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The Casual Vacancy
- Narrated by: Tom Hollander
- Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins
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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.
About the Author
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
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Successful journalist Erin Kelly has electrified readers and critics alike with her debut novel The Poison Tree. In this scintillating work, Karen and her daughter Alice have established a safe, happy life free from the madness of Karen’s past. But when Karen’s former lover Rex is released from prison, her old associations intrude upon the present - and threaten everything she holds dear.
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I couldn't stop listening the book.
- By Gladys on 07-29-15
By: Erin Kelly
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Dear Amy
- By: Helen Callaghan
- Narrated by: Michelle Ford
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Margot Lewis is a teacher at an exclusive high school in the English university town of Cambridge. In her spare time, she writes an advice column, "Dear Amy", for the local newspaper. When one of Margot's students, 15-year-old Katie, disappears, the school and the town fear the worst. And then Margot gets a "Dear Amy" letter unlike any of the ones she's received before. It's a desperate plea for rescue from a girl who says she is being held captive and in terrible danger - a girl called Bethan Avery, who was abducted from the local area 20 years ago and never found.
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Stunning debut
- By Mystery Maven on 11-18-16
By: Helen Callaghan
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Edited by David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, Cherry Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories, some classic, others impending, selected and introduced by David Sedaris.
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Great stories but only 5 of 17 are included
- By Terri Kirk on 07-13-12
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Gold Dust
- By: Kimberley Freeman
- Narrated by: Jennifer Vuletic
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Three women linked by their blood, their dreams...and their sins. From Leningrad in the '70s to America and London in the present day, Kimberley Freeman's new novel follows the lives of two sisters, Lena and Natalia, and their cousin, Sofi, as they move away from Russia and all they have known. Despite promising to always take care of each other, a pact to meet every winter is shattered as their lives change and long-held resentments begin to surface. Can that resentment turn to hatred? To murder?
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It's just not the same without Caroline Lee
- By Maria on 12-04-17
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The Things We Never Said
- By: Susan Elliot Wright
- Narrated by: Kate Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1964, Maggie wakes to find herself in a mental asylum, with no idea who she is or how she got there. Remnants of memories swirl in her mind - a familiar song, a storm, a moment of violence. Slowly, she begins to piece together the past and the events which brought her to this point.
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Disappointing
- By Anonymous User on 01-18-22
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Are You Watching Me?
- DS Claire Boyle, Book 2
- By: Sinead Crowley
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Dear Elizabeth, I've been watching you. I hope to see you...soon. Liz Cafferky is on the up. Rescued from her dark past by the owner of a drop-in centre for older men, Liz soon finds herself as the charity's face - and the unwilling darling of the Dublin media. Amidst her claustrophobic fame, Liz barely notices a letter from a new fan. But then one of the centre's clients is brutally murdered, and Elizabeth receives another, more sinister note. Running from her own ghosts, Liz is too scared to go to the police.
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Fantastic!!
- By Brett McAteer on 03-06-19
By: Sinead Crowley
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Secret Smile
- By: Nicci French
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Miranda's sister Kerri has a new boyfriend. He's a handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri. But Brendan isn't the man he says he is. Miranda should know. She broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary.
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I want my 9 hours back
- By Ashley on 07-19-23
By: Nicci French
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London Fields
- By: Martin Amis
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The murderee is Nicola Six, a "black hole" of sex and self-loathing who is intent on orchestrating her own extinction. The murderer may be Keith Talent, a violent lowlife whose only passions are pornography and darts; or the rich, honorable, and dimly romantic Guy Clinch. As Nicola leads her suitors towards the precipice, London--and, indeed, the whole world--seems to shamble after them in a corrosively funny novel of complexity and morality.
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Big chewy novel, excellent narration
- By Sand on 08-21-14
By: Martin Amis
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Honor
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marno, Piter Marik
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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An honor killing shatters and transforms the lives of Turkish immigrants in 1970s London. Internationally best-selling Turkish author Elif Shafak’s new novel is a dramatic tale of families, love, and misunderstandings that follows the destinies of twin sisters born in a Kurdish village. While Jamila stays to become a midwife, Pembe follows her Turkish husband, Adem, to London, where they hope to make new lives for themselves and their children. In London, they face a choice: stay loyal to the old traditions or try their best to fit in.
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Complex but Compelling
- By Cariola on 04-14-13
By: Elif Shafak
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
- A Novel
- By: Deborah Moggach
- Narrated by: Juliet Mills
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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When Ravi Kapoor, an overworked London doctor, reaches the breaking point with his difficult father-in-law, he asks his wife: “Can’t we just send him away somewhere? Somewhere far, far away.” His prayer is seemingly answered when Ravi’s entrepreneurial cousin sets up a retirement home in India, hoping to re-create in Bangalore an elegant lost corner of England. Several retirees are enticed by the promise of indulgent living at a bargain price, but upon arriving, they are dismayed to find that restoration of the once sophisiticated hotel has stalled....
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Screenwriters Changed it for the Better
- By Carole T. on 06-05-12
By: Deborah Moggach
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The Ghosts of Belfast
- By: Stuart Neville
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Fegan has been a "hard man" - an IRA killer in Northern Ireland. Now that peace has come, he is being haunted day and night by 12 ghosts: a mother and infant, a schoolboy, a butcher, an RUC constable, and seven other of his innocent victims. In order to appease them, he's going to have to kill the men who gave him orders. As he's working his way down the list, he encounters a woman who may offer him redemption; she has borne a child to an RUC officer and is an outsider too.
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don't judge by its cover
- By connie on 01-05-13
By: Stuart Neville
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The Darkest Secret
- A Novel
- By: Alex Marwood
- Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Real estate mogul Sean Jackson is throwing himself a splashy 50th birthday party, but trouble starts almost immediately: His ex-wife has sent his teenage daughters to the party without telling him; his current wife has fired the nanny; and he's finding it difficult to sneak away to his mistress. Then something truly terrible happens: one of his three-year-old twins goes missing. No trace of her is ever found. The attendees of the party, nicknamed the Jackson Associates by the press, become infamous overnight.
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Wow
- By Christina on 09-14-16
By: Alex Marwood
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Give Me the Child
- By: Mel McGrath
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Dr Cat Lupo aches for another child despite the psychosis which marked her first pregnancy. So when Ruby Winter, a small girl in need of help, arrives in the middle of the night, it seems like fate. But as the events behind Ruby's arrival emerge - her mother's death, her connection to Cat - Cat questions whether her decision to help Ruby has put her own daughter at risk.
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Give Me the Child will give you a heck of a read!
- By Cassandra on 08-04-17
By: Mel McGrath
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Als een legendarisch topmodel een dodelijke val maakt van een balkon in de chique Londense wijk Mayfair, gaat de politie uit van zelfmoord. Haar broer weigert dit echter te accepteren en schakelt privédetective Cormoran Strike in. Strike neemt de klus dankbaar aan. Sinds hij zijn been verloor in Afghanistan is zijn leven een puinhoop. Hij heeft bijna geen opdrachten en de schuldeisers zitten achter hem aan. En daarbij is hij net weg bij zijn vriendin en woont hij in zijn kantoor. Dit is zijn kans om een nieuwe start te maken.
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Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, is one of the most recognizable and mysterious figures in the Harry Potter series. As an unscrupulous beetle-like journalist once said, he's "a biographer's dream." Is he omniscient or limited? Is he benevolent or malevolent? What really drove him in the last years of an extraordinary life? Dumbledore dives between the lines of the Harry Potter books to create a portrait of the controversial Headmaster. We find Dumbledore's hand in every seeming coincidence and consider the impossible decisions he had to make.
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Interesting and informative, but...
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Not as good as eye collector, but still brilliant.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 2
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Jim Dale is wonderful!
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Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice - until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone. That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable. Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po....
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1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch East Indies on the Batavia, one of the greatest ships of the Dutch Golden Age. Curious and mischievous, Mayken spends the long journey going on misadventures above and below the deck, searching for a mythical monster. But the true monsters might be closer than she thinks. 1989: A lonely boy named Gil is sent to live off the coast of Western Australia among the seasonal fishing community where his late mother once resided. There, on the tiny reef-shrouded island, he discovers the story of an infamous shipwreck…
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Mica’s Story was Enough
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Passenger 23
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With no police to investigate and no escape, could it be the perfect setting for a crime? Martin Schwartz (Beesley) is an undercover detective who is recovering from his wife and sons' bizarre disappearance from a cruise ship 5 years ago. He is a desperate man willing to take big risks. Martin never wanted to step onto a cruise ship again until he receives a call which can't be ignored. On average, 23 people per year disappear without a trace from cruise ships. Never before has someone come back... until now.
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a solid thriller if you don't think too hard
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The Switch
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For Tad Spencer, only son of a fabulously wealthy businessman, every day is like Christmas. Until he makes the mistake of wishing he was someone else. The next morning he wakes up as Bob Snarby, trapped in a cruel and squalid funfair world inhabited by hopeless criminals, mysterious fortune tellers and – worst of all – the murderous Finn.
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Excellent in all respects
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The White Lady
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A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government. The private, quiet “Miss White" as Elinor is known, lives in a village in rural Kent, England, and to her fellow villagers seems something of an enigma. Well she might, as Elinor occupies a "grace and favor" property, a rare privilege offered to faithful servants of the Crown for services to the nation.
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Mystery Maven
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Found Object
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Culpable in an exposé gone tragically wrong, investigative journalist Jupiter Bellarose takes her boss’s advice: head back to her hometown for a fluff piece and get her world in balance. But in Savannah, the past is waiting. Twenty years ago Jupiter’s mother, actress and celebrated beauty Marie Nova, was murdered, leaving many in her wake: Jupiter’s father, who has erased memories of his wife’s murder with alcohol. The matriarch of the cosmetics company who helped make Marie a star—and who takes every opportunity to reopen old wounds.
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Rampant with suspects!!!!
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What listeners say about The Casual Vacancy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Darwin8u
- 09-27-12
Pagford upon Avon
Or perhaps a better title for my review would be: You don’t have S3X near unicorns. In some ways this novel seems like a more middleweight 21st century counterpoint to Martin Amis' novel 'Money'. J.K. Rowling's new "adult" novel could just as easily been titled 'Poverty' or 'Mortality' (sorry J.K., but Hitch beat you to that title), both of which are themes that play throughout this novel.
It is weird for me, as a reader of all her juvenile fiction, to think of her in the same way with 'Casual Vacancy'. It appears it is hard for J.K. too. Rowling clearly is strongly connected to young adults, because the best parts of 'The Casual Vacancy' orbit the novel's younger characters.
In 'Casual Vacancy', Rowling falls back into writing about factions and tribalism in communities. Instead of a sorting hat, Pagford's tribes are sorted by money, by politics, by class, and in the case of those around Barry Fairweather -- by luck. It really seems like you can't write about England's poverty or class struggles without a little bit of dark humor and tragicomedy.
But, there is a real danger in writing a novel your loyal readers might not be ready for. We are creatures of habit and expectation. Go back and ask Melville how his loyal followers liked Moby Dick. I am positive that there will be scores of readers that will be upset, disenchanted, and disallusioned with Rowling's new book. But that is OK. In a greater way that is probably just what JK wants and expects (obviously on top of being read).
The British actor Tom Hollander's participation in the audiobook was a brilliant (seriously brillaint) move. The tecture of his voice is easy, lyrical and clear. He is able to subtly voice the many shades and variations of English class (Ruth and her husband Simon are good examples of his deft reading). The clarity and crispness of his voice also makes this an audiobook that you can listen to ALMOST as easily at 2x speed as 1x speed (although as an American, I didn't dare listen to it for long at 3x speed).
I'm not sure I would call it a great book (sorry folks, it isn't 'Bleak House' or 'Les Miserables'), but neither my money/credit nor my time was wasted listening to it.
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- cristina
- 01-14-14
I was surprised by how much I liked it
I read Rowling's other non-Potter book (the one she wrote under a pseudonym) and found it entertaining but mediocre. I expected the same reaction to this one and had therefore put off listening to it. When I did, I was totally surprised by how much I liked it. So much so that I laid in bed until well past two in the morning listening to the end (something I rarely do)--ergo the five stars even though this is not 'high' literature.
The Casual Vacancy is a story about the dark hidden lives of the inhabitants of a small country town. (Yes, not a very original theme but so very well done by Rowling.) The characters are dark, Very dark. Sometimes their meanness astounds you. In fact, they are all mean, except in varying degrees -- the only 'solid' good guy appears to be the character who dies in the first few pages of the book, leaving "the casual vacancy" in the town's council. (Had he lived, no doubt we would have found he had his secrets as well. Nobody is blameless here.)
The things that happen as a result of the characters inner flaws and demons are catastrophic, but easy to believe. In fact, Rowling makes them seem inevitable. A train without brakes going downhill.
I hope she writes more novels like this. And I hope Tom Hollander reads them. I will be sure to listen.
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- Glenda Sajwaj
- 09-28-12
Read reviews before you purchase
What disappointed you about The Casual Vacancy?
The story was extremely depressing & slow. I almost fell asleep while driving. The narrator is probably good, but there's not much he could do with this story. I read lots of English novels...not just Harry Potter. I love JK Rowling, but this is just not up to her standards. I tried to plod through, but after starting the 2nd download, I just had to quit.
What could J. K. Rowling have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
It was just a very depressing & slow story overall
How did the narrator detract from the book?
He was good, it just wasn't good material.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Not really. I wasn't expecting all the bad language.
Any additional comments?
I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't.
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- Penny Carol
- 10-09-12
This is not a magical book, it can't be.
Oscar Wilde's famous line "The good end happily and the bad unhappily, that is what fiction means" sums up the hero's journey that is the Harry Potter series. Inventive and imaginative, the reader enters a world that could never be, and encounters characters full of the greatest attributes of mankind: kindness, loyalty and courage prime among them. Goodness inevitably triumphs over evil, and the victory is won by not a single hero, but a band of friends exhibiting humanity at its best.
Humanity is not at its best in "The Casual Vacancy", far from it. Readers who found it exhilarating to imagine themselves soaring through the air on a broomstick or a hippogriff are rudely dropped onto the hard asphalt of contemporary class and racial bias. It is not a pretty sight or enjoyable experience. It is not meant to be.
I responded the same way many readers did by realizing that there isn't a single character that is not deeply flawed, and in many ways, unlikeable. The one person we would actually like to have as a friend dies at the outset of the book, and even he has imperfect relationships with those closest to him. His presence created equilibrium between warring factions driven by prejudice and mistrust. His death upsets the balance and begins a cascade of events which ends in tragedy. A more hopeful book would have the characters experience epiphanies which would change them internally and the world around them externally.
But this is not a hopeful book. I don't think it was meant to be. The author masterfully weaves the strands of the plot until all the characters have to look at themselves deeply if they are capable of it. Many of them are not, and are not changed by the losses they experience. This is where fantasy and reality collide, good is not going to triumph over evil, and that is depressing and heartbreaking.
The point, I believe, is that complex problems do not have easy answers, and sometimes have no answers at all. The Potter series is about finding the hidden power within you. This book is about the hidden powerlessness we feel as a society when confronted by the fear of those who are not like us. While we have best of intentions, our fear triumphs over our desire to do the right thing.
I believe Ms. Rowling's intent was to make us think deeply about intractable problems, and I think she was successful in doing so. It is not an enjoyable read, but it is an important one. It makes us uncomfortable, this time she didn't want to entertain us with fantasy, but to give us a big dose of reality as seen by a skilled storyteller.
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- connie
- 10-02-12
Skippy Dies in Marriage Plot on Coronation St
I mean that in a good way. I've never read or seen a Potter, but love witty light Brit lit. This IS a fun listen, though some of the characters and observations are mean-spirited. This also does a novel's job - observes and comments on the human condition, so although light, it is in the tradition (though not same fighting class) of a Trollope or Austen - keen observation of daily life beyond the surface, and well-expressed. Rowling makes even a journey across a parking lot interesting, and the narrator is A+
I downloaded this only out of curiosity and lost a night's sleep because I couldn't stop listening. If you like story-telling and don't need a happy -ever-after resolution, this may be for you. If you like sparse, taught prose and postmodern-y novels, maybe skip it.
I usually avoid novels with adolescent characters and their concerns, but. like Paul Murray, Rowling makes even that age group interesting for me. (Sorry if that sounds ageist; I'm a self-absorbed babyboomer - and we're in the novel too)
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- katelyn
- 10-31-12
Rowling can create despicable as well as loveable
When I finished listening to this book I immediately wanted to talk about it. My initial feeling was one of bafflement, mostly because, while this book was not what I consider "enjoyable" by most of the definitions I use for that word - I did enjoy it.
I tend to be drawn to books that will allow me to disappear into them. I want to escape from reality and inhabit a different world for a while, fall in love, have grand adventures, make new friends. This was not the book for any of that. Instead The Casual Vacancy keeps you right here in "the real world". More than that, it shines an unforgiving light into all of the dingiest, ugliest, saddest and most tragic corners of the world and introduces you to a whole town full of despicable, ugly and tragic characters and it does it in a gorgeous way. The world is painted with the skilled brushes of JK Rowlings fantastic command of language and brilliant story-telling.
This is the first Tom Hollander narration that I have listened to. I have listened to A Lot of audiobooks though, and have experienced that a narrator can make or break a book in audio format. I enjoyed Tom Hollander very much.
Like the rest of the world, I became a fan of the author through the charming and magical world she created with Harry Potter. Those audiobooks are some of my absolute favorites. I have listened to them over and over - they are a great thing to just throw on when I am bored and have nothing new to listen to. It has been my experience that JK Rowling's books have many and unexpected layers, so I WILL be listening to this book again once it has had a bit more time to digest in my head, though I don't see it going onto my list of often repeated files.
Because I do enjoy that world so much I really wanted to support the author in this newest endeavor. I went in knowing that this was an adult book, not a fantasy/sci-fi book and most definitely NOT HP. Even so, it was difficult to divorce myself from those preconceived notions and just give this book a shot on it's own merits. There were a few spots in the book where I found myself pulled out of the story a bit by the swearing. I found myself wondering how much of it was necessary to the story and how much of it was an artifice to break from the HP mold. I do not have an issue with swearing, and it is clear that some measure of it is completely appropriate, and perhaps even necessary to illustrate the world created in The Casual Vacancy. There were still a few spots where it seemed - contrived almost - and reminded me that I was reading a JK Rowling book rather than getting me to forget about the author and immerse into the story.
I don't want to live in this world (even though I am aware that I do). All in all though, I am glad I made the purchase, and though this book had a lot of hurdles to jump - I think that it was worth the effort to experience what I view as a piece of art. The characters in this book are not the loveable oddballs of HP, but they do show that Rowling can create the rainbow of despicable humanity just as well.
I don't feel like I have said a whole lot to really encourage anyone towards this story, but I do think that any book that makes you think, makes you want to talk about it, makes you pause and reassess the way you view the world, is a good book. The Casual Vacancy did all of those things for me. Instead of wanting to escape into it's world it made me relieved to return to my own. Instead of falling in love with the characters, it made me recall why I love the people in my own. Instead of making me want to escape, it actually made me want to take action.
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- CBDC
- 05-18-15
The author is truly a genius
It's the minutia of small town life in Britain, the struggles of middle schoolers everywhere: sex, parents, dysfunction; of parents - relationships, appearances. There's a lot of truth and understanding and humanity in her writing. Given some of the reviews, I didn't expect to find the power and insights I did. It starts with high level quarrels and slowly descends beneath the surface to anger, revenge, and deeper still.
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- Rob Settle
- 08-03-14
One very weird book!
I can't identify a single, admirable character in the entire cast. Everyone was flawed, and most, fatally. Yet the author takes the reader into their lives so deftly, I was enthralled. Felt a bit like the proverbially bird watching a snake. Narrator Tom Hollander did a superb job, especially with the voicing of different characters. So much so, that I will search his name for other books he has narrated. Following a narrator, rather than only the author, is something I rarely do. All in all, a very, very good book, but if you're looking for something cheery and uplifting, do pass on this one.
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- Kate 33
- 10-01-12
Boring
I cannot remember how many times I restarted this book! But I do remember falling asleep every time I restarted this book.
The narrator was excellent, I would listen to him again anytime.
Rowlings needs to stay in imaginary worlds where she is so much more entertaining and the reader develops a bond with the characters--and knows who is who and cares about them.
This book was a train wreck to listen to, no offense to Hogwarts...
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- Ron
- 09-30-12
Rowling Proving Point NOT to be like Harry Potter
This story was very tedious will lots of foul language thrown in for good measure. I don't mind foul langue but it seemed to be thrown in just to be thrown in. Also the character development in this story was Painfully SLOW! There was none of the richness of and depth of characters we have come to expect from her. If she wasn't J.K. Rowling I don't know if this book would have been published. The brightest written parts of this book were when she was dealing with the high schoolers. Now for the bright side Tom Hollander did a fantastic job narrating and I would have no problems listening to any of his narration in the future. Hopefully now that J.K. Rowling has wrote this drivel she will write enriching full immersive worlds in the future.
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