The Leftovers

Tom Perrotta

Jan 2012 · HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

From the author of ‘Little Children’ and now a major new TV series, ‘The Leftovers’ asks what if one day some of us simply vanished? And some were left behind?

Following the sudden disappearance of thousands of citizens, Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s new mayor, wants to bring a sense of hope to his traumatised community, but his family has fallen apart in the wake of disaster. Kevin’s wife has joined a homegrown cult, and his son is a disciple of the prophet Holy Wayne. Only Jill, Kevin’s daughter, remains, and she’s no longer the sweet student she once was.

Written with a rare ability to illuminate our everyday struggles, ‘The Leftovers’ is a startling novel about love, connection and loss.

Ratings and reviews

Liked the book but it wasn't anything to write home about, perhaps by design. Considering the larger than life premise and the TV show based on this book, the book itself felt like a stale "day to day" account of events after "the world has ended". This worked both in its favor and to its demise. I won't be reading it again and won't be shouting its praises from the rooftops like I have with the TV show version. But as I said, I'm pretty sure the stale feeling this book left me with, was the point.

Hmmm watched TV show pilot and thought nope I'm not gonna waste another 6 years of my life like I did with LOST and worked out the plot Hebrews 9:28 I'll say no more about it

I only read it because I had paid for it. Not very impressed, quite boring actually.

About the author

Tom Perrotta is the author of several works of fiction, including ‘Little Children’, ‘Joe College’ and ‘Election’. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.