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The Casual Vacancy

Rowling, J. K. Book - 2012 Fiction / Rowling, J. K. 2 On Shelf No requests on this item Community Rating: 3.4 out of 5

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Call Number: Fiction / Rowling, J. K.
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

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When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock and the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Good submitted by Annie B. on July 29, 2012, 8:45pm An inside look at one of the most influential authors of the century.

Just Simply Awful submitted by GJBarnett2 on October 22, 2012, 10:42pm It is truly hard to believe that these small-minded uninteresting scatalogical characters could have sprung from the same mind that created the imaginative and whimsical world of Harry Potter. A small Engliosh town populated entirely by Dursleys.

Surprised at how much I enjoyed this. submitted by eknapp on November 27, 2012, 11:00pm A casual vacancy is apparently the opening created when a town councilperson dies (or resigns) midterm. The Casual Vacancy opens with the untimely death of a benevolent, influential, and popular councilman in the fictional(?), idyllic, and uptight British village of Pagford. His death causes a chain reaction of personal and political events and consequences, a mosaic of interwoven small stories. There are a good two dozen characters with stories to be told.

The Casual Vacancy and I did not get off to a good start. The abundance of characters was difficult to keep track of for a while. And I had an initial impression of stilted writing and forced "adultness": an entire early paragraph is devoted to describing someone's breasts, and most of the penis references seemed jammed in.

Once I was able to mostly remember who was who, I started to sink into the plot(s) and the feeling of stiltedness vanished. The characters were marvelously varied and believable, often exhibiting minor embarrassing/shameful/dishonest behaviors that made them feel that much more real. The book reads like a study in human motivation; I loved that aspect of it. Hell, 20 years ago I WAS one of those characters. It was the last thing I expected from J.K. Rowling.

The characters might have benefited from just a tad more restraint...there seemed to be somewhat more screaming and yelling than was entirely necessary. But that's a minor complaint.

The Pagfordian history and politics were reasonably complex, completely credible, and critical to the main plot. And every character's personal plotline fit together with the Pagford story perfectly. I was impressed (and a little relieved) at how well everything clicked. I honestly did not expect to like The Casual Vacancy anywhere near as much as I did. Four and a half stars.

Note: It's not a very happy book. I expect it's going to get some backlash for that.

UGH !~ submitted by unknown on December 10, 2012, 7:17am Tedious and boring

BORING submitted by lawrencekl57 on January 15, 2013, 6:52pm It was hard, but I managed to get through the first chapter. I can't believe that the author of the Harry Potter books could write this badly!

The Casual Scribble (come get her Harry) submitted by geneslibrary on January 25, 2013, 2:54pm One wonders what JK Rowling had to get off her chest to compose such an insipid waste of a read. I was bored early on but struggled to page 90 (can I get a medal?) in the hope of things improving. They never did. Boring characters with lots of common flaws that I couldn't care less about. Life in an imaginary English town or two written with limited imagination and no awareness of what it takes to hold the reader's attention (JK?). If Voldemort had appeared I would have cheered him on (Down with (these particular) muggles!).

Here is to hoping her next book is readable... submitted by lhalsey on February 13, 2013, 7:09pm Ugh. This book was a disappointment. I knew it would be nothing like Harry Potter. However, I still expected the same level of character development...my expectations were not met. I very rarely do not finish a book once I start it. I will struggle through anything with hopes that at the end it was worth it. With this book, I decided I had no desire to finish it. Save your time, do not bother to pick up this book.

Alright submitted by crazypockets on June 18, 2013, 6:47pm I think if this book had not been by J.K. Rowling, I probably wouldn't have looked twice at it. Or finished reading it, for that matter, once I started. But I don't think it deserved the criticisms it's gotten. It was very well-written, and wound up being interesting. I had a hard time getting into it at first with all the characters and the choppy introduction the author gave them, but further in, Rowling's mastery as an author was evident as she really seamlessly brought the characters together in a way that made it simple for me to keep track of them all (I can have a short attention span and have a hard time following books with a zillion characters). I think the biggest problem with this story was that the author didn't have much of a fire for it. You could tell she was trying to make a point about welfare, seeing situations from different points of view, and prejudice, but...somehow it came off as a bit half-hearted. Though, I think she did do a great job of generating sympathy for the poor in the book (you really did love them in the end), and I think that was a great achievement. I hope it does something for encouraging people to treat each other a little kinder.

Could have been worse submitted by Pumpkinscones on July 14, 2013, 3:33pm For those of us who grew up reading books/watching TV shows based around small English town life, this is not a bad example of the genre. I honestly think it still would have been published if it wasn't by Rowling but wouldn't have gained the ire of the above and the rest of potterfandom. If you want to get angry at Rowling, get angry over Beedle the Bard (but don't because it was for charity). The truth is that she can't write in any kind of magical land/youth section because no matter if it is good or not, the vitriole from the Pottermore crowd would overshadow the work.

This is a book about the small tragedies that can occur when everyone is too self-involved. The only likeable character is dead in the first few pages and you get to see a whole host of busybodies nag at each other. It's not for everyone but neither is it completely awful.

Don't give up on it too soon submitted by kjshaffer on August 15, 2014, 9:53pm It was hard for me to get into "The Casual Vacancy", but once it grabbed me, I was truly hooked. As another person said, in the beginning there were a lot of seemingly unlikeable characters which made it hard for me to care, but as the story unfolded I did begin to care more about the characters and like them despite their faults. The author really does paint a vivid picture of many different characters and I think that sort of character development and interweaving of stories takes a while to develop in a book.

The character of Krystal Weedon certainly left the biggest impression for me. You can't help but feel sympathetic toward her as the story goes on, and when you read about her mother's Terri Wheedon's story and Nana Cath's story it leaves you with a clear picture of how a family can end up living in poverty and hopelessness without ever believing they can overcome it. Contrasted with that, you have the story of Suchvinder Jawanda who has 2 successful 1.5 generation Indian immigrant parents and 2 seemingly well adjusted siblings, but who feels like she is neither accepted by her successful, driven family, nor by the people in the very white town of Pagford. The characters of Krystal and Suchvinder for me make the story, but there are many moments as the novel wears on (especially with the varied cast of female characters) that make the unlikeable characters, if not likeable, at least understandable. I had a few "There but for the grace of God go I" moments as I read this book. So although it was not quite what I expected, I am glad to have read a book that I leave feeling like it taught me something.

Intricate picture of a small town submitted by audreyh on June 12, 2015, 3:07pm I really loved the Casual Vacancy. It's very different than Harry Potter, but I think it's a strong novel in its own right. JK Rowling investigates the ways that people percieive others, and how they act differently in various situations. The relationships between the characters are what make this book stand out. Above all, she paints a compelling picture of the way that people of a lower socioeconomic status can be taken advantage of, how cultural expectations can become an unbreakable trap, and how even the "help" we offer disenfranchised people can come with a price.

Brilliant character study submitted by jletaw on June 26, 2018, 8:37pm This book is a delight. Her careful studies of dozens of different characters are subtle, nuanced, and steadfastly refuse to conform to easy stereotypes. She covers different genders, ages, life stations, and races with equal detail and honesty, but I truly felt like she was most faithful and sympathetic to her teenage characters; perhaps a remnant of her time on the Harry Potter series. Add to that a compelling plot and an irreverent look at small-town politics, and you've got a story that feels ready-made for Ann Arbor.

ok submitted by VanCancue on July 26, 2018, 9:05pm It was so boring I couldn't even bring myself to complete the book. I will try to have to get back to it some other time just for the sake of completing it. The writing style was good, characters well developed, details story of plot and society and it's politics but the story was taking too long to form. The profanity was unexpected.
However the film adaptation of this book was quite good.

Good, Not Exceptional submitted by sVfGI7Glt2pz7GZgVB90 on August 18, 2020, 9:09am It is Rowling's first novel for adults. The Casual Vacancy of the title occurs when someone dies halfway through local elections, which leads to a small town-wide outburst of politics and people trying to do well. Teenagers being dirty, golf club guys being arrogant, the over-the-fence neighbors, etc. Rowling has created a world in a small town book set in the West of England. It's a good read ... it's not an exceptional book.

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PUBLISHED
New York : Little, Brown & Co., 2012.
Year Published: 2012
Description: 503 p.
Language: English
Format: Book

ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
9780316228534
0316228532

SUBJECTS
City council members -- Death -- Fiction.
Local elections -- Fiction.
Country life -- England -- Fiction.
England -- Fiction.
Black humor (Literature)