Description

The exhilarating new novel from the author of Leave the World Behind – ‘the book of an era’ (Independent)

‘Expertly observed’ GUARDIAN
‘A slow-burn tale of connivance and deceit with a knockout ending’ OBSERVER
‘An engrossing exploration of the pitfalls of privilege and philanthropy’ SPECTATOR

Money talks. But what if it lies?

An ambitious young Black woman, plotting her way into the world of the one percent.
An old white billionaire, facing his own extinction.
He’s attracted to her intelligence, her refusal to be deferential, maybe also her Blackness.
She’s drawn to his power and money – and his apparent willingness to share both with her.
But how far is each prepared to go to get what they think they deserve?

Taut, unsettling, and alive to the seductive distortions of money, Entitlement is a biting tale for our new gilded age.

*A GUARDIAN HIGHLIGHT FOR 2024*

Praise for Leave the World Behind
‘Alam is a worthy descendant of Don DeLillo’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘A book that could have been tailor-made for our times’ THE TIMES
‘Intense, incisive, I loved this’ DAVID NICHOLLS
‘I was hooked from the opening pages’ CLARE MACKINTOSH

Publisher Review

Entitlement is needle-sharp: discomfiting, disquieting, mesmerizing. Alam taps deep into the greed and ambition that make us human, and that make us miserable’ — Rebecca Makkai, author of THE GREAT BELIEVERS A quick-witted, daring, beautifully composed novel – deeply knowing and full of wonder — Susie Boyt Rumaan Alam’s writing is vivid and gorgeous. This is a book that I loved, in part because it feels forbidden, centring on that taboo subject which is ‘other people’s money’. Peeking in on the lifestyles of the uber wealthy is a favourite pastime of mine and here Rumaan Alam offers that up in droves but not only that, the chance to peek into their souls … Alam is expert at subtly detailing Brooke’s sometimes loneliness as she exercises social mobility, a longing for a sense of self-hood and identity that perhaps is the secret fuel that propels her ambition. I cannot recommend this book enough, I truly devoured it and enjoyed every second — Celine Saintclare, author of SUGAR, BABY These characters, their money, and their morality come together in an absolutely devastating thunderclap — Kiley Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age ‘Should come with an undertow warning…I was pulled under. Rumaan Alam has mastered that eerie moment when an ordinary gesture has the potential for disaster’ — Louise Erdrich, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Night Watchman ‘Held me spellbound from its evocative opening to its startling, audacious last pages’ — Danzy Senna, author of Caucasia ‘Reading Entitlement felt like having a vise slowly tightened around my heart … Elegant, precise and devastating’ — Charles Yu, National Book Award-winning author of Interior Chinatown