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Rumaan Alam

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Rumaan Alam

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August 2015


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 I'm obviously delighted when readers who are women feel I've correctly depicted an experience that feels true to them and their own lives. But it bear…moreI'm obviously delighted when readers who are women feel I've correctly depicted an experience that feels true to them and their own lives. But it bears pointing out that there are writers who write beautifully and imaginatively about life on Mars, about ancient history, about faraway lands, about animals. That's what writers do: they lie! I undoubtedly stole many of the details from observing the women in my life (There have been a lot! friends, colleagues, bosses; I've spent my life among women). But this book isn't based on anyone I know; it's all a lie. Fiction is just a fancy word for lie.(less)
Rumaan Alam Buy the New York Times. Read any two sentences on the front page.
Average rating: 3.1 · 201,097 ratings · 28,848 reviews · 16 distinct worksSimilar authors
Leave the World Behind

3.14 avg rating — 167,446 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions
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Rich and Pretty

2.77 avg rating — 11,133 ratings — published 2016 — 15 editions
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Entitlement

2.97 avg rating — 8,462 ratings — published 2024 — 11 editions
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That Kind of Mother

3.07 avg rating — 7,734 ratings — published 2018 — 13 editions
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The Children's Bach

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3.51 avg rating — 4,064 ratings — published 1984 — 37 editions
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Shell Game (Getaway, #6)

2.29 avg rating — 3,556 ratings — published 2022 — 4 editions
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Undecorate: The No-Rules Ap...

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3.53 avg rating — 535 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions
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There Are Flowers in Ohio

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2.99 avg rating — 325 ratings — published 2022 — 2 editions
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Boston Adventure

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3.73 avg rating — 166 ratings — published 1944 — 39 editions
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Leave the World Behind by A...

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Quotes by Rumaan Alam  (?)
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“Parenthood was never knowing what was going to hurt your kids, but knowing only that something, inevitably, would.”
Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

“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

“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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