The Casual Vacancy (2012)

This was everything I expected it to be! An excellent novel from an incredible writer. Here's to hoping there's plenty more where that came from! ( )

As a fan of the Harry Potter books, I was a bit skeptical when J.K. Rowling announced her new book, The Casual Vacancy; but I knew I had to read it. I was particularly cautious when I started reading and had to tell myself over and over, “this is not Harry Potter, this is not even fantasy!”. The size of the book itself was enough to scare me, if I started reading it, I knew I had to finish it whether it was good or not. So with all of this in mind I picked up The Casual Vacancy.

It was a slow beginning. The story started with the death of Barry Fairbrother and the opening of a spot in the local council. There were a lot of characters in this book and the onslaught of new characters and new perspectives was somewhat dizzying at first. However, after the characters were all sorted out - about a quarter way in - I found the story very fascinating.

The story was centered around Barry’s death and how his life influenced the people around him, but it was also very political and I was surprised at how the plot drew me in, especially since I’m not a fan of politics. The story was also very grimm. It was a sad story and anyone going in looking for a happy-go-lucky plot will be very disappointed. I loved the heaviness of the story, it made it seem very real, and I was a fan of the way each character had to wrestle with their own demons.

Halfway through the book I found myself reading into the wee hours of the morning, not noticing the time; Rowling has a way of sucking you in to her plot. Her stories are both simple and clean in writing style and complex in storyline which - for me - makes it very enjoyable.

What was also great about the read was, half way through I forgot all about who wrote the book because I was so engrossed in the story itself. I must repeat that it is not a light read, not in size, complexity or feel, so read with caution, but when you do get into the story it will sweep you off your feet. Well done, Rowling, I’m definitely reading your next book!
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I liked this more and less than I thought I would, in part because I like a book about a community where people are in a muddle that gradually gets straightened out and I think Rowling writes about teenagers very well. That said, I thought there were some giant misteps and I disliked the ending. A little too much kitchen sink here. Still, I'd slip another half star in if I could. ( )

My least favorite J. K. Rowling novel. ( )

Unappealing characters, depressing story and zero spark in the prose equals to one of the worst reading experiences I've had in a long time. After two attempts at trying to read Harry Potter and now this dreary book, I've given up on Rowling as an author. There isn't a single character in the cast that the reader can care about, most are insipidly stupid to make a point about class or simply irredeemable losers with stories that seem to all add up to a common theme, human beings are miserable creatures. In leaving the world of YA-friendly fantasy, Rowling seems to revel in the seedier side of adult and teen life equally, with plenty of hormones and some sexual deviant behavior that the author seems to think is her ticket to being recognized as an adult author. Her talents would have been focused on crafting a more solid and less rambling story. Both with the Potter books and here, the nature of class and what one's status of birth entitles you in society form the backbone theme in her storytelling. However, wherein the Potter books offers the readers a generous amount of fantasy and adventure to enjoy, there are no such pleasures here. A terrible book. ( )

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book. I knew I shouldn't compare it to Harry Potter but, at the same time, it was a little difficult not to at the beginning-- it was the only thing by JK Rowling that I had read and the series had been such a large part of my childhood. Clearly, this book had nothing in common with Harry Potter besides the superb writing.
This is a character-driven novel as opposed to a plot-driven novel. This made it quite a bit difficult to get through the first hundred pages or so. In fact, I almost put it down several times with no thought of finishing the novel. However, I felt that I owed more to JK Rowling so I pushed through and it was certainly worth it. ( )

I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this book. It's been sitting on my TBR list and I kept passing it up. Then I saw that HBO was making a mini-series out of it and I didn't want to watch it before I read it.

What an incredible character study. Rowling connects the citizens in Pagford to one another in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways. I wasn't sure where most of the story lines were going much of the time and I didn't want the book to end. I felt like I knew these people, the good and the bad.

Now I'm off to watch the show. ( )

First, I am going to say I finished this book because I had to for a challenge.
Second, I am going to say that I did NOT read this book ONLY because it was written by one of my favorite authors.
Third, This book was nothing like I expected.
This book was horrible and I swear I had to push myself to even finish it.
It was boring, all over the place, and I am sad that I had to take the time out of my life that I will never get back after reading this book.
Sorry. If the truth hurts it is how I feel.
Everyone else loved it so hell you might too. ( )

After a local councilman dies, a group of teenagers causes chaos and misunderstandings among the candidates, oldtimers face off against newcomers, and the rich, settled families of the small town against the inhabitants of a public housing development nearby, with tragic results. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It took a little bit for me to get into it but I think it has to do with the thick English accents and the huge amount of POVs. I thought that the book being a about a small town felt just like living in a small town. It was a bit hard to keep track of all the people at first, but once you get that straight its very interesting and does a good job conveying the smallness of the town. Every so often the POVs change very quickly and at some points it takes a minute to realize that its switched to someone else's POV.

Overall I enjoyed the story although it is a tad dark. The story is beautifully woven together. ( )

Wow, loved it. The intricacy and believability of each individual was enchanting. You could condemn or love each and every one of them. It has shown me that nobody is perfect, everybody struggles against their own demons. Nothing is as clear cut as it seems. ( )

I came into this book not expecting much as I'd heard from some that they found it underwhelming and full of too many characters. But I really really enjoyed this. Rowling is just so so good at creating detestable qualities in her characters and I loved the ways in which she interwove her characters paths together. Yes, the amount of them can be overwhelming in the beginning but once I had a hold on who is who and what their relations to one another were, I was engrossed. At times I found this book to be incredibly depressing (as the subject matter is often quite heavy) but I just really wanted to keep reading in order to find out what would become of the characters. ( )

I’m a J.K. Rowling fan and a huge Harry Potter fan so I was looking forward to reading this book. Just because an author is really good at one genre doesn’t necessarily mean they are good at another. I stuck with the book because it was J.K. Rowling. If it had been an author I had never read before, I would have stopped at about 50 pages. This book never really grabbed my attention. There were so many “main” characters I got confused at who belonged to whom. Even to the end I’m still confused at which kid belongs to which adult. Towards the end when there was discussion of a Maureen I thought “Who is Maureen?” I also didn’t care for the way Krystal spoke in the book. There is one thing to have an accent, but another to have every word a character speaks, be almost not there. ‘e , ‘ere, ‘obbie and so forth. When every word in a sentence starts with a ‘ it can slow down the reader who has to stop and figure out what the person is saying.

It’s really too bad that this book was a disappointment for me. Maybe if there had been excitement at the beginning to pull me in (Barry dying wasn’t that exciting), and the characters were more likeable to begin with, I might have stuck with it. I just didn’t feel any flow like I usually do with a book. I like to be “carried” along with the characters and instead I felt like I was being dragged. I was disappointed and feel like that is a week I won’t get back.
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Full of highly unpleasant people who get what they deserve ( )

Much better than expected. Rowling exhibits literary chops not in evidence in the HP series. I enjoyed it. ( )

I tried reading this (almost exactly) a year ago. I made it less than 100 pages before giving up. Here we go again.

I was hooked. I thought it made a good point in how social work and those who need help are treated. Very glad to have read it. ( )

Pagford is a small town in England which reminds you of any small town you may know. The people are everyday people and the issues are everyday issues that people face in their lives - health, marriage, relationships, drugs, abuse, neglect, suicides.
J. K. Rowling has written The Casual Vacancy which to me could have been entitled The Death of a Small Town. The characters are well developed, self-centered and entertaining. The writing is very good and at times very funny but still very sad.
Barry Fairbrother has died and left an empty seat on the parish council and has sent the town into a frazzle. Read this book to see how the characters in Pagford react to his death and how it has affected their lives.
I could really identify with this satirical book. Having served 12 years on my borough council, I found this book to be a true study of vivid characters in a small town. ( )

Pagford is a small town in England which reminds you of any small town you may know. The people are everyday people and the issues are everyday issues that people face in their lives - health, marriage, relationships, drugs, abuse, neglect, suicides.
J. K. Rowling has written The Casual Vacancy which to me could have been entitled The Death of a Small Town. The characters are well developed, self-centered and entertaining. The writing is very good and at times very funny but still very sad.
Barry Fairbrother has died and left an empty seat on the parish council and has sent the town into a frazzle. Read this book to see how the characters in Pagford react to his death and how it has affected their lives.
I could really identify with this satirical book. Having served 12 years on my borough council, I found this book to be a true study of vivid characters in a small town. ( )

Pagford is a small town in England which reminds you of any small town you may know. The people are everyday people and the issues are everyday issues that people face in their lives - health, marriage, relationships, drugs, abuse, neglect, suicides.
J. K. Rowling has written The Casual Vacancy which to me could have been entitled The Death of a Small Town. The characters are well developed, self-centered and entertaining. The writing is very good and at times very funny but still very sad.
Barry Fairbrother has died and left an empty seat on the parish council and has sent the town into a frazzle. Read this book to see how the characters in Pagford react to his death and how it has affected their lives.
I could really identify with this satirical book. Having served 12 years on my borough council, I found this book to be a true study of vivid characters in a small town. ( )

Pagford is a small town in England which reminds you of any small town you may know. The people are everyday people and the issues are everyday issues that people face in their lives - health, marriage, relationships, drugs, abuse, neglect, suicides.
J. K. Rowling has written The Casual Vacancy which to me could have been entitled The Death of a Small Town. The characters are well developed, self-centered and entertaining. The writing is very good and at times very funny but still very sad.
Barry Fairbrother has died and left an empty seat on the parish council and has sent the town into a frazzle. Read this book to see how the characters in Pagford react to his death and how it has affected their lives.
I could really identify with this satirical book. Having served 12 years on my borough council, I found this book to be a true study of vivid characters in a small town. ( )

Pagford is a small town in England which reminds you of any small town you may know. The people are everyday people and the issues are everyday issues that people face in their lives - health, marriage, relationships, drugs, abuse, neglect, suicides.
J. K. Rowling has written The Casual Vacancy which to me could have been entitled The Death of a Small Town. The characters are well developed, self-centered and entertaining. The writing is very good and at times very funny but still very sad.
Barry Fairbrother has died and left an empty seat on the parish council and has sent the town into a frazzle. Read this book to see how the characters in Pagford react to his death and how it has affected their lives.
I could really identify with this satirical book. Having served 12 years on my borough council, I found this book to be a true study of vivid characters in a small town. ( )

I feel like I ought to review this book, since it's had such mixed reviews from the time of its release. While I love the Harry Potter series, it was really great to see another side to J.K.'s writing. The story couldn't have been more different from HP, but she still managed to portray it beautifully. The characters are so well developed that you could put them into any situation, and the reader would know exactly how each one would react. (And, of course, the few Latin references that she stuck in there always made me squeal with delightful nerdiness.) ( )

I found it interesting the "hero" of this story is a dead man. The majority of the characters being developed are not very likeable. The teenagers are much more well developed than the older characters in my opinion. The story is really quite gripping initially and I powered through this book. However I felt a bit let down by the election and the ending once I got there.

I particularly liked the differences between the households and interactions portrayed and I felt the social worker was suddenly dumped at points but was a very engaging character for me. I didn't like the focus on so much of the characters appearances over their behaviors but this was tempered by the portrayals of the different key teenagers to the story

It was interesting but I struggled at the finish. I think there could have been a few more chapters as it petered out a bit with a feeling of "and then she woke up" feelings...

I have not read anything previously by this author and I would read something else but still feel a little disappointed by the tailing off of the conclusion. ( )

So this book went places I did NOT expect it to go. And for that I'm grateful.

It took a while for it get rolling, and with good reason: there are a lot of characters to develop, a lot of familial and community ties to weave, a lot of local history and politics to create. Still it takes a little while for you to care much about any of them.

But the payoff is there - just wait for it. I found all the teens sympathetic and likable, with the exception of Fats. I came to understand him, of course, but like him? Not really. The adults are a lot harder to latch onto. Even when you find one you can like well enough, like Parminder, you realize she's miserable, and you see how badly that's hurting her child. Collin, Gavin, Miles... they're all spoiled, self-absorbed, gutless whiners.

Eventually, the story of this community is what moves you through the pages: it does matter who gets the vacant council seat; it does matter what happens to the addiction center and the housing community; it does matter who stays in Pagford, who leaves, and when. And the things that happen that clarify these situations for everyone are everyday tragedies, that one can either learn from, or avoid blindly.

It's great to see what else JK Rowling can do. I'm so excited to continue to read her work for years to come. ( )