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

This is not Harry Potter

When I heard that J.K. Rowling was writing another book, I was overjoyed! Being a Harry Potter fan, I was anxious to continue in the fantasy of the wizarding world. Boy, was I taken by surprise! This is definitely a book for adults. I say this because there are such graphic scenes, that are so close to real-life events that could happen, it makes it unnerving. However, the story was entertaining enough to keep me engaged, after I realized this wasn't a fantasy story. Rowling does well at developing characters and their interactions with one another made me want to find out what happens to them all. I recommend this to anyone who understands that this is a separate genre than Harry Potter, but yet still keeps you wanting to listen to more.

This is not Harry.

What did you love best about The Casual Vacancy?

There is a sense of constant futility. There are no heros, no seers, just weak, limited and confused non entities. The charecters many flaws, become a comedy of errors.

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

I've never read anything else like it. I still am not sure what i think of it.

Which scene was your favorite?

The boys in the cave.

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

None.

Any additional comments?

Rawling can write. I hope she tries again.

my pessimism is so happy right now

you know how sometimes you see the absolute worst in everyone around you and question the meaning of it all? this book is perfect self indulgence for that mood.... its poetic, tragic, and so full of terrible people that it is extreemly satisfying. thank you again JK R!

Excellent

JKRowling doesn't need a big event to make her stories interesting. Her character development paints a clear picture of the triumphs and failures of ordinary people. Good to the last drop.

An Ode to Pettiness

Slow burn, incredible reward.
Insight into the human experience.
Let us all be Barry Fairbrothers.

Complex and compelling

I agree with another reviewer of this book when they indicated J.K. Rowling is a genius. This book takes the listener through the lives of people connected by one man.

As you listen, the story winds itself into the revelation of characters with their strengths and flaws. It's not a joyful book, so please don't expect that.

Tom Hollander is an excellent narrator and brought the characters to life. Splendid.

Totally unexpectedly entertaining!

Like "Jude the Obscure," by Thomas Hardy, this is NOT a happy story, but unlike that book, which I absolutely HATED, I really enjoyed "The Casual Vacancy." This story of a small town in western England has hardly a hint of romance, but plenty of foul language, death, sex, betrayal, and drug abuse; there's even a bit of incest, just for good measure. Everyone has their problems, but all the people mentioned in this book have serious amounts of disfunction.

In the end, all the people that come out of the situation relatively unscathed aren't left any better than they started. And, again, this was a GREAT book, because Ms. Rowling tells the tale in a way that makes it a fun listen. It left me thinking, "My life's pretty darn good, comparatively speaking."

I don't, however, recommend this book for anyone under the age of 30. You need some perspective to be able to read this book and not be effected negatively by it.

That all being said, I'm hoping for a sequel! There are a lot of characters here that I want to follow to find out how messed up their lives will become as they try to deal with some of the things that were unresolved!

Slow start, but it pays off

Where does The Casual Vacancy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The vast array of characters were intertwined in a complex web. Because I'm not great at absorbing information aurally, it was hard for me to keep the characters' relationships to one another straight through an audiobook.

The first third of the book felt like drudgery, but I was determined to listen in full and I'm glad I did. Rowling did not disappoint. An avid HP fan, I was skeptical about what Rowling could accomplish for adults. There really is no overlap between HP and The Casual Vacancy except for the omniscient POV. Vacancy explores characters more deeply with an omniscient narrator who rotates through the townspeople.

This was a great book, but one I wish I'd read in print because I'm quite sure I missed some of the intricate details Rowling laid out. If you are better able to focus than I, you will probably enjoy this slightly more than I.

What did you like best about this story?

J. K. Rowling's ability to weave so many characters into intricate plot and subplots was my favorite part.

What aspect of Tom Hollander’s performance would you have changed?

I'm surprised that a male narrator was chosen. The characters roughly bounce between male and female, with slightly more than half being female.

My only regret is it’s done

What a horrible little world she made there. Now that it’s over, I just want to go back.

slow start but spicy finish

it started kinda slow and I kept losing interest but it slowly got more and more enticing until a wham bam finish!