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I‘m not sure. Well written. But the two main characters made me uncomfortable in different ways. On one hand, Brooke is so right - no one deserves such wealth. But her discontent with life warrants therapy, not destroying her main relationships. It seemed a bit immature? And Archer‘s bluster and fake concern was gross, as were his swanning sycophants. I think this is probably accurate, I just didn‘t want to be in it

I read this because I loved ‘Leave the World Behind‘. This tale of gender, privilege, race and greed was thought provoking and worthwhile but imo not as extraordinary as Alam‘s previous work.

I was a bit disappointed with this, because I loved Leave The World Behind. Brooke starts working for a billionaire who wants to give away all his money before he dies, but she starts to become more greedy for herself.

Brooke, and her mother, were both awful people but I quite like books with terrible characters and the book certainly made me think.

What nearly turned it into a so-so for me was the nothing ending - it just fizzled out.

Fire's on #gladstones24

Started this one on my lunch break today but it‘s not horror/thriller so I‘m considering putting this one to the side and keeping on with my Spooky TBR.

Idealistic, altruistic Brooke starts working for a billionaire‘s foundation to work toward giving away his wealth. But as she delves into the job, she starts to change and not for the better. I really liked this, though I‘m not sure what I think of the ending, which seemed a little lackluster.

The more I think about this the harder it hits. I don‘t love Alam, and I didn‘t love this, but damn, it made me think!

A young Black woman is taken on as a protégé to a white, old billionaire at his charity foundation. As she falls deeper in with him, she feels entitled to more and more of him, his wealth, and the world.

Still deciding how I feel about this one! Certainly thought-provoking, and I loved the characters and many aspects of the story/ending. What I can say for sure is that I really enjoyed Alam‘s writing, as I did in Leave the World Behind, and I‘m hopeful to check out his backlist.

Also was delighted to see @Sara_Planz featured in a Riverhead email about this book! ❤️

The thing that I love most about Rumaan Alam's books is that he can explore issues of class, race, and privilege in the most intriguing ways, and "Entitlement" is another excellent example of this. Alam is never afraid to make the reader uncomfortable with his writing and there were quite a few sections that made me question my own understanding and biases. Who is deserving in this world? What is independence when strings are often attached?

Fantastic bedtime reading from the brilliant Rumaan Alam. On sale in September…but preorder this week! (You‘ll thank me.) @RiverheadBooks