Entitlement - by Rumaan Alam (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A novel of money and morality from the New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind

Brooke wants. She isn't in need, but there are things she wants. A sense of purpose, for instance. She wants to make a difference in the world, to impress her mother along the way, to spend time with friends and secure her independence. Her job assisting an octogenarian billionaire in his quest to give away a vast fortune could help her achieve many of these goals. It may inspire new desires as well: proximity to wealth turns out to be nothing less than transformative. What is money, really, but a kind of belief?

Taut, unsettling, and alive to the seductive distortions of money, Entitlement is a riveting tale for our new gilded age, a story that confidently considers questions about need and worth, race and privilege, philanthropy and generosity, passion and obsession. It is a provocative, propulsive novel about the American imagination.

Review Quotes

"Rumaan Alam is a rarity... Entitlement...sneaks up on you, and wins you over."
-- The New York Times

"Satirical and unnerving... move[s] as propulsively as a thriller."
--The Washington Post

"Alam's observation of the attitudes and trappings of contemporary upper-middle-class American life has a delicious precision."
--The New Yorker

"A brilliant exploration of extreme wealth and how it bends the lives of those close to it... Alam keeps things crystal clear and speedway fast. ... a trick only a writer with Alam's superb skill could pull off."
--The Boston Globe

"Stylishly written...Vividly captures the well-padded world of wealthy New Yorkers."
--Wall Street Journal

"[An] unsettling social thriller."
--TIME

"Alam's writing is loose-limbed, expertly observed, flying along with the engine of a commercial novel and the fine eye of a literary one."
--The Guardian

"Shrewd and absorbing ...Not only a deft examination of the seductive and corrosive allure of money but also a compelling character study of an individual driven by want, not need...We have witnessed an expert novelist at work."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"This is a book that whispers its secrets into the reader's ear, a book that shows how strange our most normal desires can become."
--LitHub

"Slyly provocative...anyone suspicious of the luster of capitalism and its promises will find much to mull over in this excellent work."
--BookPage

"A sharp indictment of privilege and the darkness of the American dream, with the unsettling and undeniable intrigue reminiscent of an episode of Succession."
--Chicago Review of Books

"Alam never shirks uncomfortable scenes or questions, and here, he pits class against race against greed against freedom, and joy."
--Los Angeles Times

"Cements Alam's status as a talented truth teller willing to tackle tough issues with grace, generosity, and sensitivity."
--Kirkus, STARRED review

"Visceral and absolutely mesmerizing."
--Booklist, STARRED review

"With an atmosphere that is sexy, enchanting, and unsettling, Rumaan Alam's expert fourth novel probes concepts of privilege, wealth, value, and morality."
--Shelf Awareness

"Alam is quickly emerging as one of the best social novelists working today. . . . It's a book about what it's like to be alive today. As engaging as it is unnerving."
--Literary Hub

"If you miss HBO's Succession, put Entitlement on your TBR."
--BookPage

"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

"Entitlement is needle-sharp: discomfiting, disquieting, mesmerizing. Alam taps deep into the greed and ambition that make us human."
--Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Believers

"Held me spellbound from its evocative opening to its startling, audacious last pages."
--Danzy Senna, nationally bestselling author of Colored Television

"These characters, their money, and their morality come together in an absolutely devastating thunderclap."
--Kiley Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age

"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

About the Author