I first heard Iris DeMent's "Let the Mystery Be" when it came up as the new opening theme for season two of The Leftovers. The song has been on my mind lately as part of my recent preoccupation with death and aging. Given the subject matter--what happens after we die--Iris' lyrics are refreshingly nonjudgmental and upbeat. Here's the chorus:
Everybody is wonderin' what and where they all came from
Everybody is worryin' about where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me
Think I'll just let the mystery be
Each verse that follows quickly describes one of the various human concepts of what an afterlife might be like. My favourite is the last:
Some say they're goin' to a place called Glory and I ain't sayin' it ain't a fact
But I've heard that I'm on the road to purgatory and I don't like the sounds of that
'Cause I believe in love and I live my life accordingly
I choose to let the mystery be
The song sometimes makes me tear up, particularly at that final verse. I love her agency, her choice, and her acceptance of other ways of thinking about philosophy and religion.
Showing posts with label The Leftovers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Leftovers. Show all posts
Friday, January 09, 2026
Monday, June 30, 2014
These Leftovers Are Undercooked
HBO's The Leftovers is adapted by Damon Lindelhoff from Tom Perrotta's excellent novel of the same name. Both the television series and the novel share a premise: millions of people around the world disappear one day, without rhyme or reason, a random rapture.
The novel focuses on the internal emotional struggles of a half-dozen or so characters, fundamentally good people each coming to terms with an unexplainable loss. It's quiet and gentle, especially given the immense pain felt by the protagonists.
The pilot of the television series tosses the emotional depth of the novel aside to focus on the same sort of melodrama we've already seen in other, better shows. The novel's lead character, a mayor whose wife has joined the Guilty Remnant, a cult of judgemental people who feel moving on after tragedy is a betrayal of those who disappear, becomes a police chief in the television series - a change in occupation that automatically allows for more action-adventure. There's also a bizarre subplot about dogs running wild, a distraction that tries to add an air of mystique to the proceedings but simply seems out of place.
I was hoping for more nuance from HBO, but the television series is, unsurprisingly, far more violent and confrontational than the novel. I understand the difficulty of translating thoughtful prose to interesting television, but given Perrotta's involvement in the show, I expected more.
It's quite possible that the show will improve with time, as often happens in genre television, but thus far The Leftovers leaves me feeling anything but rapturous.
The novel focuses on the internal emotional struggles of a half-dozen or so characters, fundamentally good people each coming to terms with an unexplainable loss. It's quiet and gentle, especially given the immense pain felt by the protagonists.
The pilot of the television series tosses the emotional depth of the novel aside to focus on the same sort of melodrama we've already seen in other, better shows. The novel's lead character, a mayor whose wife has joined the Guilty Remnant, a cult of judgemental people who feel moving on after tragedy is a betrayal of those who disappear, becomes a police chief in the television series - a change in occupation that automatically allows for more action-adventure. There's also a bizarre subplot about dogs running wild, a distraction that tries to add an air of mystique to the proceedings but simply seems out of place.
I was hoping for more nuance from HBO, but the television series is, unsurprisingly, far more violent and confrontational than the novel. I understand the difficulty of translating thoughtful prose to interesting television, but given Perrotta's involvement in the show, I expected more.
It's quite possible that the show will improve with time, as often happens in genre television, but thus far The Leftovers leaves me feeling anything but rapturous.
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