It's brilliant! There'something's wrong with Brooke, or is there? Set in the 2010s in middle class Manhattan world that bumps gently, like a balloon, against the extraordinary privileges and excesses of billionaires, Entitlement plays with the concepts of need and want, generosity and noblesse oblige, the why my and the why not me vibes of 30 something Brooke and sets her on a path that either liberates her or destroys her. You be the judge.

What difference could you make in the world, as a multi billionaire? Rumaan Alam's "Entitlement" begins to scratch the surface of the endless possibilities. By chance, circumstances, and luck, former teacher, Brooke Orr, finds herself in a position to answer that very question for 83 year old multi-billionaire, Asher Jaffee, who tasks her with assisting him in dreaming big and spending his fortune on philanthropic endeavors before his imminent death. Of course, everyone surrounding Jaffe has their own agenda and wants a slice of the pie. Brooke is up to the task, and more, and quickly gets swept up in a lifestyle of wealth and privilege

This novel explores generational wealth, class, race, and wants vs. needs.

For fans of Succession.

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Riverhead for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Based on the description, I thought this book would be better. I had a hard time getting into it and it seemed to drag. I understand what the book is and how interpretation is key to it, but found myself struggling to concentrate through much of it unfortunately.

I am a completist of Rumaan Alam's work, and after reading ENTITLEMENT, I will continue to follow him wherever he goes! This was a bit meandering and definitely a slow burn, but I am always in awe of Alam's ability to infuse a sense of impending doom in his writing. Here he tackles race, class, power, and privilege with confidence and verve. This is a worthwhile read, and one I think will be a hit for book clubs.

Back in 2020, I read and reviewed Rumaan Alam’s Leave The World Behind and it was a solid five-star read for me. If you missed that one, here’s a quick summary from my review: “Amanda and Clay take their teenage children on a week-long getaway from their home in NewYork City to a luxury vacation rental (think top-of-the-line AirBnB) and find their peace and quiet abruptly ended by the arrival of a frantic older African-American couple (Ruth and G.H.) in the middle of the night. This couple claims they are the owners of the house, and they say they have come to stay in “their” house because a sudden blackout has completely shut down the City. There is iffy cell reception in this quiet rural area, and they are all without cell service, TV, or Internet, so they don’t really know what is going on…then creepy things start to happen.”

In 2023, the movie based on the book came out (Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, wow!) and was well received – for the most part. So I was happy to receive a copy of Alam’s next book Entitlement, from Penguin Group/Riverhead and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The book features a woman named Brooke Orr, who leaves her work as a teacher in order to go to work for a mega-wealthy man who wants to give his fortune away, and has to deal with the consequences of the effect this career change has on her views and values. Brooke begins to take on some of her boss’s world views (like that she is somehow entitled to the “good things in life” that aren’t generally available to someone living on a teacher’s salary).

Described as “a riveting tale for our new gilded age,” this book is similar to Leave The World Behind in some ways. Both examine the biases, fears, and issues of age, class, and race – and while this one doesn’t seem to have quite as frustrating and ambiguous an ending as both the book and the film of Leave The World Behind, I suspect there may once again be some headscratching about the resolution. Aside from that, and the way I sometimes wanted to just YELL at Brooke for some of her choices, it was a well written and entertaining book. Four solid stars.

A meditative novel. More a book of ideas than of plot. It takes a burning topic and scrutinizes it through various lenses, not least race and age. And it’s a space for the author to display his fine skills of perception, wit, topicality and thought. As such, it’s a rich read, but not an especially compulsive one. His bestselling earlier book, Leave the World Behind, was a more successful fusion of story and ideas. Here the narrative can seem circular and not always credible. Brooke’s character seems a mutable thing, inexplicably solitary and sexless, increasingly infected (by the subway pricker? A good joke) by the idea of money and what is her due. I:enjoyed the exploration more than the storytelling, but always the quality of the writing buoyed the book up. He’s a rewarding writer. Never dull.