'My own private university'

Ruman Alaam tells Jessie Thompson about his love of beach reading, used bookstores and revisiting the classics

Rumaan Alam’s debut novel Leave the World Behind, an eerie thriller full of contemporary social and political anxieties, was one of the breakout literary hits of lockdown. A perfect “read in one sitting” book, it told the story of a family who leave the city for a nice quiet break in a rented house outside of the city… until a couple, who say they are the homeowners, turn up on the doorstep in need of shelter. In a very holiday-ruining turn of events, the city has lost power and things are all getting a bit apocalyptic. It wasn’t long before the novel was snapped up for a film adaptation, with Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company bringing it to the screen with an all-star cast including Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali. The film went on to become one of the streamer’s biggest hits of the year.

Now Alam returns with his second novel, Entitlement, in which a woman in her thirties works as the assistant to an eighty-yearold billionaire. Her job, primarily, is to give away his fortune, and the book explores questions of wealth and morality. Here he shares some of the books that have meant the most to him…

What is on your to-read pile? Is it under control or out of hand?

I don’t have a pile, as such, but two bookcases in my office dedicated to everything I’ve yet to but want to read. They are full, indeed, they are overflowing, but I have at least alphabetised them, so create some illusion of order.