≡ [PDF] The Leftovers Tom Perrotta 9780312358341 Books

The Leftovers Tom Perrotta 9780312358341 Books

Download As PDF : The Leftovers Tom Perrotta 9780312358341 Books

The Leftovers Tom Perrotta 9780312358341 Books

I can see why so many people gave this book a mediocre review. It’s difficult to fathom the idea of a Rapture, and somewhat disappointing to have zero closure with the “how’s” and “why’s” of this grandiose occurrence.
I found this book deeply appealing, because the author didn’t go in that direction. This novel simply deals with the aftermath of an unexplained phenomenon.

The entire story is a gray feeling littered with underlying hopelessness. Imagine such an immense effect on any community. All of the characters react to their abysmal reality in believable ways. The younger characters dampen their pain with drugs, while others reach out to the misguided “hugging” guru while some choose to carry their guilt by joining a loveless cult. Then you have the false cheer of the mayor – while he didn’t lose anyone close to him in the Rapture - he lost those close to him to the varied escapes mentioned above.

This story isn’t going to leave the reader with many answers. It would be so nice to have the outcome tidily wrapped up in the conclusion. However, the author achieves the overall dismal and hopelessness of what the characters are still left feeling three years after this horrific incident.

Some reviews mention the lack of warmth and emotion between the characters, and I don’t know why I didn’t feel this as necessary. I think if you truly get into the book, it simply makes sense that everyone is operating on a robotic-going through the motions-level. There just doesn’t seem like there’s room for that kind of warmth. I feel like all the characters are depleted and can only conjure enough energy to survive day to day.


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The Leftovers Tom Perrotta 9780312358341 Books Reviews

Most of Tom Perrotta's novels have been wry examinations of society and its foibles. Election, Little Children and The Abstinence Teacher each did a terrific job in chronicling the positives and negatives of human behavior. His characters aren't always sympathetic, their motivations aren't always understandable, but his books always make you think.

With his newest novel, The Leftovers, Perrotta ponders an interesting question what if the Rapture happened, but not all of the religiously devout were taken, but instead, a random, unexplainable group of people disappeared? How would the rest of the world cope? How would a person deal with the disappearance of a spouse, children, or parents? These are the issues that the citizens of Mapleton, a small midwestern town, are confronted with when an event called the "Sudden Departure" affects the world. No one--not even religious leaders--can explain who was chosen and why, and no one can help those left behind to try and get on with their lives. Kevin Garvey, the mayor of Mapleton, lost none of his family to the Sudden Departure directly, but his family has fallen apart in the wake of the event. His wife, Laurie, joined a cult of survivors called the Guilty Remnant; his daughter, Jill, has started failing out of school and become promiscuous; and his son, Tom, dropped out of college to follow a questionable prophet named Holy Wayne. As Kevin tries to help the people of his town rebuild their lives, he embarks on a relationship with Nora Durst, whose husband and children were lost to the Departure.

I always marvel at Perrotta's storytelling ability and the way he thinks things through. He did a great job creating a post-Rapture world without actually having you experience what happened that day, so much like the characters themselves, you don't really know what happened to those who disappeared. When I finished the book, I found myself frustrated that not one character's situation was resolved, but then I realized that this must be a metaphor for how the world felt after the Sudden Departure. (It's still frustrating to me, though, that no narrative threads were wrapped up. I like some ambiguity, but this was tough.) In the end, though, this is a well-written and tremendously captivating book, and I'm so glad Perrotta is still in fine writing form.
What if you were just going along in your life, doing the usual chores and maintaining the relationships that you have almost come to take for granted...and then, suddenly, everything was no longer usual? Loved ones were seemingly zapped into nothingness, with no particular rhyme or reason. You're having dinner, you go to the kitchen, and when you return your family is gone.

These are the scenarios that plague a suburban American town in The Leftovers. Truly, the ones left behind cannot understand why they were left, or why the ones "raptured," if that is what this is, were chosen. They were just ordinary people, some of them not even religious. So why?

Slowly we move through the lives of those left behind, seeing the shells that some of them have become. A few of them simply cannot stand having life that makes no sense anymore and join a cult-like group called the Guilty Remnant. These folks wear white, have taken a vow of silence, and have set themselves up to convert the others via their roles as Watchers. They follow, they stare, and they try to recruit.

In a sense, the narration feels muted and emotionless, but I believe the author purposely chose this somewhat detached style to characterize how flat the landscape is in a life that has been decimated. Emotions are tricky and they betray us. Flat, detached, going-through-the-motions life feels more appropriate, perhaps.

I liked some characters better than others, but in each case, I could see why they behaved the way they did. And throughout this story, with its unexpected ending, I felt as though they were people I could connect with...if they would allow connections to happen. As usual, Perrotta delivers a masterful story. Five stars.
I can see why so many people gave this book a mediocre review. It’s difficult to fathom the idea of a Rapture, and somewhat disappointing to have zero closure with the “how’s” and “why’s” of this grandiose occurrence.
I found this book deeply appealing, because the author didn’t go in that direction. This novel simply deals with the aftermath of an unexplained phenomenon.

The entire story is a gray feeling littered with underlying hopelessness. Imagine such an immense effect on any community. All of the characters react to their abysmal reality in believable ways. The younger characters dampen their pain with drugs, while others reach out to the misguided “hugging” guru while some choose to carry their guilt by joining a loveless cult. Then you have the false cheer of the mayor – while he didn’t lose anyone close to him in the Rapture - he lost those close to him to the varied escapes mentioned above.

This story isn’t going to leave the reader with many answers. It would be so nice to have the outcome tidily wrapped up in the conclusion. However, the author achieves the overall dismal and hopelessness of what the characters are still left feeling three years after this horrific incident.

Some reviews mention the lack of warmth and emotion between the characters, and I don’t know why I didn’t feel this as necessary. I think if you truly get into the book, it simply makes sense that everyone is operating on a robotic-going through the motions-level. There just doesn’t seem like there’s room for that kind of warmth. I feel like all the characters are depleted and can only conjure enough energy to survive day to day.