Leave the World Behind

Rumaan Alam's third novel, Leave the World Behind, starts slow as an upper-middle-class family (Clay, a university professor and book critic; his wife Amanda, an advertising director; and their two teenage children) begin to settle in to a Hamptons rental house for a summer vacation. But around the time you get to page 35 (of the original hardcover edition) the tone shifts and an excellent plot begins to power the book ahead. Alam's workmanlike prose leaves a bit to be desired — and some of his characters behave in implausible ways — but he creates a haunting and uncertain setting that matches the unease and chaos of our modern world.