• The Casual Vacancy

  • By: J.K. Rowling
  • Narrated by: Tom Hollander
  • Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins
  • 3.6 out of 5 stars (6,929 ratings)

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The Casual Vacancy  By  cover art

The Casual Vacancy

By: J.K. Rowling
Narrated by: Tom Hollander
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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
J.K. Rowling - Author

About the Author

J.K. Rowling is the author of the record-breaking, multi-award-winning Harry Potter novels. Loved by fans around the world, the series has sold more than 500 million copies, been translated into 80 languages and made into eight blockbuster films.

She has written three companion volumes in aid of charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos), and The Tales of Beedle the Bard (in aid of Lumos).

In 2012, J.K. Rowling's digital company and digital publisher Pottermore was launched, a place where fans can enjoy the latest news from across the wizarding world, features and original writing by J.K. Rowling.

Her first novel for adult readers, The Casual Vacancy, was published in September 2012 and adapted for TV by the BBC in 2015. J.K. Rowling also writes crime novels under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, featuring private detective Cormoran Strike. The first four novels The Cuckoo's Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015) and Lethal White (2018) all topped the national and international bestseller lists. The first three have been adapted for television, produced by Brontë Film and Television.

J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, and sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.

In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany on the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, which is now running at The Palace Theatre in London's West End and at The Lyric Theatre on Broadway.

Also in 2016, J.K. Rowling made her screenwriting debut with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. A prequel to the Harry Potter series, this new adventure of Magizoologist Newt Scamander marked the start of a five-film series to be written by the author. The second film in the series, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was released in November 2018.

The script book of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two was published in 2016. The original screenplays of the Fantastic Beasts films are published too: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).

As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children's literature, J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honours, including France's Légion d'Honneur and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

www.jkrowling.com

Image: Photography Debra Hurford Brown © J.K. Rowling 2018

What listeners say about The Casual Vacancy

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SAD!

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

This book is very sad. It put me in a bad mood all week. I would not recommend it to anyone.

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Highly recommend!!!

There is only one problem reading any book by J.K. Rowling. She sets the bar too high for me to enjoy other authors as much. Her writing is detailed but not boring. She creates a picture of each character, family dynamic and environment. I became invested in each character. I love her sense of of humour. which she intersperes into her dramatic scenes

I have read the Comoron Strike series (under pseudonym Robert Gailbraith) and now Casual Vacancy and her style and her skill is, in my opinion, unsurpassed.

I want more!

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I liked it

The depiction of this small community beset with dysfunctional characters is excellent and very relatable. I especially loved Tom Hollanders excellent narration as he brilliantly captured all the characters personalities perfectly. Some parts made me chuckle out loud while others were extremely sad and raw.

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Dark, but enticing

In typical JKR fashion, lots of foundation building, but that's what makes her books so good. So, it was slow to start, but I couldn't stop listening once we got off the ground! great read.

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Fierce social commentary

Rowling paints a riveting portrait of small-town life with unexpected heroes. I love her genre fiction, but I love this literary effort too. What a writer!

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An excellent read!

Loved the story, loved the performance!
JK Rowling is an amazing storyteller, and in this book captures perfectly the realities of the politics of small-town life.

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Truly shows the caliber of her writing

She rolled the dice on a story topic and pulled a natural 1. Have no illusions, this story topic is horrendous. Jerry springer would have turned this away as to boring of a show.

She wove such a fine thread and narrative i could not help but to come back at the soonest opportunity.

With about 600 audio books, this i think is one of the few deserving a written review from me.

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Darker side of human nature.

This book was so well written, the characters were intriguing, and the story line somewhat sinister. Tom Hollander read it so well, once I started listening I couldn't stop. J.K. Rowling is just brilliant.

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Loved it!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed Rowling's character development. It takes a little while to be able to keep the characters straight, but they all have their individual foibles, which is part of the point of the story. Despite dealing with some rather serious and depressing subjects, the tone of the book is overall lightly humorous, in an appropriate way. The plot is believable; no magic or too fortuitous happy endings occur. The book was easy to listen to, especially with some understanding of British slang. Highly recommend.

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I didn't want it to end!!

The characters were very realistic with intriguing personalities, foibles and quirks. I love the way the story was written and the narrator was superb. When the book ended I felt as if I had moved far away from my home and I want to go back and see what's going on with everyone. I finished listening to the book yesterday and I already miss it. I will be listening to it again and again. I will definitely be buying the book!!
I would love a sequel, if not a series!

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