It's been a good summer for me and books. The two books I was most looking forward to their release landed in my lap early thanks to the publishers. (so thank you very much to St. Martins Publishing for giving Tom Perrotta's The Leftovers the major marketing campaign it deserves)
Imagine that one day millions of people across the planet simply vanish in unison in what many believe to be the biblical rapture. Further more- there's zero continuity in the people who leave this planet. Every religion, race, sexual orientation, age, and general quality of people is accounted for in the departed. Some people are left without a single family member or friend, many celebrities no longer exist, millions of children are left without parents. The Leftovers is the story of the people who are left on this planet with no explanation or change in their daily lives except that some people are no longer there.
Mainly focusing on the aftermath of an agnostic family The Leftovers is a rich story of what if? I fear that some people will pick up this book believing it to be some sort of religious fiction in the spirit of the Left Behind series. Please let me tell you now that this is no such thing. The Leftovers is not a story of answers- it's a story of questions. Some people may also be a bit bothered by Perrotta's open-ended conclusions but let me be clear- I am not one of these people. I feel that in the case of Tom Perrotta open-ended endings are the way to go. If you are going to write about real people in ordinary or extraordinary situations you are doing the story a dis-service to tie it up with a nice bow- that's just not real life.
This book is wonderful and while I've always loved Tom Perrotta- this book definitely had a more epic feel than his previous work. I will say that with the serious religious topics covered in the book I can easily see certain people loving it or hating it. I loved it.
A
*New York Times Notable Book
*NPR Best Books of 2011
*Kirkus Reviews 25 Best Fiction Books 2011
*Best Books of 2011- O Magazine
*Best Books of 2011- GQ
*Best Books of 2011- The Washington Post
*Best BOoks of 2011- The Seattle Times
No comments:
Post a Comment