Tutor.com Reads: The Leftovers
The Leftovers, written by Tom Perrotta, takes a look at how ordinary people react to extraordinary events. While “the Departure” sets the book in motion, the story is really about how people deal with unexplainable events. Should you try to chase down answers and obsess over what you might never know? Or should you try to return to normal, acknowledge something happened, but move on?
The book follows a cast of characters all from the small suburban town, Mapleton, and how each one reacts to an unprecedented tragedy. The main focus is on the Garvey family, made up of the parents Kevin and Laurie along with their daughter in high school, Jill, and college aged son, Tom, all of whom survived the Departure. A completely different perspective is added to the mix with Nora, also a Mapleton native, whose entire family (her husband, daughter, and son) disappeared. Between these five characters there were the extreme reactions: devoting your life to a cult that claims to have the answers. And the less extreme reactions: becoming friends with the wrong crowd or obsessing over SpongeBob Squarepants.
We dove right into the big question: who was disappointed that we never found out what caused the departure? Was it aliens, religion, science?! Our conclusion was that not knowing was integral to the storyline and how we related to the characters and how they managed to live after an extraordinary event. Many of us found hidden meanings within the book. Perhaps the Departure was symbolic of death, and the book was focusing on how we deal with being the ones left behind after our loved ones depart. Or perhaps it is discussing the boredom of the middle class and the need to liven up your too perfect world.
In the end, we agreed that The Leftovers is a great read, but the ending left a little to be desired. With so many emotions running wild, and so many different personalities at play, the book concluded with a surprisingly pleasant ending for most of the characters. It all felt just a little too easy. Plus, it could have used some more sci-fi elements, because really, what book can’t use more sci-fi.
Join us as we read our next book club pick the fantasy novel, The Folk of the Air, by Peter S. Beagle, the author of The Last Unicorn!
One Response to “”Dr. Fred Young says:October 10, 2012 at 2:04 PM
Sounds like a blatant ripoff of LeHeye’s Left Behind series. But anything to get people to read I support.
Reply Trackbacks/PingbacksLeave a Reply
Click here to cancel reply.
Name (required)
Mail (will not be published) (required)
Website
Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.Connect
Popular Latest Comments Tags Subscribe 
Countdown to Final ExamsMay 14, 2010Top Five Towns to be a College StudentJanuary 13, 2010
It’s a bird … it’s a plane …it’s … Bart, from Tutor.com!July 23, 2009 
Trend Watch: PinterestOctober 1, 2012
Race to the Top with Tutor.com’s Personalized Learning SolutionsOctober 1, 2012
Working Together with Charlotte Mecklenburg LibrarySeptember 26, 2012 EonlineTutors: Teaching student in a way he wants would be very e...Dr. Fred Young: If you want your child to be successful, if you ca...Dr. Fred Young: It is so important to teach to a student's learnin... 10 Year Client PostsALA 2009ALAMW11AlgebraBanned BooksChemistryCollege AdmissionsConferencesdeploymentFunding and BudgetsFun StuffgrammargravityHigher EducationholidayholidaysJobs and CareersK12Math and ScienceMentor of the MonthmilitaryMilitary Success StoryMyLivePDonline learningOur Book ClubOur Local Librariesour tutorsParentsphysicsProfessional DevelopmentServing Adult PatronsServing College Studentssocial mediasportsstatisticsstimulus fundingStress ManagementStudent StoriesTeaching and LearningTeen OutreachTutor.comTutor.com teamTutor of the MonthTutors and TutoringWhat we're Reading Now Stay up to date
Subscribe to the RSS feedSubscribe to the feed via email 
Twitter Updates Photos on flickr 
Tutor.com on DeliciousEducation Week: Bandwidth Demands Rise as Schools Move to Common CoreSomething for every taste 500 Vine Albright Memorial Library - Go LackawannaGeorge Cigale Named Visiting Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education | eCampus NewsDoDEA Educational Partnership Awards $49 Million to Military-Connected SchoolsLawsuit alleges 'Education Empire' conspiracy to defeat charter school measure | Political InsiderEducation Week: Calif. Program Takes Aim at 'Teacher-Diversity Gap'Attention Disorder or Not, Children Prescribed Pills to Help in School - NYTimes.comEducation Week: Common Core Catches On With Private SchoolsWant to be a guest blogger?If you have a post you would like to share with our readers, please contact blog@tutor.com. We feature articles about schools, libraries, Military Families and tips for students and parents. Archives Select Month October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 © 2012 The Tutor.com Blog. Powered by WordPress. Gazette Theme by 
View the Original article
0 comments:
Post a Comment