The Leftovers: A Novel

Tom Perrotta

Aug 2011 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

With heart, intelligence and a rare ability to illuminate the struggles inherent in ordinary lives, Tom Perrotta's The Leftovers—now adapted into an HBO series—is a startling, thought-provoking novel about love, connection and loss.

What if—whoosh, right now, with no explanation—a number of us simply vanished? Would some of us collapse? Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down?

That's what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out. Because nothing has been the same since it happened—not marriages, not friendships, not even the relationships between parents and children.

Kevin Garvey, Mapleton's new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized community. Kevin's own family has fallen apart in the wake of the disaster: his wife, Laurie, has left to join the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence; his son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet named Holy Wayne. Only Kevin's teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she's definitely not the sweet "A" student she used to be. Kevin wants to help her, but he's distracted by his growing relationship with Nora Durst, a woman who lost her entire family on October 14th and is still reeling from the tragedy, even as she struggles to move beyond it and make a new start.

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011
A Washington Post Notable Fiction Book for 2011
A USA Today 10 Books We Loved Reading in 2011 Title
One of NPR's 10 Best Novels of 2011

Ratings and reviews

Here is one of those books I delved into cold turkey. I knew nothing more of its plot, or theme, than what I was told by the two friends who loaned it to me. Most likely, if spying it on the shelf myself, it never would have made my selection list; but when it comes to the word-of-mouth recommendation of friends, no greater advertisement is needed. In ‘The Leftovers”, one learns the story of standard small-town America – represented through the people of typical small town ‘Mapleton’ - and the continuing struggles they face trying to deal with the cataclysmic event of three years earlier. The “Sudden Departure” or “the Rapture”, as others initially conceived, stole people at random from their environments, their friends, their coworkers, their families. This randomness of selection brought dispute of the event being the actual Biblical Rapture from some religious leaders, prompting the ‘Sudden Departure’ appellation to develop as the name of choice. No one knows why it happened – or even what really took place. All anyone can agree upon with conviction was people were gone and no one knows why. In addition to the recommendation from my friend, it was this concept of the Rapture which stirred my curiosity towards the book. I personally knew of the concept from my church rearing, and at one time could probably cite Scripture references used in support of it. I also knew bits and pieces of history, recognizing it as a relatively recent concept in church dogma not all churches believed. What would this author say? How would he utilize this belief in relaying his tale? As I opened, the story begins following the disappearance – three years after the event occurred. Laurie Garvey, a middle-age housewife of two (college son, Tom and teenage daughter, Lori) has decided to abandon her family and join a cult, the ‘Guilty Remnant’, that sprung up as a response to the Sudden Departure. Members of this group swear a vow of silence, while wearing all white, smoking cigarettes, and ominously following the citizens of Mapleton, lurking here and there, in an effort to be the guilty conscience of those left behind. I can’t help but wonder if the inclusion of this nonsensical religious entity is author Tom Perrotta’s knock on religion. He also includes a pastor who spends his time trying to prove the Sudden Departure was not the Rapture, so as to exercise his own guilt for not being included; as well as a father who develops a following and turns into a corrupt cult leader. ‘Holy Wayne’, the man Laurie Garvey’s son Tom drops out of college to follow. Perhaps it is a stretch on my part to make such an assumption. None of the characters ever explicitly declare a “religion is the opiate of the masses” mantra. And yet, I always find myself musing over this possibility whenever no redeeming religious figure alters the less-than-redeemable ones. Laurie’s husband, Kevin, serves as mayor of Mapleton; and while he handles the responsibilities of the job aptly (including a town remembrance day to honor the departed) he’s not doing as well in the fatherhood departure, seeing his straight-A teenage daughter turn to rebellion, embracing the loose morals of her best friend Amy – a girl who has moved into their home because of the poor homelife of her own. Whenever asked to comment on this story, I could easily say I liked the way the characters were drawn. Each individual came across as three-dimensional and real; and yet, the story became a more difficult matter to discern. What was this book all about? What idea was the author trying to convey? The characters were going nowhere. Their lives were crumbling around them as they made one terrible decision after the next. What was the point? And how did this mysterious ‘Sudden Departure’ play a key? What was it? Why did people accept it so easily? Such was a grand sticking point for me. I could not envision a reality where people just randomly began to disappear. It made no sense for the remaining

The ending is lacking, almost disappointing, expected some detail or explanation for the disappearances. I usually hope that the movie or shows that follow a book do well in actually following the book but in this instance im hoping that the show givesvus a little more

EH... in a word it was slow. It had some interesting societal commentaries but I feel as though the author didn't take all the time he needed to finish fleshing out his ideas. Good bedtime reading tho... put me right out.

About the author

Tom Perrotta is the author of several works of fiction: Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, Election, and the New York Times bestselling Joe College and Little Children. Election and Little Children were made into critically acclaimed movies. The Leftovers and Mrs. Fletcher were both adapted into HBO series. He lives outside of Boston.