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

Solid story with a strong voice

Any additional comments?

This tale made me squirm when it was right to squirm and allowed me to be fully involved in the story. JKR has honed her skills so that it does not matter whether she is weaving magic for children or using a heavy hand to pull adults through real life. It all draws you in and carries you inevitably to the end where you sit and sigh, "Well, that's that. Now what am I going to do until there's another novel on the shelf?"
Listening to this novel read by Tom Hollander was a delight because he gives excellent voice to the characters in the tale. Thank you for your reading, Tom.

Another great listen!

What did you love best about The Casual Vacancy?

I didn't expect the story line! After the author wrote the Potter books, I was so impressed with the change in Genre.

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

The accent and his tone when he was speaking of the different characters

If you could take any character from The Casual Vacancy out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The girl (can't remember her name) who was stuck in an envirounment she had no control over. I would discuss with her how to break the cycle she was born into.....her ending broke my heart!

An extraordinary ride. J.K. Rowling is a master.

An intricately woven tale of ordinary people in a small town; polite, petty, vindictive, and so beautifully flawed. Socially relevant, funny, slightly political, and absolutely heartbreaking.

different genre

This is more for those that like soap opera. not for those that are looking for adventure

Amazing!

I enjoyed the mini-series, so I thought I’d give the book a try. Wow! Great narrator and even better stories. I really felt for the characters. Some are struggles I know and others gave me a horribly personal glimpse into something I’d never know.

Unexpected!

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

Yes I would recommend this audiobook to a friend. It was exciting, thrilling and interesting. There were a lot of characters to remember, but it was interesting how they interwove with each other besides just living in the same area.

What did you like best about this story?

The interesting, realistic characters. The realistic but interesting dynamics of each character and how they relate to other characters in the novel.

Have you listened to any of Tom Hollander’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any of Tom Hollander's other performances.

If you could rename The Casual Vacancy, what would you call it?

The Fields

Any additional comments?

I have never read any of J.K. Rowling "Harry Potter" books or her books under her pseudonym, so I cannot compare. As a first book from this author that I have listened to, I want to listen to more of her books. I would read other books by her, but I don't have the time to do that. Excellent audiobook.

Epic Story on small town life...

Would you listen to The Casual Vacancy again? Why?

No. Because I already know the story!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rachael Weiden because of how sad her story was.

Which character – as performed by Tom Hollander – was your favorite?

Fats

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Rachael tried to protect her brother from being taken from their family because of neglect.

Any additional comments?

Only downside is that there were so many characters that the book gets a bit confusing when you don't listen for a whole weekend - trying to remember who is who...

Very Moving

If you could sum up The Casual Vacancy in three words, what would they be?

Moving, Important, Insightful

What other book might you compare The Casual Vacancy to and why?

Can't compare Certainly very well written

Which scene was your favorite?

The ending is probably the best - but this is very moving

If you could take any character from The Casual Vacancy out to dinner, who would it be and why?

main character

Any additional comments?

It is iso different from her other books that I was put off at first - the main characters have difficult lives but this is an amazing book not to be missed

Rowling Shows She's a Great Writer

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

Absolutely. Rowling remains a fine storyteller, though this book is actually a remarkable and profound work of fiction. It is funny, moving, appalling -- she's found a way to take a middle-class English town, with a horrible ghetto nearby, and extract from it psychologically complex characters determined by their upbringing, social class, and most of all, by their individual traumas. Indeed, Rowling is the modern master of trauma, individual, interpersonal, and familial ... and The Casual Vacancy is all about it. It begins with the death of a man who, we come to learn, has been important, both negatively and positively, for so many others. As the narrative progresses, so our appreciation of him and our sense of loss grows. And so Rowling manages to have us experience grief with a novel at times funny, at others tragic, written with perfect tempo and with unflagging suspense. I enjoyed the week or two that it took for me to listen to it, and I was very moved by the last scenes.

Any additional comments?

A real achievement - a must read!

Well Done

If you could sum up The Casual Vacancy in three words, what would they be?

Family, Community, Reality

If you could rename The Casual Vacancy, what would you call it?

Behind Closed Doors

Any additional comments?

Having not read the Harry Potter series, I had no preconceived ideas of Rowling's writing skills. Making oodles of money from a series of adolescent/preteen novels does not necessarily mean the writer's talent is extraordinary - only that her conceived storytelling ideas are engrossing and unique. I enjoyed this book and it's construction and now know that Ms. Rowling is a great writer in addition to being a great storyteller.

The idea that we don't really know what's going on in the lives of the people we think we know and what they really think of us is universal. The folks in this story could be living in any community in the western world. I know most of them in my own little subdivision!

Tom Hollander does a fine job of reading. The narrator can make or break any novel and I thought his pacing and his inflections were spot on. Good job1