Leave the World Behind: The Perfect Covid Novel

This thing is all vibes.Both prescient and a perfect vehicle to reflect on how we collectively dealt with a global catastrophe. Despite being written prior to the Covid pandemic, Rumaan Alam's Leave the World Behind is the perfect encapsulation of that fraught time. Don't believe the one-star haters, the Netflix adaptation is pretty darn good too.
MENTIONED:
Leave the World Behind - amzn.to/3H9HmAN
Slow Horses - amzn.to/48KFbPO
Justin at Ghost Reader - / @ghostreader9766
Justin's Nature Photography - / justo_naturephotography
Britt at the Second Shelf - / @brittabohlerthesecond...
ELSEWHERE:
Goodreads: goo.gl/vlGtSd
Instagram: / daejin
Discord: / discord
#LeavetheWorldBehind

[@deeptizaremba3699]

Delighted to see you and catch up. Thoughtful, honest, humorous as always! Thank you. You always expand my bookverse.

[@ThePoptimist]

It's nice to stretch those muscles again - it's been awhile!

[@myreadinglife8816]

Awesome that you got to meet so many Booktubers! Meeting Britta last year was the best…I highly encourage it!😊

[@ThePoptimist]

Love that! Did you just reach out while you were in Cologne? Any other booktubers you get to meet on your European escapade?!

[@myreadinglife8816]

@@ThePoptimist I made arrangements to meet Britta before we left for Europe. No, unfortunately I did not meet any other Booktubers on that trip but hopefully I will next time! 😃

[@susankight544]

Always glad to see your reviews ! They’re engaging deep dives into the work and give me a much more thoughtful, reader centered understanding without spoilers. I don’t always agree with your estimation of a work - Pizza Girl! - but the books you highlight often make it onto my TBR. Hope to see you again soon!

[@ThePoptimist]

LOL Fair enough - they can't all be winning recommendations, but glad to have you here and to hear from you!

[@getbookish]

I happened to watch the movie yesterday, the same day you uploaded this! I read the book in 2022 and knew about the mixed reviews, so I figured there wouldn't be a real explanation for what was going on. I liked the vagueness in the book, but I also liked that the movie gave us something more to work with. -Becks

[@ThePoptimist]

Having Washington's daughter instead of his wife made the racial commentary sharper. I think the vague threat in the book worked well in that medium, but I appreciated the visuals of the movie with the ships, planes, Teslas, leaflets and the distant skyline.

[@getbookish]

@@ThePoptimist Agreed!

[@Robert.Sheard]

The toilet-paper hoarding was what made it so real for me at the time. I've got to see the movie.

[@ThePoptimist]

It too is a vibe and Julia Roberts is cringingly perfect as a New York liberal Karen. (Hope you're feeling better soon!)

[@lindysmagpiereads]

You are thoughtful and entertaining as always. Booktube is great!

[@ThePoptimist]

Thanks - I needed a bit of a reminder of that over the holidays!

[@sihamwh]

Thanks!

[@ThePoptimist]

My first ever Super Thanks! I've never seen that before outside of Twitch so this is just such a pleasant surprise. Thank you very much for tipping creators - so appreciated!

[@kathyarrr]

Looking forward to your trip east try to plan around the 🦞 season if that’s your thing.

[@ThePoptimist]

I'll just be happy to take in the scenery again. Love it out East and it's been too long since my last visit. You know I'm coming looking for you!

[@bbear27777]

After watching a review from you, another book always seems to go on my tbr! Nice to see you back!

[@ThePoptimist]

Thanks! It was nice to shake off those cobwebs

[@readandre-read]

I loved Leave The World Behind and I enjoyed the adaptation as well. The casting was terrific. I preferred the vagueness in the book about what was happening but I thought it worked really well. Thanks for a great video!

[@ThePoptimist]

Absolutely! I get the desire to be more specific in the movie and it did lend itself to some pretty iconic looking scenes with the ship and the distant New York skyline but the book could sit with that uncertainty better - making it a better mirror to our experience (I thought) to Covid.

[@TheGoldenflower58]

Lovely to hear from you. I enjoyed the book, it was certainly a food for thought book. I am not sure that I want to watch the movie though since I liked the book so much.

[@ThePoptimist]

The book stands on its own but I did enjoy the experience of the movie and some of the different choices it made (even if it did flatten the experience of the "noise)

[@curioushmm9027]

always good to hear from you!

[@ThePoptimist]

Thanks, it's nice to flex that video shooting/editing muscle again after a long break.

[@jf8559]

Happy New Year! Great to see a new video from you!

[@ThePoptimist]

Heres to 2024! Hope you had a nice break yourself over the holidays

[@Randisworld7]

Love your reviews! Thank you.

[@ThePoptimist]

Thank you! Appreciate you dropping by and commenting!

[@joanneorrico1761]

I loved this book; picked it up from the used book sale at the library without knowing anything about it; I was riveted from beginning to end.

[@ThePoptimist]

I love how we both were introduced to this somewhat fortuitously! A little late to the book but I'm glad to have read it with Covid a bit further in the rearview mirror.

[@RSelcov]

I always enjoy your videos. What's this about a discord?

[@ThePoptimist]

Pretty low key affair but come on by if you're interested! - link in the description.

[@1book1review]

Maybe I should watch the movie afterall, Netflix keeps recommending it 🤔

[@ThePoptimist]

Curious how it hits if you haven't read the book, but I loved the movie

[@maryfilippou6667]

I like you wit!

[@ThePoptimist]

you are too kind - thank you!

[@reaganwiles_art]

So good.

[@ThePoptimist]

Appreciate it!

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

If you get to meet with Britta you absolutely have to do some video together - at the pub or whatever it is one does there, or surveying some relic of the Cold War era. A shame about _Slow Horses_ though. What a sh*tty book. Couldn’t the author at least have supplied some superfluous back story or redundant plot point?! Outrageous.

[@ThePoptimist]

I do wonder how my estimation of it would have changed if I stumbled on the book first, but big mistake reading it after watching the adaptation. No promises as our European itinerary is pretty packed, but I'd love to meet Britta if time and schedules allow!

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

@@ThePoptimist I hope you’re doing more than trade shows. 😂 I’ve heard that even with timed entry the lines to get into museums have gotten worse.

[@ThePoptimist]

Total vacation but the first order of business is seeing the kid - everything else is gravy.

[@573355415]

Dislike the book and feel its unnecessarily long and sexual. The movie is sooo much better.

[@ThePoptimist]

Right! I found the horniness at the beginning a weird vibe that I couldn't quite place, but I did appreciate the books commitment to vagueness around the end of the world, the the movies decision not to feature people trapped in elevators, or dying in the subway.