Customer Reviews

The Leftovers

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(38)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

My only experience with Perrotta prior to this was two movies - Little Children, which I liked, and Election which I didn't. (EDIT: Re-watched Election, liked it much better the 2nd time.) His books definitely seem like something up my alley, but I'd never been compelled to pick one up.

This one sounded ideal for me. I love the different portrayals authors make of those "left behind" or in this case, "Leftover."

The prologue, for me, was genius. Absolutely hilarious. I thought it was setting the stage for what was going to be an uproarious social satire. It was not. Though there were moments of humor beyond the start, they were few and far between. What I found most about this book was that it was subtle.

For a long while it felt to me like "The Stepford Wives: The Rapture Years". I'm not a plot point type of reviewer, so this is nothing that you can't read on the jacket copy. There was an event, and a lot people disappeared from the planet. But this isn't some kind of 12 Monkey's type world. It's about normal people, with cell phones and jobs, coming to terms with what happened, and moving on with their lives. The aftermath of the aftermath if you will.

I was feeling really critical of the book because for a long time it felt so emotionless. Some people lost entire families, yet there was no grief. I didn't feel connected to anybody, and the back of the book said "a colorful cast of characters" and I just wasn't getting it, at all (with one minor exception.)

And then it sort of transcended and all came together. And what felt subtle and emotionless as I was going through it, left me feeling ultimately as though I'd been on an emotional journey the whole time.

Being unfamiliar with Perrotta's work, I'm not sure if this is par for his course. But I think that this book has potential to feel disappointing at points through the course of reading it. If it feels like that, I'd encourage you to stick with it. The book rarely veers from its subtlety, and I'm not promising a great ending ... But the way in which it evolved was quite masterful.

Tom Perrotta has the gift of a signature style. I could read his sentences, spare, ironic, laced with a bit of light humor, for forever. In a way, he's the John Cheever of this generation, charting without rancor the paths of today's suburban Wasps. His novels are a bit uneven in depth and execution, but they are always worth reading. In The Leftovers, Perrotta starts with the premise that a Rapture-like event has taken to heaven a spotty sampling of the world's population, the good, the bad, the Christian, the Moslem, the Hindu, the Jew, and the heathens. The novel is about the ones left over on Earth - in particular those in an American suburb - and how they cope with both the loss of their loved ones and the fact that they have been left behind.

In a very real sense, this premise is a bit of an ironic joke or at least Perrotta treats it that way. I think that's the flaw in this novel. The narrative voice is a bit smirky and that leads to a fundamental conflict between the very tragic situation of the characters and the "oh-come-on-now" narration. It's hard to become invested in the characters' lives when the narrator holds back emotionally. Then there is the problem of the cliche turns of plot. Key characters join religious cults that have popped up after the demi-Rapture. A teen age girl becomes surly and hooks up with the wrong crowd in high school. The main character in this book - a jock male turned responsible adult - is a bit of a block of wood emotionally, which leads to further distancing on the part of the reader.

I think every professional novelist ought to try their hand at an apocalyptic/dystopic novel. This book reminds me of another interesting, but ultimately unsuccessful attempt that uses an end of the world premise, Malamud's God's Grace. Like Malamud, Perrotta is a very talented writer. Unlike Malamud after God's Grace, Perrotta has many years left to write. My guess is that his next book will be far better.

I was extremely excited to be able to get a copy of "The Leftovers" from the Vine program. I am very much a fan of Tom Perrotta and thought "Little Children" was little short of a masterpiece. I am also a tremendous fan of "dystopian" fiction. And I was particularly intrigued to see how these two things would come together in one book, as they seemed almost antithetical, given Perrotta's mastery of the realistic. Interestingly, they came together like a hand in a glove, as Perrotta uses the premise of a Rapture-like event to illuminate human behavior in ordinary circumstances. In many cases, one can see several of the characters in "The Leftovers" being in much the same place they are in this novel had the key event never occurred. Nevertheless, the Rapture-like event never feels like a gimmick.

Unlike other Tom Perrotta novels, "The Leftovers" is not a particularly plot-driven book. That being said, the last half of the novel was as much of a "page-turner" as the riveting "Little Children." I was eager to see where the characters and the book were going. While the novel ends without any sort of tying up of loose ends, it did feel -- for the most part -- as though it ended as it should and provided as much "closure" as was appropriate for this story. But Perrotta could just as easily have kept the book going without losing the momentum he had developed. I say that the novel felt properly concluded "for the most part" because there is one plot line that seems to have been cut short and left inexplicable. In all other respects, any "loose ends" are merely those that occur in real life as life goes on.

"The Leftovers" is written in Perrotta's typical direct style, with lean but often evocative prose. And it is not without its fair share of humor, as well. I recommend the novel highly to any fan of Tom Perrotta and to any fan of good, contemporary fiction.

The literary equivalent of a shaggy dog joke, The Leftovers concerns a sizable contingent of more or less sympathetic characters in a suburb named Mapleton set in a post-apocalyptic United States. Post Apocalyptic worlds have been well explored, and the book felt somewhat derivative. I was reminded of "The Day After," a paranoid miniseries from the mid-80's that was about a post nuclear America. There were nods to the post 9/11 experience, and even the cults from Mad Max seemed represented, albeit without weapons or hot cars.

If there is something unique to be said about this vision of post apocalypse America, it is that it is a functional society. The disaster is a secular pseudo-rapture without any explanation of it's mechanism. As described, Mapleton is so exactly right now that the book will be dated in just a few years. A number of people simply disappear, and society goes on.

At first I found the book fairly dull, but with work I was able to become involved with the many characters. Not much happens, but it happens to a lot of characters. Lots to read, not a whole lot going on. Perrotta is a talented writer, with an ear for dialogue.

About ¾ into the text, the plot begins to pick up the pace. Stuff happens, and the characters start to react in ways that give the notion that the story may go somewhere after all. Some of them behave bizarrely, for no reason other than to set up the end of the story, which builds in a convoluted, byzantine fashion.

Ah, the end of the story. The writer seems to have grown tired of writing and stops. I mean 'What the hell?; incomprehensibly just stops and almost nothing resolves or even makes sense' the book just stops. That dog isn't so shaggy.

My experience with Perrotta has been limited to watching the film adaptations of his novels. I've always wanted to read his work, though, so I gave The Leftovers a go.

Perrotta reminds me of Rick Moody in one sense: he focuses on average, suburban people and peels away the banal layers to show how emotionally charged their lives really are. But unlike Moody, Perrotta doesn't construct a story of deep emotional dysfunction but rather one that shows how ordinary people grapple with events that are simply larger than them.

For all Perrotta's incisive observations about contemporary suburban life, though, I found The Leftovers to be interminably slow -- lacking the dramatic turns that made Little Children so breathtaking. I thought the premise was interesting and I liked how Perrotta details each character's emotional fragility (especially Jill and Tom Garvey's), but there just isn't enough tension and humor to sustain the story.

I want pathos and narrative tension and seemingly ordinary characters with weird kinks, and I just didn't get any of that here.

Unless you are already a Perrotta fan, I'd say skip this novel.

To give some perspective, here's some comparable authors I prefer: John Irving, Jeffrey Eugenides, Richard Russo, Russell Banks.

In reformed Protestant theology there is a central premise-God is in control. This argument is sometime times expressed as predestination, and sometimes as the sovereignty of God. However expressed, it means that we are not God, and what God does is often beyond our comprehension.

Fundamentalist theology expresses a different point of view. It argues that to achieve salvation, man must confess Jesus Christ to be his personal Lord and Savior. This means that to some extent man and not God is in control, for if you do not acknowledge God, you are doomed. Fundamentalists are often strict believers in the Bible holding that each word is inspired or handed down by God and is literally true. Hence more liberal mainstream denominations pay little attention to the Book of Revelation, while many fundamentalists find it of paramount importance. The Rapture is pure Revelations.

This book explores the middle ground. There is an actual Rapture (literal truth), but people selected are not those who expected to go (God's sovereignty)., Among the taken are Buddhists, Zoroastrians, atheists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus. Among the leftovers is a Bible thumping preacher who devotes his life to exposing the sins of some who were selected. Others are mothers, husbands, children, and a massive government bureaucracy which appoints a nonpartisan committee to study the "Rapture-like event".

What is striking about this book is how profoundly sad the remaining people are. No one knows if they should celebrate, mourn or fear. Some order breaks down as a nihlistic philosphy affects some, but by and large people go about living. Finish school? Why bother? it might be all over in just a few more years. Find a girlfriend? Maybe your wife will return.

This is a book to make you think, laugh and at times morn. Don't miss it.

This book has a strange range of both writing style and plot line. There is an interesting quirkiness and humor in the beginning which disappears as rapidly as the people who have disappeared in the story line. One of the main characters, Laurie is introduced as one who didn't believe in much of anything and then,
"God's intrusion into her life couldn't have been any clearer if He'd addressed her from a burning azalea."
Perrotta does a good job in showing the apathy and malaise of those that are left after millions on earth have suddenly vanished. The earth and society just seems to continue otherwise and we are told non believers and `bad' people were among the vanished so the question arises for everyone, Is this the Rapture?

This is a story of a very few people in the town of Mapleton, one family in particular and how they seem to fall emotionally apart. There are no electrical shortages, cell phones still work as does the internet, and TV shows, society is the same except no one seems to feel they have a future and then of course there are the prophets and new religious movements to contend with. Schools close for awhile, but then open and life ....sort of goes on. The agony of not having the ones you care about near you and others do is well described. What becomes fascinating are how the characters are trying to order their lives. It is an emotional meltdown done in a realistic manner, in what would probably occur if this event was to happen; but it does start to drag and there really seems little depth in the characters despite their psychological agonizing.

There are places where we are left wondering...because there is no real mention of the rest of the world, although it too has been affected. There are places where the writing jumps in time and remembrance, back and forth and not until you continue reading is it sorted out

If you are a fan of apocalyptic novels, this might appeal, however it does not have the normal "excitement' of that genre. In some ways this novel is mundane and others, not - it delves into a few humans' psyche, but they seem to suffer as if they were they only ones affected, there seems to be more embarrassment at being, for example the woman whose husband and two children disappear, not because of any religious beliefs...people stare and feel sorry for her, so she is uncomfortable. One starts to lose sympathy for these people even in such a horrendous situation. There is a depth lacking that should have come with this type of storyline.

Let me preface this review by saying Tom Perrota has written two novels that I admired and enjoyed immensely..."Little Children" and "The Abstinence Teacher." Both dealt with suburbia, both were dripping in irony and sarcastic wit, both dealt with the mores of Christians and other religions. I accepted the barbs at what I believe in with good faith.(pun intended) As one of those hypocritical "Christians" I took the blows and still enjoyed the writing immensely. The man can turn a phrase and hook you immediately.

Now we come to "The Leftovers." I will be truthful; I read less than half of it and finally quit for my own mental health. Was the writing lacking? NO. The prose not eloquent, flowing or thougtful? NO. Could I not stomach with good humor an another attack on my values and beliefs as a Christian? NO. Though I believe in "The Rapture" I agree that no one will know who will be taken and who will be left behind. What exhausted me was the dystopian feel to this story; though present day this embittered, frightened and angry society breaks into factions of cults that destroy and mar what is left in their wake of "The Departure." I couldn't laugh because I was choking on depression. I finally gave myself the right to "rapture" myself out of this morbid tale.

Should you not read this for yourselves? Heavens no.(pun intended) Will others find it to be a wonderful read? Perhaps. I was asked to review it honestly, and honestly, I couldn't swallow one more word without purging.

I give three stars because this author is brilliant. I take two because I, as a reader, found nothing to hold me to the tale. I could not stay the course and plug through.

I look forward to Tom Perrota's next endeavor. That also is the truth. Though, Perrotta is proud of taking cynical barbs at "Christians" I tell the truth as I accept it....isn't that really all anyone can do? This is my review and I accept the responsibility of what I have espoused.

Happy reading to all who find this book the right fit.

Tom Perrotta writes about ordinary people, living ordinary lives in suburbia. In his previous books, he's told the tale of young suburban parents falling into an extra-marital affair ("Little Children"), of a New Jersey student who goes to Yale and learns how to integrate his persona as the son of a lunch-truck driver with that of an Ivy League student ("Joe College"), and of a high school sex-ed teacher whose career is jeopardized after admitting to her students that people may engage in oral sex because they like it ("The Abstinence Teacher"). Even the central dramatic events in these (very good) books are, well, ordinary.

"The Leftovers" is different. While it's again about ordinary people living in suburbia, the novel takes place after a most extraordinary event: the "Sudden Disappearance" in which millions of people around the world have vanished. It's a rapture-like event, except that unlike the rapture, the people in Perrott's book just literally disappear rather than flying into the sky, and unlike the rapture, there appears to be no rhyme or reason to which people disappear. Those who do include "Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and Jews and atheists and animists and homosexuals and Eskimos and Mormans and Zoroastrians", as well as a whole bunch celebrities: "John Mellencamp and Jennifer Lopez, Shaq and Adam Sandler, Miss Texas and Greta Van Susteren, Vladimiar Putin and the Pope." The Sudden Disappearance happens on Oct. 14, and the multiple references to "Oct. 14" are clearly intended to recall Sept. 11, and the thousands who suddenly disappeared that fateful day.

Perrotta's novel begins three years after the Sudden Disappearance and focuses on the residents of the Mapleton who were left behind--the leftovers. They've responded in two ways. Some, like Kevin Garvey, have tried to regain the ordinary lives they led prior to Oct. 14, doing things like running for mayor and joining a softball team, while others, like Kevin's wife Laurie, adopt extreme and unusual behaviors. Laurie, for example, joins the G.R.--the Guilty Remnants--a cult who members wear white, refuse to speak, and wander around town smoking cigarettes and staring at--"watching"--people outside the G.R. Another cult eschews baths and shoes--allowing just the slight leniency of flip-flops when there's snow on the ground--while a third gathers around a prophet who offers healing hugs, but also turns out to have a penchant for impregnating underage girls. And then there's the Rev. Matt Jamison, who is so disappointed that he has been left behind that he makes it his personal mission to out all the infidelities and petty crimes of those who have disappeared.

Perrotta makes clear that both types of response to an event like Oct. 14 (and thus, Sept. 11?) are fraught with problems. The craziness of the cults is evident, but so is the craziness of trying to resume an ordinary life: to do so is to behave in ways that can't be anything but absurd. Here is Perrotta describing a Thanksgiving dinner: "What a beautiful bird, they kept telling one another, which was a weird things to say about a dead thing without a head. And then . . .cousin Jerry had made everyone post for a group photograph, with the beautiful bird occupying the place of honor." And here, he depicts an announcement at the City Council Meeting: "Congratulations to Brownie Troop 173, whose second annual gingerbread cookie fund-raiser netted over three hundred dollars for Fuzzy Amigos International, a charity that sends stuffed animals to impoverished indigenous children in Ecuador, Boliva, and Peru". What would pass without comment during a normal time becomes downright ludicrous when huge numbers of people have just evaporated.

And yet, the book's ending makes clear Perrotta's real belief about how we must respond to tragedy. After an unexpected revelation about the G.R. that wallops the reader, there is a further tidying of loose ends that leaves one with hope about the future of those characters who have determined that they will go on living their ordinary lives.

I honestly don't know what to make of Tom Perrotta's "The Leftovers". He's a fine writer with a great ear for dialogue, and his sobriquet "the Steinbeck of Surburbia" - bestowed upon him by a Time magazine reviewer - apparently is one well earned and richly deserved. But in a year where I have read great novels from the likes of Alison Espach ("The Adults"), Stefan Merrill Block ("The Storm at the Door"), and Eleanor Henderson ("Ten Thousand Saints" - and two of them are exceptional debuts by first-time authors - Tom Perrotta's latest seems mundane, almost pedestrian, by comparison. None of his characters are truly compelling, especially the young adolescent couple of Tom and Christine, who are devoted followers of Wayne Gilchrest, a Fundamentalist Protestant cleric who is as charismatic as a Jim Jones or a Jerry Falwell, but one also cursed with a strong addiction to adolescent girls, especially those he tries impregnating in the hope that they will bear "The One", his cult's Messiah.

For a novel chronicling events after "The Rapture", when millions of people - not just Christians, but Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and those of other faiths too - disappear suddenly off the face of the Earth, I expected one far more depressing and mesmerizing in its outlook, more reminiscent of such great examples of near future dystopian fiction as George Orwell's "1984" and Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". Instead, in his fictional town of Mapleton, Perrotta evokes a near future suburban town where ordinary lives remain ordinary, in response to the sudden and tragic disappearance of a substantial part of its population. Characters fall in and out of love, have indiscrete affairs, and, in one instance, rekindle a love affair that had ended, if not by mutual consent, toward the end of their characters' adolescence. The only grim reminders of The Rapture are the rows of empty homes and the emergence of several cults, of which Gilchrest's may be the most noteworthy. And then, there is one character who becomes so depressed with her post-Rapture existence, that she finally asks her oldest friend to assist in her suicide. Devoted fans of Perrotta's earlier work, especially "Little Children", may find much that is compelling in his fictional vision of a post-Rapture suburban America, but his is a vision that ought to be missed by those interested in far more engrossing near future dystopian fiction.