J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy

"When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the 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 facade 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 first seems.

"And the empty seat left by Barry on the Parish 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?"


Review:

Known for the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling is beloved by countless avid readers. Myself being one of them. While branching out into other styles and genres of writing it can be difficult to disassociate one book from the other. And with a book as confronting as The Casual Vacancy it is absolutely essential that one removes their previous image of this acclaimed author and the words written in hardback. 

The book erratically flits from perspective to perspective and story to story which ultimately are revealed as intrinsically connected tales. Events that unfold within the book are extremely raw and confronting, and not for the faint hearted kiddies that can't let go of their Harry Potter fantasies. 

The first half of the book is employed as an introduction to the multitude of characters. Rowling has spent an extended amount of time developing characterisation, and due to the volume of the novel it does not take away, or in any way diminish, the formulation of the central plots. In my opinion it has allowed the reader to make a deeper connection with the characters, whether in like or dislike of them. 

Rowling captures the colloquial British slang and vulgar vocabulary perfectly. Admittedly it does make some sections of the book difficult to understand but also thoroughly entertaining.   

In the end I found The Casual Vacancy a devastatingly enthralling book that I couldn't put down.

Don't forget that box of tissues.