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, …
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. [from Amazon]
This book seemed to have an interesting premise. Sadly, the tale itself was VERY poorly executed.
I read this after watching the first season of the series by the same name. I, unastonishingly, much prefered the book.
As is often the case with films/series inspired by books, there are many aspects that are different. Some of the characters are transformed, some rather major ones from the series are minor one-page instances in the book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a lot. Good character development, intriging plots and generally very satisfying reading.
This is a great book, and I had been wanting to read it for a few years. I'm not sure if I like the ending, though, and I wish I had read it before the series.
One of the blurbs on the back cover calls him the "Steinbeck of Suburbia." That's a bit much, maybe "an Updike of Modern Suburbia." He writes very adaptation-friendly characters - genuinely flawed, but still likeable - but I wish he hadn't wasted such a great premise on what was really just another metaphor for upper-middle-class dislocation and loss.
Subdued just like the suburban life which is its backdrop, "The Leftovers" is a poignant post-9/11 tale about the various ways people cope with great and sudden loss.
Disclaimer: Virginia O'Connell received a free copy of this book from the publisher via the Goodreads First Reads program. I got to read it after she did.
This isn't Left Behind, it really is the Leftovers. A "Rapture-like Phenomenon" that didn't seem to involve Anti-Christs or any other of the signs from Revelations except for people just disappearing. In fact the results were much more of the clinical shock variety, rather than the biblical shock and awe.
The people in the book are believable, if somewhat shallow. The characters don't really stand out. There's the dad trying to hold his family together, the completely abandoned mom, etc. but once you finish, you don't find yourself returning to them and wondering what happened after the book ends.
It was an interesting read, and a great summer book. Not fluffy, but an easy and fast read. It makes you want to keep …
Disclaimer: Virginia O'Connell received a free copy of this book from the publisher via the Goodreads First Reads program. I got to read it after she did.
This isn't Left Behind, it really is the Leftovers. A "Rapture-like Phenomenon" that didn't seem to involve Anti-Christs or any other of the signs from Revelations except for people just disappearing. In fact the results were much more of the clinical shock variety, rather than the biblical shock and awe.
The people in the book are believable, if somewhat shallow. The characters don't really stand out. There's the dad trying to hold his family together, the completely abandoned mom, etc. but once you finish, you don't find yourself returning to them and wondering what happened after the book ends.
It was an interesting read, and a great summer book. Not fluffy, but an easy and fast read. It makes you want to keep reading it until you finish.
