The Leftovers Book

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 home-grown 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 has written a startling thought-provoking novel about love connection and loss.Read More