,570 ratings — published 2022 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design by Christiane Lemieux, Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author), Deborah Needleman (Foreword) 3.53 avg rating — 535 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	There Are Flowers in Ohio by Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author), Michael Crouch (Narrator), Allison Hiroto (Narrator) 2.99 avg rating — 325 ratings — published 2022 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Boston Adventure by Jean Stafford, Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.72 avg rating — 165 ratings — published 1944 — 39 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Leave the World Behind by Alam, Rumaan by Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Rumaan Alam…

If it seems like a lot of your favorite books are turning into movies and TV series lately, you’re right. Extremely right. In fact, it’s...

Rumaan is Currently Reading

Rumaan Alam is currently reading

A Bit on the Side

by William Trevor

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Jan 07, 2026 03:35PM

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Waiting on a Friend

by Natalie Adler (Goodreads Author)

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Jan 06, 2026 04:59PM

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Doctor Faustus

by Thomas Mann

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Jan 23, 2025 08:13PM

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Rumaan Alam is currently reading A Bit on the Side by William Trevor	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 07, 2026 03:35PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Bit on the Side by William Trevor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Bit on the Side by William Trevor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 06, 2026 04:59PM · like
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Brawler: Stories by Lauren Groff (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 05, 2026 03:27PM · 6 likes · like
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Fallow by Sarah Anderson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 31, 2025 04:25AM · like
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing The Au Pair by Teddy Wayne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 26, 2025 08:06PM · 6 likes · like
Rumaan Alam is currently reading Fallow by Sarah Anderson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 26, 2025 08:06PM · 1 like · like
Rumaan Alam finished reading The Au Pair by Teddy Wayne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 26, 2025 08:06PM · like
Rumaan Alam is currently reading The Au Pair by Teddy Wayne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 25, 2025 07:51PM · 1 like · like
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing We Are Gathered Here Today by Bobby Finger	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 21, 2025 07:15PM · 5 likes · like
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Reboot by Justin Taylor	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 17, 2025 03:59PM · 4 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Reboot by Justin Taylor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Reboot by Justin Taylor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Rumaan Alam (?)

“Parenthood was never knowing what was going to hurt your kids, but knowing only that something, inevitably, would.”
― Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

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“Ruth had learned only one thing from the current reality, and it was that everything held together by tacit agreement that it would. All it took to unravel something was one party deciding to do just that. There was no real structure to prevent chaos. There was only a collective faith in order.”
― Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

19 likes

“You never know when a time is the last time, because if you did you could never go on with life.”
― Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

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See all Rumaan Alam's quotes »

Polls

Seasonal reads - Halloween 2021
Te lezen tussen 15 oktober en 15 november 2021

Frankenstein van Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

22 votes, 30.6%

De zonderlinge geschiedenis van Dr. Jekyll en Mr. Hyde van Robert Louis Stevenson

18 votes, 25.0%

A Monster Calls van Patrick Ness

11 votes, 15.3%

Laat de wereld achter van Rumaan Alam

10 votes, 13.9%

Spokenjacht van Sandra Berg

6 votes, 8.3%

Clownsnacht van Daniëlle Bakhuis

5 votes, 6.9%

72 total votes

4 comments

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The Seasonal Read...: Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POST IN THIS THREAD	2555	478	Nov 30, 2016 09:00PM
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2017: Reading Plans	60	333	Jul 20, 2017 08:26AM
The Seasonal Read...: Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POST IN THIS THREAD	2921	511	Aug 31, 2017 09:01PM
Around the Year i...: 8: A book written by a person of color	84	239	Oct 24, 2017 02:11PM
Books on the Nigh...: What are you reading June 2018	32	119	Jun 30, 2018 12:30PM
Aussie Readers: Literary Fiction	451	419	Oct 31, 2018 07:29PM

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