Leave the World Behind in What's the Name of That Book???

Dec 16, 2020 Hannah added it

Shelves: magic-realism-spec-fic, grownups-fiction, 2020

I cannot believe I allowed this book to take so much of my time and energy. The racial politics I was promised were not that interestingly drawn and soon took backseat to....the horrors of parenting? idk, maybe it's because I'm not a parent, but I'm not particularly intrigued, morbidly interested in, or deliciously scared by reading lots of sexualized descriptions of children. The horror just...had nowhere to go, and it did nothing, and the ending wasn't satisfying or satisfyingly open-ended. It ...more

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Feb 15, 2021 Melinda Worfolk rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, authors-of-colour, 2020-2024, fiction, speculative-fiction, mystery-suspense-thriller, good-audio-books

3.5 stars. I think if you want to read this novel, it's best to go into it knowing as little as possible. So, try to avoid reading the publisher's description. I'll spoiler any details in this review.

This is a very America-centric, parent-centric novel, but in such a way that a lot of Americans and a lot of parents will feel very unsettled and discomfited by it. I liked it and am glad I read it, but I can see how others might not feel the same way. If you are okay with ambiguity, meandering desc 3.5 stars. I think if you want to read this novel, it's best to go into it knowing as little as possible. So, try to avoid reading the publisher's description. I'll spoiler any details in this review.

This is a very America-centric, parent-centric novel, but in such a way that a lot of Americans and a lot of parents will feel very unsettled and discomfited by it. I liked it and am glad I read it, but I can see how others might not feel the same way. If you are okay with ambiguity, meandering description, and open-endedness, you are more likely to enjoy it than if you prefer tightly plotted action and closure.

The beginning is deliberate and languidly paced, which I didn't mind. I guessed (correctly) that the author was building towards something bigger. I liked the extremely detailed, unhurried description of the house and its environs; I could picture it vividly and am not at all surprised the book has been acquired for a film adaptation. I also liked the way the author places us randomly in the heads of different characters, shifting quickly from one close third person point of view to another. The author does make some accurate but relatively brief observations about race, which I appreciated, but doesn't end up being as large a part of the book as I had initially thought. This is an existential book about being a parent, about being a child, about being a human and being responsible for caring about other people, even people we don't know.

Content warnings: (view spoiler)

I know a lot of people were annoyed by the beginning, but I actually thought the first half of the book was the best half. (view spoiler)

A note: I listened to the audiobook and the reader, Marin Ireland, did a very good job (I did speed her up very slightly to 1.05x).

"However much had happened, so much more would happen." ...more

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Jan 22, 2024 The Book Maven rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2024

This book haunts like the aftertaste of a shot of Mallort--I'm not sure I liked it, but I certainly will never forget it.

At some point, I will re-read. ...more

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Oct 20, 2020 Ryan rated it really liked it

Shelves: borrowed, 2020, z2020-published

Sometimes the simplest ideas can be the most unnerving.

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Jun 24, 2022 Michelle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: lit_fic, book_club_irl

It's no secret that "angst in the suburbs" is my least favorite genre. After reading a few other reviews and checking out how this was shelved by other readers, I had this one flagged for "horror" and "suspense" and "mystery" but it's certainly none of these, just some angsty folks wondering how they measure up against the Jonses.

A generic upper-middle-class couple arrive from their NYC apartment to a tastefully appointed vacation rental in a gentrified agrarian part of Long Island. They bring It's no secret that "angst in the suburbs" is my least favorite genre. After reading a few other reviews and checking out how this was shelved by other readers, I had this one flagged for "horror" and "suspense" and "mystery" but it's certainly none of these, just some angsty folks wondering how they measure up against the Jonses.

A generic upper-middle-class couple arrive from their NYC apartment to a tastefully appointed vacation rental in a gentrified agrarian part of Long Island. They bring 2.4 kids with them (their son is quite tall, so he counts for more than just 1), they go shopping for aspirationally organic groceries, they simultaneously enjoy the house and lament they'll never afford such a place. Their cell phones don't work out here in the middle of nowhere, but that's to be expected, right? Then an older couple arrives, claiming to be the homeowners, and claiming that nobody's cell phones work for some mysterious/nefarious reason.

This book doesn't really know what it wants to be. There's some suggestion of race tensions between the two couples (one white, one black), but not so much that this is what the book is about. Likewise the undertones of dissatisfaction between their upper- and upper-upper-middle class status. It could have been a commentary on the dwindling strength of community in our modern plugged-in era, or how we literally can't live without our gadgets telling us how to, but any tension between the two couples is repeatedly undercut with little tantalizing asides about some nebulously apocalyptic stuff that may be going on elsewhere that our characters remain unaware of. It's a short, breezy read, and it feels earthy and honest (often, too much so - no matter how true, I have no interest in reading about the tolerance all parents possess for their childrens' vomit), but I don't much care for any one of these people. And if that wasn't enough, the end (view spoiler) *Shrug* ...more

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Nov 11, 2020 Liz rated it did not like it

Shelves: adult-fiction, 1-star

What on earth was this? The writing was kind of nice, but ruined by too many weird references to sex. Only half of the characters were well developed and the others were too busy panicking too be developed. There was kind of a plot in terms of character relationships, but the ending was out of nowhere and wholly unsatisfying.

Not worthy it, going into the donation bag.

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Jan 25, 2021 Carolynn Garcia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I want to give it 4 stars because it's UNSATISFYING in the things we never get to know. We're not meant to know, it's not as though the author forgot to tell us, or failed in some way. We are as clueless as the people in the story and that is intentional. We feel as they feel. They are us and we are them. We could be, would be them.
Are these events, something like them, an inevitability?
We need certainties to be at ease. We need our phones, the connection, the knowledge, the assurances they prov ...more

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Feb 07, 2021 Heather rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-it, faves

Ooh I loved this. I feel like it was marketed as a horror/thriller and that is really not what it is. It's more of a character study about how different people react in a crisis. Race, class, gender, and age dynamics, marriage and parenting. The eerie sense of not knowing what's going on is really powerful and done expertly - you are purposely frustrated in your desire to know what's happening. Their reactions are so relatable. Beautifully written, showing people's failings without being cruel, ...more

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