This week, something rare happened. I was in the mood to read sci-fi.
Not unheard of, just rare, especially in the warmer months. I can’t be the only seasonal/mood reader, right? Thrillers ring my bell all year ‘round, but fluffy chicklit, contemporaries, and books of that nature dominate my TBR during spring and summer. Historical fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy rule the colder months. But, something even weirder happened.
For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have an array of TBR-provided choices to scratch my sci-fi itch. (In fairness, most of my sci-fi stuff is now consumed in comic format. And in fairness, I’ve read most of it already.) I was digging through one of my four nightstand piles when I found it. (It’s okay, I know you’re not judging me for having four stacks and several shelves’ worth of unread books.) Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers. I’d meant to read it a long time ago, so I could hop on the HBO show’s bandwagon, but never got around to it. I checked on Goodreads* and found it was categorized as sci-fi and dystopia. (*Cheerfully ignoring the reviews, which ranged from middling to frustrated.)
Ooh…
But before I get ahead of myself, in case you haven’t heard of The Leftovers or don’t watch the show, let me disclaim something to you right now. If you’re looking for a hardcore sci-fi world to sink your teeth into, this isn’t it. The Leftovers deals with the aftermath of a Rapture-like event, wherein all manner of people disappear, leaving their loved ones scrambling. Mostly, we’re looking through a magnifying glass at the suburban American town of Mapleton, with an especially intense focus on the Garveys.
The Garveys are technically lucky:
After the Sudden Departure, as the inexplicable event is publicly dubbed, their family is physically whole. However, it takes a year or less for their home structure to fall apart, with matriarch Laurie running off to join the Silent Remnant, a nationwide cult with two hard and fast rules: they must be completely silent (no talking, squealing, shouting, or even whispering is allowed. But they can text and use messaging apps, so they’re not completely isolated). The second rule is that they must smoke cigarettes.
Likewise, eldest child Tom Garvey ditches college to blindly devote himself to the Healing Hug Movement, an organization led by charismatic zionist, Holy Wayne.
Literally. The cult is based on hugging some sweaty middle-aged white guy who swears he can take away your pain and has like, six underage wives. Fun times.
Stuck cleaning up the mess they left behind, youngest Garvey child, Jill, has shaved her head and perfected a mask of indifference about everything.
She no longer cares about school or her future or doing well for herself. She desperately tries not to care about the truth that her mother abandoned her.
Lastly, Kevin Garvey, now the mayor of Mapleton, is a huge proponent of ignoring the worldwide consequences that the Sudden Departure wrought.
He’s been elected Mapleton’s mayor and works tirelessly to get people to rebuild and move on. His position is complicated when he becomes romantically involved with Nora Durst, a much-younger woman who lost her entire family (husband and two young children) on that horrible day.
Honestly, I was so pumped to read this. But, like I said, it wasn’t sci-fi enough to tickle my fancy. It was more like suburban sci-fi— Perrotta’s focus seemed to be snidely taking pot shots at the trivialities of suburban life whilst also gleefully pointing out that, truly, all humans are clueless idiots. None of us know why we’re on this planet, none of us actually know much of anything.
Which, fair play, Mr. Perrotta.
I enjoyed the concept of this book far more than the execution.\
I think it’s because there are no concrete answers. When I picked up The Leftovers, I was totally down for horrifically illegal government experiments, artificially-enforced population control, or even some freaky extraterrestrial activity. Instead, we got… nothing. Was it poignant and frustratingly humane? I guess. But I kind of want answers when the book poses a question. Like: where did half the world’s population disappear to? Was it randomized? Or were the “departed” ones chosen for a reason?
I don’t watch The Leftovers. But I heard it went in a completely different direction from its source material. Someone let me know if we get a damn explanation for The Sudden Departure. I need one.
This week’s recipe was inspired by just how heavily Perrotta leaned on the banalities of suburbia. I chose a recipe that’s a staple at block parties, ladies’ nights, and perfect for sharing by the pool while you and your neighbours gossip about that new family down the street and complain about how complicated the waste ordinances are (ugh). Hummus spinach dip. Credit goes to Laura at Laura Fuentes Fresh Living.
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