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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 · 203,194 ratings · 29,111 reviews · 16 distinct works • Similar authors

	Leave the World Behind 3.14 avg rating — 169,017 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 — 11,158 ratings — published 2016	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 — 8,698 ratings — published 2024 — 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
	That Kind of Mother 3.07 avg rating — 7,759 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 — 4,234 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) 2.28 avg rating — 3,651 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 — 536 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 — 335 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) 3.75 avg rating — 166 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...

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In the Beauty of the Lilies

by John Updike

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11 hours, 48 min ago

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A View Of The Harbour

by Elizabeth Taylor

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Feb 17, 2026 05:48PM

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Lightning Field

by Dana Spiotta (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 10, 2026 05:36PM

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Rumaan Alam is currently reading In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike	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
11 hours, 48 min ago · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Updike by Adam Begley (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
Feb 23, 2026 06:15AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Updike by Adam Begley. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Updike by Adam Begley <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell (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
Feb 18, 2026 06:07PM · 5 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Last Seen by Christopher Castellani (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
Feb 17, 2026 05:49PM · 3 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Last Seen by Christopher Castellani. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Last Seen by Christopher Castellani <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading A View Of The Harbour by Elizabeth 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
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Rumaan Alam finished reading Last Seen by Christopher Castellani (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
Feb 17, 2026 05:48PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Last Seen by Christopher Castellani. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Last Seen by Christopher Castellani <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon (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
Feb 17, 2026 08:15AM · 3 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading Last Seen by Christopher Castellani (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
Feb 15, 2026 06:33AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Last Seen by Christopher Castellani. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Last Seen by Christopher Castellani <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka (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
Feb 12, 2026 10:36AM · 3 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon (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
Feb 12, 2026 08:35AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon <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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See a Problem?

Preview — In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike

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Preview — Updike by Adam Begley

See a Problem?

Preview — How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

See a Problem?

Preview — Last Seen by Christopher Castellani

See a Problem?

Preview — Last Seen by Christopher Castellani

See a Problem?

Preview — See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon

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Preview — Last Seen by Christopher Castellani

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Preview — See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon

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