Disappearing act: Tom Perrotta.(Author Profile)(Interview)

Tom Perrotta rules suburbia. It's been the backdrop for all of his books, including his new novel, The Leftovers (St. Martin's, Sept.) even while he explains that he never made a decision to write about it.

"It just so happened that for most of my life I've lived in the suburbs," he says. "I write about kids growing up, I write a lot about schools and parents, and all of my experiences with those things have been suburban experiences. And they're two distinct cultures--I think urban childhoods and schools are quite different than suburban ones. I just happen to know one and not the other. My wife and I left New York when she got pregnant--we just thought it would be really …