The Casual Vacancy

By: J.K. Rowling

Narrated by: Tom Hollander

Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Shortlisted for: UK Author of the year – Specsavers National Book Awards 2012

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early 40s, the 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 facade 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 first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish 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?

A big novel about a small town, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults. It is the work of a storyteller like no other.

©2012 J.K. Rowling (P)2012 Hachette Digital

A must have story

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

Absolutely spellbinding, the best yet

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Casual Vacancy?

the whole story is an intermingling of various lives, pulled together in Rowling's inimitable style.
There was no best moment, as the whole book is a best moment.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely, but listened to it spread over a few days. It is a book I shall listen to again quite soon.

Any additional comments?

If you are a little bit prudish or find sexual innuendos hard to deal with, then be aware in the book there are many references to this type of behaviour and ferocious swearing.
These are not inappropriate, as this reflects the way many people live, It is a poignant story, I would liken it to a modern day Dickens, making observation on life.

Very good but dark

This is a very good novel, with a large gallery of characters and interconnected stories. Be warned: It’s not a feel-good novel, but is full of death, darkness and realism.

no no no crude rude and I hate the C word.

What would have made The Casual Vacancy better?

could not believe it expected exciting adult fun and its boring town council with crude words and teenage sex and drug taking.. did not expect it .. I am in my 50's so no child ...

Would you ever listen to anything by J. K. Rowling again?

give it a go

What didn’t you like about Tom Hollander’s performance?

dull and he even sounded bored with the telling.. but good voices

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Casual Vacancy?

the amount of the swearing it was toooooo much. I do not care that it is the way of the world now but tooooo much for me. good luck to all that like it....

Any additional comments?

got warned sorry I paid to hear this and I have 1000's of audio books from a great variety of authors... including of course Harry Potter.. I did not want another Harry but wanted an experience of sensual adult excitement with no magic written.. I got mmmmmmmm.. new school kids that are rude and crude.

Not what I expected

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different story line, the story was depressing

Would you ever listen to anything by J. K. Rowling again?

Maybe

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It was well read

What character would you cut from The Casual Vacancy?

Did not like the story at all.

There was a Big Casual Vacancy left

Would you try another book from J. K. Rowling and/or Tom Hollander?

I didn't enjoy this book because I was waiting for something to happen and it never did. It was boring and I lost interest. The Characters were too detailed by J.K Rowling for me. I loved the Potter books but this one didn't do a thing for me.

Would you ever listen to anything by J. K. Rowling again?

Yes the Potter books maybe

Would you listen to another book narrated by Tom Hollander?

Yes

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Casual Vacancy?

Too many to mention

Any additional comments?

This book was about awful people in an awful place. The language was not necessary and although the beginning started off with someone dying the story for me never really went anywhere and I lost interest in it.

Not my kind of story

What disappointed you about The Casual Vacancy?

J.K. Rowling is a top-selling author so I thought a book by her for adults would be good. It was just not my kind of story - I stopped listening after about a third of the book.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm currently listening to The Persimmon Tree by Bryce Courtenay, and it's brilliant - both the story and the performance by the narrator.

Hated it!

What disappointed you about The Casual Vacancy?

It was miserable, depressing and too many characters in need

What was most disappointing about J. K. Rowling’s story?

The filthy language. I am not a prude, but this book is full of it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Tom Hollander?

He wasn't the problem

What character would you cut from The Casual Vacancy?

All of them they were so depressing

Any additional comments?

Sorry I even started to read it and certainly didn't finish it.

Why was there no warning re graphic content?

This book was so depressing if I had continued listening to it I would have had to go on medication. No likeable characters, no redeeming features for any of the protagonists. I think Rowling's thought process was "What can I write about that's the complete antithesis of Harry Potter" ?

The writing must be good as I always was feeling the need for a hot shower to scrub clean. I may one day get hold of a paper copy to make sure all the horrible people get their just desserts, but I can no longer listen to it in the car when I cannot fast forward and have to listen to the foul, depressing distasteful things described in this book.

If I never read another word about adolescent sexual 'awakenings', particularly those of spotty masturbating boys, it will be way too soon. A tired subject that bores me no end and was never worthy of any literary merit.

Horrible, horrible book. It will be a long time before I spend my money on a JK Rowling book.

Sadly disappointing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If this book had been written without every sentence containing negative sexual content, and instead kept to a story base, it would have been an OK read, a book like many others. I do not think it lived up to her previous writings at all.

What could J. K. Rowling have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

J K Rowling has a supreme gift of word use which comes through at times. However, this is so overlayered by the negatives that her gifts unfortunately do not shine.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

As above, I did not enjoy much about this book. My least favourite from Audible.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not much

Any additional comments?

Having seen a book written by J K Rowling was at last available on Audible I was delighted. Unfortunately, this did not measure up to my expectations. I found the book unpleasant and not worth the credit nor the time I spent listening to it. Out of the 19 hours this book takes to read, I listened to two and three quarter hours, waiting to see if it would improve. It didn't. In my opinion it was a sad waste of talent.

It did nothing for me!

There was nothing magic about this book. It went on and on and on. When it finally finished I wondered whether the time I dedicated to it was well spent. It was boring. My mind went on a casual vacation while listening to this book.