[stylist] Book Review: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

I've wondered about this book. I know it was intended for adults and was
suppose to be completely different than Harry Potter. It may be
difficult for Rowling to find an audience and have anyone endeared to
books that are not Harry Potter. Good writer or not, this is the
downside to have such a beloved series. People want HP, but she's done
with that world. Thanks for the review. Despite the fact you didn't care
for it, this makes me want to read it to discover for myself what it is
about and get my interpretation.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Donna
Hill
Sent: Monday, June 24, 2013 8:54 PM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: [stylist] Book Review: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling


Hi Friends,
After our discussion not long ago about the Harry Potter series, I
finally read Rowling's new adult novel, The Casual Vacancy. I expect to
post this book review to Goodreads, which I just joined as another way
to promote my novel. I thought I'd post it here first. It's a first
attempt -- all done today -- so I'll probably change or add something,
if I know me. * grin* Donna
***

The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling's first novel since the Harry Potter
series, is set in the small English town of Pagford. It follows seven
families through the aftermath of the death of the school's beloved
rowing coach. A member of the Pagford Parish Council, Barry
Fairbrother's death brings about a "casual vacancy," according to
Charles Arnold-Baker's Local Council Administration, Seventh Edition.
Squaring off against one another, two groups of candidates jockey for
position to fill his seat. The primary divide concerns their views on
shutting down a methadone clinic and seeding jurisdiction of the Fields,
a concrete and steel, poverty-stricken neighborhood whose children
attend Padford's schools, to the city of Yarvil.

 

The first word that came to mind, after reading a quarter of the book,
was "drab." None of the adults was easy to like or care about. No one is
happy, healthy or noble, and there is little levity or wit. None of the
adult relationships even qualify as working reasonably well. Their
teenagers are lost and hopeless souls devoid of wonder. If I hadn't been
a Harry Potter fan who wrote extensively on the series, I would have
given up on this book.


 

But, I kept reading -- albeit with the morbid curiosity of someone
watching a train derail. I found a character to care about -- Crystal,
the 16-year-old daughter of a heroin addict.  I had the sense from the
start that I would be punished for my concern, and I was not mistaken.
There are no happy endings here. The few signs of redemption come at the
greatest of costs and are marked by the tiniest of gestures. She
succeeds only in portraying the utter depravity of human culture. 

 

The book must be considered in some ways to be well-written. Rowling is
mercifully gifted at concise summations of background information and
the dialog is realistically candid. The appearances of comments by "The
Ghost of Barry Fairbrother" on the Council's website provide some
interest, if the reader can get that far. Tess's thoughts near the end
of the book, however, sum it up best.

 

Block quote

But who could bear to know which stars were already dead, she thought,
blinking up at the night sky, could anybody stand to know that they all
were?

Block quote end

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