I am honestly not sure where to begin when it comes to reviewing this book. It is weird, but also beautiful. Dark, but also funny at times. It is definitely not a thriller and definitely not one that everyone will enjoy. But I really did.

I think it is best to go into this book semi-blind about the premise. It starts with an upper middle-class white family enjoying a getaway from New York City in a rented house in the Hamptons. Then, the supposed owners of the house show up, and they happen to be Black. And you think you know where the book is going, but then it gets weird.

One word to describe this book is ominous. While the characters go about their lives and deal with things on a micro level, something bigger and scarier is happening. There is so much tension in this book, and that is palpable in Alam's writing.

The only thing I could have done without are the graphic descriptions of bodily functions. I get their purpose in the long run of the story, particularly in emphasizing the quotidien in the face of the larger world's problems, but boy were they not for me.

I also highly recommend this on audio. The narrator does an excellent job of capturing the humor, the cringe, and the tension all in one.

TW: graphic descriptions of sex and bodily functions