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Rumaan Alam

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http://rumaanalam.com/

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Rumaan

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Fiction

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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 · 205,327 ratings · 29,361 reviews · 16 distinct works • Similar authors

	Leave the World Behind 3.14 avg rating — 170,725 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 — 11,177 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 2.96 avg rating — 8,840 ratings — published 2024 — 11 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 — 7,784 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 — 4,402 ratings — published 1984	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) 2.27 avg rating — 3,757 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) 2.98 avg rating — 346 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) 3.76 avg rating — 172 ratings — published 1944 — 40 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

You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn

by Wendy Lesser

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Apr 25, 2026 04:06PM

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Mephisto

by Klaus Mann

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Apr 12, 2026 07:30PM

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Rumaan’s Recent Updates

Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Under the Net by Iris Murdoch	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
Apr 25, 2026 04:07PM · 8 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Under the Net by Iris Murdoch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Under the Net by Iris Murdoch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam started reading You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn by Wendy Lesser	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
Apr 25, 2026 04:06PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of You Say to Brick by Wendy Lesser. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — You Say to Brick by Wendy Lesser <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Diane Arbus: Portrait of a Photographer by Arthur Lubow	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
Apr 25, 2026 04:05PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Diane Arbus by Arthur Lubow. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Diane Arbus by Arthur Lubow <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger	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
Apr 15, 2026 07:23AM · 8 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading Under the Net by Iris Murdoch	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
Apr 14, 2026 07:26PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Under the Net by Iris Murdoch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Under the Net by Iris Murdoch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing The First House by Avni Doshi (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
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Rumaan Alam is currently reading Mephisto by Klaus Mann	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
Apr 12, 2026 07:30PM · like
Rumaan Alam finished reading The First House by Avni Doshi (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
Apr 12, 2026 07:30PM · like
Rumaan Alam is currently reading The First House by Avni Doshi (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
Apr 10, 2026 09:28PM · 1 like · like
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner	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
Apr 10, 2026 07:27AM · 8 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner <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

21 likes

“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

17 likes

See all Rumaan Alam's quotes »

Polls

What will be our November 2021 Open Pick?

Remember, if you vote for a book and it wins, you are implicitly promising to read the book and participate in the discussion.

The poll will end at 11:59 pm on September 30th. The discussion will start on November 1st

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

4 votes, 44.4%

Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup

3 votes, 33.3%

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris

2 votes, 22.2%

Celestial Harmonies by Péter Esterházy

0 votes, 0.0%

9 total votes

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Rumaan’s Year In Books

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See a Problem?

Preview — Under the Net by Iris Murdoch

See a Problem?

Preview — You Say to Brick by Wendy Lesser

See a Problem?

Preview — Diane Arbus by Arthur Lubow

See a Problem?

Preview — I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

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Preview — Under the Net by Iris Murdoch

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Preview — Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

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