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

Jk Rowling Can Write

This novel proves, if there was ever any doubt, that Rowling is a writer of much more than one tale. She brings us into a multi-layered story of one place in one time that is difficult to walk away from. I am now casting about for more of her work, in hopes that it exists.
As an audio book, do much depends upon the reader. The reader of this is first rate.

Good but not great

It took a bit to get into this story. The narration is not great. He doesn’t give the characters much inflection and rushes through some of the dialogue. In the end I was interested to see what happened to the characters. But not my favorite Rowling.

Wow!

I have to seriously admire an author who can do a complete turnaround from a series such as Harry Potter to a book of a completely different type. While not one of my most favorite books, it is one of my favorite reads simply because it was so unexpected! It was well written, very well read, and enjoyable despite the bulk of the characters being positively terrible people. If you are a Rowling fan, don’t read this expecting another Harry Potter but instead to appreciate the talents of an excellent an imaginative writer. This book is truly about the muggliest of muggles.

A different kind of novel

After finishing this book I spent a fair amount of time thinking about it. It’s obviously nothing like the Harry Potter series, but it is worth reading or listening to. I think Rowling did a great job showing some small aspects of social work. How stressful and challenging it can be to see a family trying and falling short. Some of the characters that might be initially dismissed evolve throughout the book. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who can stand a little heartbreak.

Diverse characters

An interesting read with small-town characters who all seem so very sad. I did get immersed in the plot and was anxious to see how it ended. Worth a listen.

Incredible

What an intimate story of the lives of folks in a small town. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

It was fine, I liked it

This book was a good listen. The narrator performed well and did not "intrude" into the story. The accents were well done and good distinction between the characters.
The writing was typical JK Rowling. I like her style. She is not pretentious and lets the story roll out in an almost organic way. There are nuances too that I like. In this one there is only one character that I found absolutely hateful, the rest had flaws but you either liked them in spite of that or disliked them in spite of it.
Would I recommend this book? Yes I would. It would be a good "Summer reads" book.

Incredible

Absolutely incredible storytelling and delivery. Tom Hollander was the perfect choice as the reader. I listen to this at least once a year and it's one of my all time favorite novels.

By: J.K. Rowling Narrated by: Tom Hollander Length

By: J.K. Rowling
Narrated by: Tom Hollander
Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins
Audiobook
By: J.K. Rowling
Narrated by: Tom Hollander
Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins
Audiobook

Not what I expect from Rowling

This book did not flow easily as her other works. I really had to force myself to hang in there for this one. As I listened to this tail of sorrow, I just kept thinking, “where is this going”.