The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta is a book about the aftermath of a rapture. One day, about dinnertime, a good portion of the earth’s population simply disappears into thin air. The people remaining are left to deal with it the best way they can. What they endure is not a God induced misery of plagues and famine. They are left to deal with the tribulation of dealing their feelings and sense of loss with their wives, husbands, children, parents, friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances that just plain disappeared one day with no warning.

The rapture didn’t follow any rhyme or reasons, many devout Christians were left behind while atheists, Hindus, Moslems, and other non-Christians went. There was not any word sent down from God about what he was up to either. Some families were left intact, in others, all but one member of a large family left. Softball teams were left without center fielders.

So everybody tried to work there way through the results. Some just made the best of it and tried to maintain an upbeat attitude. Others didn’t want to forget and didn’t want others to forget. They joined a cult called the Guilty Remnant. They live communally, wear only white, and smoke continually to show their status. They follow people around just to show they are watching them. Especially people who are about to do some sinning.

I try not to read book reviews before I do mine. That way I have nobody to blame for my uninspiring, off point reviews which despite that are all mine, but I loved the following blurb about this book from a review by Stephen King. He said:

 “The Leftovers is, simply put, the best Twilight Zone episode you never saw.”–Stephen King, New York Times Book Review

That in a nutshell pretty well sums it up.

I loved this book. I give it four stars out of five. I have never read Tom Perotta before. I’ll be checking into his other books. Get it at your local library!! Save some bucks.