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Rumaan Alam

Goodreads Author

Website

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: 3.09 · 210,669 ratings · 30,096 reviews · 17 distinct works • Similar authors

	Leave the World Behind 3.13 avg rating — 174,928 ratings — published 2020 — 21 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 — 11,235 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 2.95 avg rating — 9,226 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 — 7,848 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 — 4,781 ratings — published 1984 — 34 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 2.26 avg rating — 4,046 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
	A Domestic Animal by Francis King, Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 3.84 avg rating — 316 ratings — published 1970 — 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
	There Are Flowers in Ohio by Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author), Michael Crouch (Narrator), Allison Hiroto (Narrator) 2.97 avg rating — 366 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
	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

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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

American Men

by Jordan Ritter Conn (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 04, 2026 12:27PM

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Stitch (The Arbor House library of contemporary Americana)

by Richard Stern

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Sep 20, 2026 06:56PM

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The Wild Ass's Skin

by Honoré de Balzac

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Sep 07, 2026 10:00AM

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Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Foursome: Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Strand, Rebecca Salsbury by Carolyn Burke	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
Oct 04, 2026 12:27PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Foursome by Carolyn Burke. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Foursome by Carolyn Burke <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading American Men by Jordan Ritter Conn (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
Oct 04, 2026 12:27PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of American Men by Jordan Ritter Conn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — American Men by Jordan Ritter Conn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing The Inheritance: A Novel by Bennett Capers	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 Foursome: Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Strand, Rebecca Salsbury by Carolyn Burke	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
Oct 04, 2026 12:27PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Foursome by Carolyn Burke. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Foursome by Carolyn Burke <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam finished reading The Inheritance: A Novel by Bennett Capers	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 The Inheritance: A Novel by Bennett Capers	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
Oct 02, 2026 07:41PM · like
Rumaan Alam is currently reading Foursome: Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Strand, Rebecca Salsbury by Carolyn Burke	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
Sep 26, 2026 03:53PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Foursome by Carolyn Burke. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Foursome by Carolyn Burke <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing How It Feels to Be Alive: Encounters with Art and Our Selves by Megan O'Grady	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
Sep 21, 2026 05:16PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How It Feels to Be Alive by Megan O'Grady. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How It Feels to Be Alive by Megan O'Grady <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading Stitch (The Arbor House library of contemporary Americana) by Richard Stern	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
Sep 20, 2026 06:56PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Stitch by Richard Stern. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Stitch by Richard Stern <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading How It Feels to Be Alive: Encounters with Art and Our Selves by Megan O'Grady	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
Sep 20, 2026 04:47AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How It Feels to Be Alive by Megan O'Grady. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How It Feels to Be Alive by Megan O'Grady <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

January BoTM Nominations ~ Book Published in 2020 ~ 1st Poll
Top 5 Move onto Final Poll!

The Vanishing Half

by Brit Bennett

9 votes, 21.4%

The Midnight Library

by Matt Haig

9 votes, 21.4%

The Henna Artist

by Alka Joshi

8 votes, 19.0%

This Is How I Lied

by Heather Gudenkauf

6 votes, 14.3%

The Last Flight

by Julie Clark

5 votes, 11.9%

The House in the Cerulean Sea

by T.J. Klune

3 votes, 7.1%

These Ghosts Are Family

by Maisy Card

1 vote, 2.4%

Leave the World Behind

by Rumaan Alam

1 vote, 2.4%

Pride of Eden

by Taylor Brown

0 votes, 0.0%

The Lost Orphan

by Stacey Halls

0 votes, 0.0%

Luster

by Raven Leilani

0 votes, 0.0%

The Cold Millions

by Jess Walter

0 votes, 0.0%

42 total votes

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WACKY READING CHA...: Marina's Wacky Challenges	27	31	Jan 18, 2018 12:04AM

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Rumaan Alam

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rssRumaan’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Foursome by Carolyn Burke

See a Problem?

Preview — American Men by Jordan Ritter Conn

See a Problem?

Preview — Foursome by Carolyn Burke

See a Problem?

Preview — Foursome by Carolyn Burke

See a Problem?

Preview — How It Feels to Be Alive by Megan O'Grady

See a Problem?

Preview — Stitch by Richard Stern

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