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

Great reader.

Any additional comments?

The reader is absolutely fantastic. The story is good, but the reader is one of the best.

Enjoyed a well-written novel for adults only.

Warning--lots of sexual content.
While I occasionally lost track of which character was being discussed, I attribute that confusion to my practice of multi-tasking. Wonderfully written variety of characters interwoven in a small British town.

Worth the listen, but not as good as I expected.

A good story with a dissappointing ending. A good reader. A little too graphic for my taste.

A little slow

I thought the story was a little slow in getting going but once it did I was hooked. Great narrator, too.

The Casual Vacancy..underlying darkness and deceit

If you could sum up The Casual Vacancy in three words, what would they be?

Real. Life. Drama.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The more we learned about Barry Fairbrother throughout the book made him my favorite character. His willingness to help others allowed him to create a special bond with Krystal, Robbie and Andrew.

Have you listened to any of Tom Hollander’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but I enjoyed his performance of The Casual Vacancy. I always enjoy a good English accent.

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

I would not remove any of the characters. I believe each of them is necessary to the story. This shows the incredibly inner-twinned relationships of the residents of Pagford.

Any additional comments?

At first, the book was rather shocking to me. After all, this is the same author who wrote Harry Potter. However, I thoroughly enjoyed The Casual Vacancy. It brings important issues of Pagford, which are often considered taboo, to the forefront. I admire Rowling's uncensored penmanship and for not sugar-coating the underlying stories. I found it interesting that Gavin was left out of The Casual Vacancy HBO mini-series. I believe his involvement with Kay and with Mary after Barry's death was an important part of the story. I also would have liked to see them include Sukhvinder Jawanda's story line. Self-harming is unfortunately an increasing issue amongst teenage girls.

Intriguing and Provocative

I was very curious about Rowling's A Casual Vacancy and I knew it would be very different from her famous Harry Potter series. She has proven herself to be able to cross genres and audiences. This book is not for children, to be sure and is set in real life. The way she wove together the lives of the several different characters was fascinating. I only give it 4 out of 5 stars because it was full of cursing which may not bother some as much as me. I could have done with less, although I can tell that Rowling was going for real life and not shying away from the rawness of it. So at the same time, I admire that.

The narrator was excellent. He voice was very easy to listen to and he did a fantastic job of giving each character their own voice and nuances.

Well worth the time

I admit that I found this book a little difficult to get into at first. I am new to audio books and usually prefer print. However, Hollander quickly made the large cast very memorable and I was able to discern between them. Once I did, it felt like I was able to unfold the many layers of this book. Once you begin to talk to yourself in the language of the writer, you know you are absorbed! Thank you, Mrs. Rowling, for a wonderful character study and observation on what kindness can really be. The lessons are subtle, but the message will be remembered.

Wonderful listen!

I'm not sure if I would listen to the book again, but I would definitely recommend it to others. I had read reviews claiming the book was slow, and relatively uninteresting, but I found it to be the opposite. I think listening to it made all the difference - my husband agrees. It's definitely not a thriller, so don't wait for crazy plot twists or anything like that, and it's a far cry from the theme of Harry Potter. What I like about it was the detail - JK Rowling's writing invests you in the characters and the setting. You're pulling for some and hating others as the story goes on.

It's a lot more interesting that the synopsis reads, so please pick this one out and have a listen! I didn't pick it up off the shelves for that reason, but ended up loving every minute. I didn't want it to end.

too long for no good reason

the casual vacancy is written well, but there is no story, it felt like reading the diary of my late aunt, the pase is too slow, the charachters background and motives are not clear, it's as if the author herself was an outsider writing a brief on people she didn't really meet or know. the story can be told over a cup of tea in 10 minutes or less. basically it's just gossip.

Depressing

What did you like best about The Casual Vacancy? What did you like least?

I loved Harry Potter and friends. I knew this was not a fantasy book but didn’t realize that there was not one character in the book I’d want to be friends with. I want entertainment that I can get lost in. The reader was good but he couldn’t save it. I didn’t finish this book. Don’t enjoy spending time with people I don’t like.
maggie