Rumaan Alam - Távol a világtól

To get away from their fast-paced New York life and spend more time with their teenage son and daughter, Amanda and Clay rent out a lavishly furnished house in a secluded corner of Long Island on Airbnb for a full week. However, the day after their arrival, late at night, they get a knock on their door: a troubled elderly couple, Ruth and G.H., are, according to them, the owners of the house. These wild strangers say that there was a blackout in all of New York, the city was in chaos, so they sought refuge in the countryside.

However, with no TV, cell, or internet service, Amanda and Clay are at a loss. Can they trust the other couple and vice versa? What really happened in New York? Can a holiday home isolated from civilization really provide security for the two families? And are they safe from each other?

In Rumaan Alam's third novel, he develops an easy-to-experience basic situation with flesh-and-blood figures and ever-increasing tension, it is no coincidence that he achieved one of the biggest audience and critical successes of 2020 with it.