Tom Perrotta

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

A Novel

The Leftovers

The leftovers

Megan Parrott

This is maybe the first time I've said this: I prefer the tv adaption to the book. Tom Perrotta and Damon Lindelof embellished the main story and creates additional subplots. I can't wait to see what the final season brings.

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?

Rebeca Keren Nuñez

"The Leftovers" de Tom Perrotta es una novela intrigante que explora los efectos emocionales y sociales de un evento inexplicable y traumático: la repentina desaparición del 2% de la población mundial. La historia se centra en cómo la sociedad y los individuos lidian con la pérdida, el dolor y la incertidumbre en un mundo que ha experimentado una pérdida masiva y desconcertante.

La trama sigue a los residentes de la pequeña ciudad de Mapleton mientras intentan reconstruir sus vidas después del "Evento de Ascensión". Perrotta utiliza este contexto sobrenatural para profundizar en la psicología de los personajes y examinar cómo enfrentan el duelo, la religión, y la búsqueda de sentido en un mundo cambiado.

A través de una prosa cuidadosa y personajes ricos en matices, el autor teje una narrativa que oscila entre lo íntimo y lo global. La novela no solo se centra en las vidas de los protagonistas, como la familia Garvey, sino que también ofrece una visión panorámica de cómo diferentes personas y grupos reaccionan ante el misterioso suceso.

Perrotta logra equilibrar la oscuridad de la premisa con momentos de humor y humanidad, destacando la capacidad de la humanidad para encontrar consuelo y conexión incluso en circunstancias extraordinarias. "The Leftovers" invita a la reflexión sobre la naturaleza de la pérdida, la fe y la resiliencia humana en un mundo impredecible.

En resumen, "The Leftovers" es una novela cautivadora que va más allá de lo sobrenatural para explorar la esencia misma de la experiencia humana frente a la tragedia y la incertidumbre. Perrotta ofrece una obra maestra literaria que despierta emociones profundas y plantea preguntas filosóficas duraderas.

What if - one day, without explanation - some of us simply vanished? Would we carry on, and act as we did before our world turned upside down? That's what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton have to figure out.

Dina

Let me just start by saying that I only heard about this book when I was already finishing the first season of the show. It's not something I usually do (watching the TV/movie version before reading the book it was based on), but, again, I didn't even know it was a thing until I'd already started on the TV show.

That being said, I can't help but picture the actors as these characters (which sometimes gets a bit in the way because of the descriptions).

This is the story of a bunch of people who live in Mapleton, though it focuses in this one family in particular, as they deal - much like the rest of the world - with the disappearance of 2% of the world's population, which includes many of their friends, family, neighbors, or even just that one person they nodded at in the street once.

It is a very peculiar book. The main plot is very interesting from a sociological point of view. We see how messed up it all becomes, with some people being angry, some grieving, some simply confused. Religions are divided in their interpretation of these events, there are many new cults, and some people who just want some peace and quiet to deal with all of this on their own.

I took some time reading it, even though it's not very long, because of all the emotions you go through with these characters. It makes you wonder who you'd act most like in a situation like this. It shows you the good and the bad in a society when something they can't begin to comprehend suddenly happens one day, with no explanation whatsoever.

I really enjoyed it, and it's also interesting to see how some things were changed in the TV show from the book, but how most of it ends up having the same beginning and the same ending, even if they follow different paths in between.

Chris

Review of the audio version by Nerfreader.

The Leftovers is human drama with a sci fi set-up, and its strength is its characters. They are immensely believable, each with their quirks and coping strategies. The point-of-view changes from character to character, and this change in perspective makes up for a lack of action. For a book about grief and coping, it's pretty funny. I especially liked the cults that sprang up after the Disappearance, how each is distinct yet credible.

Reading/Production: I was surprised this book was read by a man since 3 of the 5 POV characters are women. Dennis Boutsikaris washed my fears away with his excellent reading. He gives the narrator just the right touch of snark and really seemed to be enjoying himself.

I loved the music that played at the beginning of the recording but was glad it wasn't repeated. There was a short author's interview at the end of the recording that was a little fuzzy.

Final Thoughts: I liked this sci-fi story of the suburbs. It is well-written with interesting characters who act like real people in the face of unreal events.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

For: People who like family dramas who want to stick a toe into sci fi.

Sameer Vasta

What would you do if the people you love just disappeared?

We’ve all lost loved ones through the dissolution of relationships and through death, but what if someone close to you just vanished into thin air? If someone you cared for, who cared for you, just vaporized, and you have no way to answer where they are or why they left?

What would happen to your community, your town, your country, if this vanishing, this disappearance happened on a grand scale? If millions of people around the world just vanished one day, with no pattern or reason as to why one person disappeared and why another was left behind? How would that change the way you thought about yourself, about life, about the world in which you live?

People often make fun of me because of my fear of revolving doors — I’ve mostly resolved that phobia now — but the fear didn’t come from the door itself, but because revolving doors have one characteristic that makes me uncomfortable: they don’t close.

There’s something about closure that makes things easier to cope with, to understand, to process. A door that closes has finality; losing someone to death or divorce also has a similar sense of end. A lack of closure is unsettling, unnerving, difficult.

Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers is ostensibly a novel about society after millions of people just vanish, but really, it is a story about closure. It is a book that looks at how various people deal with the loss of their loved ones, a loss without closure, without reason, without explanation. It is a story that grapples with loss, coping, rebuilding, self-doubt, and an acceptance of futility.

The characters in The Leftovers are all struggling with closure, and they all face that struggle in a different way. Everyone has nagging questions, and none of those questions get answered. Perrotta’s prose isn’t poetry, and the story is sometimes plodding, but the internal conflict of every character is poignant and resonant. The Leftovers appeals to us because it is relatable; it is a struggle we have all known, and the novel captures it well.

There is only a hint of closure at the end of the book, which is apt: Perrotta reminds us that there are always questions, there is always doubt. Not every question can be answered, and that’s unsettling, but that’s okay.

(Full review on I Tell Stories.)

Daniel da Rocha

Incredible plot idea, but somehow it failed to impress me with its development. Fun easy read however, but left me unsatisfied.

The Leftovers A Novel

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