The Casual Vacancy
1 journaler for this copy...
I'll admit I had trouble immersing myself in this book. Even though I braced and warned myself that this was NOT going to be a grown-up version of Harry Potter, there must have been a glimmer of hope somewhere in my child's heart that it would be.
This, ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages, was nothing like Rowling's Harry Potter books. This book, unlike the HP series which yanked me in by the collar with its rich promise of adventure, was based on real life. This is a book about every day, small town England, full of stuffy, boring characters going about their stuffy, boring lives. Except . . .
Except most stuffy, boring lives hide something more just under the surface. Secrets. Longings. Yearnings. Fear. Rowling takes us behind the scenes to witness the secret lives of Pagford's citizens.
As long as you approach this book realizing that you are not , under any circumstances, going to brush up against the likes of Dumbledore, Crookshanks, or the Weasley family, you may enjoy Rowling's characters. Once you stop hoping for Hogwarts or the bustle of Diagon Alley, you may find something of interest in Pagford.
It took me a little while to warm to Pagford and its citizens, but once I did, I didn't want to stop reading. In fact, once I got past the shock of Rowling's characters cursing, having sex, and thinking horrible, everyday, nasty thoughts, I appreciated that they were just as three-dimensional and interesting as her larger-than-life HP characters. This is an adult's book, written for and to adults. Keep that in mind and you will find in Rowling's book the same sort of characters you enjoyed in her previous novels: ones that you can both dislike and sympathize with, ones that aren't completely bad or completely good, men and women with Achilles' heels just like our own.
I can see why this book is so polarizing. Those who wanted Rowling to churn out another adventure with which to whisk us out of our dull, adult realities are going to be sadly disappointed. Those who perhaps read the HP series to their children and found it a little to 'treacly' will enjoy the unvarnished grit behind Pagford's idyllic facade.
This, ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages, was nothing like Rowling's Harry Potter books. This book, unlike the HP series which yanked me in by the collar with its rich promise of adventure, was based on real life. This is a book about every day, small town England, full of stuffy, boring characters going about their stuffy, boring lives. Except . . .
Except most stuffy, boring lives hide something more just under the surface. Secrets. Longings. Yearnings. Fear. Rowling takes us behind the scenes to witness the secret lives of Pagford's citizens.
As long as you approach this book realizing that you are not , under any circumstances, going to brush up against the likes of Dumbledore, Crookshanks, or the Weasley family, you may enjoy Rowling's characters. Once you stop hoping for Hogwarts or the bustle of Diagon Alley, you may find something of interest in Pagford.
It took me a little while to warm to Pagford and its citizens, but once I did, I didn't want to stop reading. In fact, once I got past the shock of Rowling's characters cursing, having sex, and thinking horrible, everyday, nasty thoughts, I appreciated that they were just as three-dimensional and interesting as her larger-than-life HP characters. This is an adult's book, written for and to adults. Keep that in mind and you will find in Rowling's book the same sort of characters you enjoyed in her previous novels: ones that you can both dislike and sympathize with, ones that aren't completely bad or completely good, men and women with Achilles' heels just like our own.
I can see why this book is so polarizing. Those who wanted Rowling to churn out another adventure with which to whisk us out of our dull, adult realities are going to be sadly disappointed. Those who perhaps read the HP series to their children and found it a little to 'treacly' will enjoy the unvarnished grit behind Pagford's idyllic facade.
