The Casual Vacancy

By: J.K. Rowling

Narrated by: Tom Hollander

Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early 40s, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils.... Pagford is not what it at first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town's council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking, and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults.

©2012 J.K. Rowling (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Definitely Different

What made the experience of listening to The Casual Vacancy the most enjoyable?

Tom Hollander was Great!. Probably the reason why I made it through the first two hours of the book.

What does Tom Hollander bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Helps bring out the true feelings in the characters

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

This was all and all a good book although a bit depressing, but good to read for reality to real life instead of a happily ever after. If you are listening to this the first couple of hours were a bit difficult for me to get through, but after that I just had to know what was going to happen next.

A modern study of the human condition...

poignantly and beautifully written. Ms. Rowling explores the motivations, pettiness, and stubborness we all experiencia at some point in our lives.

Excellent

What did you love best about The Casual Vacancy?

Great story about the intimate inner workings of a small town.

What did you like best about this story?

Characters are real and believeable.

good reading and solid explication of poverty

thank Joanne for another great story. reads like harry potter but a bit of explicit fan fictionesque aspects. quite a good story and tells an incredibly realistic perspective on abuse and poverty.

Fantastic novel!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The book is excellent and the reading was enjoyable. It was perfectly tailored to the mood of the novel and the listening experience was delightful.

heartbreaking

You fall in love with the misfits and then have to say goodbye... well done JK

She tells a good story

If you like a tale about people and their lives, you will like this book. If you need more action like a murder mystery, maybe not so much.

Small town voyeurism with a powerful lesson

Unexpected and powerful, the reader is drawn into the intricacies and intimacies of a small town's interdependent web of overlapping relationships. The tangibility of the characters become relatable, while one's emotional connections with them ebb and flow in a reflection of real life experiences. In a climatic ending, the painful and powerful message come crashing through at a visceral level, leaving the reader both short of breath and deeply moved by this engaging work.

This is no "Harry Potter" legacy, but a dynamic new direction of a talented and deft writer. Once again, profoundly well done.

High hopes, but didn't deliver.

I went into this book with the mindset that J.K. Rowling can do no wrong and unfortunately I was disappointed. The story just never seemed to pick up and the narration was hard to listen to.

Very realistic characters

What made the experience of listening to The Casual Vacancy the most enjoyable?

J.K Rowling's ability to reel you in with believable characters holds true with this completely different genre. She gives us a look at social interactions and human nature, lower classes vs comfortable classes (and the conflict within each of these circles, themselves).