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

Well written but seamy and depressing

J.K. Rowling’s writing is as masterful as ever, but it takes a very long time to get into this book. With very little plot at the stat, it takes time and effort to get to know the characters. I kept thinking that the effort would be worth it when everything came together. But when it did — in a cataclysmic way — I was left depressed, uninspired and feeling like I had wasted my time. I am a big fan of Ms. Rowling’s, but I would encourage her to find a more uplifting storyline for her next book.

Entertaining

For me it was a bit slow in the beginning, but there were a lot of characters to build. Other than that, it held my interest,. I looked forward to hearing it and when it was over I wished there were more of it. It was funny with some sad parts but not too sad.

Not my type

I thought I would like this book but I found it rather slow moving and boring! Not enough excitement and mystery for me.

pieces fit snug but not with her usual mesmerizing

seamlessness. this has all the layers...all the connections...all the pragmatic realism that borders on caricature...all characters transform...not all equally or as one might wish.

Trigger Warning

The character development was wonderful but the content could be triggering for many people who have experienced abuse, neglect, substance abuse, mental illness or death of a loved one.

Wow!

I had no idea what to expect from the writer of Harry Potter, but this book was amazing! So glad I experienced it! Characters that make really get invested! Thank you JK!

Brilliant

I don't often write book reviews. In fact, I think this may be my first. But with everyone writing in about how terrible they thought this book was, I thought I'd chip in my two cents.

I thought about not reading this book due to the terrible response it was getting from die-hard J.K. Rowling fans. I didn't want this book to change my opinion that Rowling is one of the best writers out there, as it seemed to be doing for so many fans. I thought about it. I'm glad I ignored them all.

This book will not please everyone because it wasn't meant to. It's like a Tarantino film. It's gruesome, it's hard, and in that way, it is a realistic representation of certain aspects of life as many people experience it in this world. And, like a Tarantino film, this book draws these same hard aspects of life out to such an extreme that it seems to glory in them, making you feel like it's just a little too much -- what? Too much to handle maybe, or too much to believe, or possibly... too much like your own life to really be enjoyable.

The thing that makes the Harry Potter story so fantastic is that it is, actually, painful to the point of being diffult to bear. My childhood memories are flecked with grief drawn by Rowling's pen. I remember where I was when Sirius died, and Dumbledore, and Snape, and (fleetingly) Harry. I felt real, hard, human grief over a character. I mourned the death of -- what? Dumbledore was never more than a cluster of words on a page. How could I feel real feeling at this fictional loss? Still, I remember my dad explaining my sombre expression at a family function. "She just finished the sixth Harry Potter book," he said, and it was all he needed to say. They understood because they'd felt it themselves.

That, truly, is Rowling's power. She has the unique ability to make her readers really feel what her characters are feeling. When a character dies in her books, it can feel like a character in our own lives has passed away.

I would suggest that she has actually honed this power in writing "The Casual Vacancy." Harry Potter was able to escape the post-trauma pain that followed him by throwing himself into school work, solving the mysteries of his world, or exacting revenge.

Escape is not an option in Pagford. Though many of the characters think about getting out, and some try to, their endeavors are always somehow thwarted. Ultimately they must each turn and face the things that make their lives difficult.

It is not an easy book, but then, I don't think Rowling has written an easy book since "The Chamber of Secrets." It is an enjoyable read, if you are the kind of person who doesn't mind walking around in the shoes of people who have difficult lives for a while. "The Casual Vacancy" is complex. It constantly encourages its readers to form opinions about characters and organize them into neat little cubby holes. Then, again and again, Rowling throws those opinions into a vortex, leaving us to try and pick up the pieces of our misconceptions.

Like Zadie Smith's "White Teeth," it's a brilliant reflection of society. You'll like it, if you're the kind of person who isn't interested in an escape.

Seriously Depressing

As I read this thr first thing I thought was - wow the men in this book are severely flawed idiots that I wouldn't like to meet....
Then I thought - wow, the women in the book are severely flawed idiots that I wouldn't like to meet.
I've seen complaints about Rowling's character development, but I honestly don't think she has a problem there; I think her character development is fine, but I think we are quite uncomfortable with the characters she has developed. The thing you come to ask yourself is - are we are as a people really like this? And I think the sad truth is - yes, we are quite pathetic.
The way the book ended depressed me, but I dont think this book could have ended any other way and remain...authentic.

Kitchen sink melodrama

J. K. Rowling is an excellent writer. What's missing here is a driving plot line. It's as if Harry never left the Dursleys. The whole Potter series is his miserable life in the closet under the stairs. Instead of a closet, make it a dank little English town wallowing in child abuse, drug addiction, racism and all-around, mean-spirited thick-headedness. There are a few decent adults, but they tend to be ineffectual. Rowling let Harry off in the end, but don't expect that bounty for "The Casual Vacancy" kid who needed it and earned it here. I kept listening, but I feel as if I need a bath. Good reader.

Couldn't quit listening

What did you love best about The Casual Vacancy?

The best feature of this book was the author's writing style: "shown rather than told". The portraits of the many couples and small groups of people whose conversations carried the story along were so revealing of themselves and the unfolding situation. No long, prosy expostulations were needed and, wisely, few to none were imposed. .

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ordinarily, not finding an appealing character in the first few chapters dooms any book to unfinished oblivion in my library. But Rowling presenting her characters with only the bare minimum of adjectives, allowing the reader to know them almost entirely through their own words, developing a strong picture of a community through those conversations was so fascinating that I found myself reluctant at 3 a.m. this morning to shut down my Kindle and get some sleep.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't enjoy unpleasantness as entertainment or art, so did not find a single scene I could savor. Reminded of the awful day I squirmed my way through the "realist rooms" at a modern art museum, I was more like mesmerized by the author's ability to communicate economically as in a series of paintings all these unhappy people's numb to miserable interactions. But Tom Hollander's reading was so expressively appropriate it brought Rowling's scenes, ranging from mundane to excruciating, to vivid life. I'm sure the author groomed each of those scenes mercilessly into the work of literary art it is.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending, of course, was emotionally draining, effectively devastating. I'll need many hugs to put it behind me. Throughout, Casual Vacancy satisfied the non-judgmental people watcher in me, cringing notwithstanding.

Any additional comments?

Reminded me of reading Shakespeare where everything is revealed through the characters' own words. This book may not be the most beloved ever written, but it will stand as an example of effective, maybe even relentless literary style. I prefer books that leave me with a sense of hope, a redemptive moment to savor. Rowling has created a work of literary art which will grow more important and more admired as time goes on, probably will be required reading for writing and literature classes. I don't like this book of Rowling's, but I respect it just as I respected those really ugly realist paintings hanging in the museum. It's a magnificent piece of work. I'd suggest she take time out to read some Dickens and a few chapters of Winnie the Pooh before she writes her next novel just to recover the hope, humor, and courage that pervaded her previous books. Now that she's said what she needs to say about the hard times that haunted her (may she be healed of her pain), it's time to add some of the qualities that allowed children and adults alike to fall in love with her wizarding world. Adults are not that different from children. They need to be able to find the good in their world and in their books. In conclusion: WOW! What an awesome, incredible, powerful read. Please don't do this to me again.