The Casual Vacancy
Ratings246
Average rating3.4
The book is chock full of well drawn out and complex characters. You may have to take notes at first to recall who is who, but then the story really picks up and all of the characters and their stories are finely woven into the tapestry that is the small town of Pagford.
On the outside Pagford is a beautiful tight knit English community. The reader soon discovers the town is founded on deceit and betrayal. None of the characters are what they seem to be. It takes one tragedy to bring all of their most inner secrets and lies to the surface. But will another tragedy help the people of Pagford finally come together as the tight knit community it claims to be – without any hidden agendas?
The issues presented are so raw and real. I know this book got a lot of lukewarm reviews and I am glad I did not bother reading any of them as I found The Casual Vacancy to be, as one reviewer put it, “a surprisingly powerful piece of storytelling, which forces us, by stealth, to care.”
I really really enjoyed it. It is such a simple story, starting with the death of one of the members of the neighborhood, but just like all the great stories, it is so well developed that characters grow into you.
The characters are insightfully drawn and the narrative observations are compelling–but this is not a “feel good” book. Where the Harry Potter series might be ultimately hopeful, this story is ultimately . . . Well, not entirely pessimistic, but pretty close.
I personally didn't find any of the characters to be lovable or even very relatable, but they were very full–to the point where sometimes I couldn't follow all the intricate politics of who was on whose side, etc. At some point I resigned myself to following along just to see how the plot would resolve itself. There were some big twists at the end, and it was not what I expected or hoped for–but it was satisfying in its own way.
Overall I have respect for the work and found it thought-provoking. It was a tough read, but worth it, I think!
Один мужик умер физически, а остальные - морально.
Начиналось все замечательно. Легкий игривый слог, сатиричные характеры, множество главных и не очень героев, многообещающий задел на склоки, дрязги и интриги... Вспомнился обожаемый Стивен Фрай с его злободневными сюжетами. На этой веселенькой, но скрипучей тележке взбирались мы с Джоан на горочку событий, а потом полетели к херам с этой горы, теряя колеса, доски и надежду на светлое будущее. И если сначала полет этот мог напоминать американские горки, то в итоге закончился каким-то беспросветным и оглушительным черте-чем.
I almost gave up on this book 30 pages in because it felt like JK was trying to cram in 7 books worth of “adult” themes that she hadn't been able to do in Harry Potter. But then I kept reading.. and I got really hooked on all the characters, and before I knew it I had read the whole book in one sitting.
This was a stunning book. Every human characteristic presented in a way that one can identify with: vile, disgusting and arrogant humans as well as noble, benevolent and good people. But most of the time, all these characteristics were all present in the same person at one point and lacking at another. It was very human!
The way the plot developed was similar to a Guy Ritchie movie: the focus of the story is on someone who is on the phone. She hangs up, the focus shifts to the other end of the line.
It was well written, intelligent and never boring.
This book was a wonderful read. J.K. Rowling meets Middlemarch. For my friends who had read it when it first came out and didn't like it so much, I think it ages well - in particular with the more distance you put between J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter in your mind.
I swear I wrote a review for this book immediately after putting it down, which must have gotten misplaced in the bowels of the internet. At the time, I was emotionally caught up in the fact that Krystal was trying SO HARD to make a better life for her and Robbie, it failed so spectacularly, and nobody had any idea about what she was trying to do. . Phew. Thanks, J.K. Rowling. (But I really mean it!)
To be honest, I did not expect much from “A Casual Vacancy,” J.K. Rowling's first foray into post-Potter adult lit. However, I was pleasantly surprised and finished the book with a 3.5 star feeling. At least some portion of my enjoyment came from the audiobook version as performed by the marvelous Tom Hollander; his excellent voicing of the characters really brought out each personality.
And what truly shines in this offering is the characterization; in the words of Fats Wall, the people of Pagford and the Fields are authentic. The book seemed to start off a bit slowly, but it takes time to build each character word by word, while painting the general society of the small town of Pagford. By the time you reach the end of the novel, you practically feel enmeshed in the fabric of the town; despite all of the tragedies along the way, I was rather sad to leave. In a way, “ACV” is a drama of manners, not just a character study.
Was there a main character? I say yes, it was Barry Fairbrother's ghost. Not the ghost “haunting” the message board of Pagford's council parish, mind you. The thread tying all of the people in the book together was the impact that Barry had while alive or the ripple-effect of his death. His very absence kicked off the fire-storm of accusatory posts against contenders for Barry's seat; a not-at-all-casual visitation of sins of the father/mother on their children returning to beleaguer them. Anonymousish electronic communication is used at parents when in-person communication is either missing or extremely derogatory.
The two casual vacancies sandwich a bit of soap opera and a bit of muckraking with a lot of real-life situations, both brutal and hum-drum. To say there is no plot in this book is a mistake; characters change or do their best to change from Crystal to Fats to Sukhvinder to Samantha Mollison. So, truly quite an enjoyable book and I look forward to more non-Harry Potter (or more Harry Potter) from Ms. Rowling.
This was not an easy book to read. The characters in this book are rude, nasty just unlikable. At one point I was getting frustrated. I think that`s what the author wanted to do, see how a small town with just one death can transform into a war between parents and their children, students against students and spouses. A the end, which is not an happy ending you realize that this story can happen anywhwere.
There is no you-know-who that the whole world should be afraid of, there is no single hero with boundless moral authority, there is no global issues that tells epic stories. Each and every character are the villains and the heroes of their own story (more or less) and their challenges, as small as they may be, are real and relatable.
It started out slow and stoppable until I was half-way in. I thank myself now that I persisted.
This book made me cry.
It started out really boring, and I kept repeating to myself that this is not J.K. Rowling. This is some other writer, except for the criteria that distinguishes her from other writers which is the frequent usage of parentheses.
But the last 250 pages, they were a dream. They passed with me feeling a thing. I started flipping pages like a maniac, wanting to know what will happen.
And it was beautiful. This book is beautiful. J.K. Rowling can, so successfully, delve into the human nature while still being able to adapt it to our civilization. She was able to intricately weave a beautiful microcosm which reflects the macrocosm where we live.
I cannot imagine a person who can master writing about the deepest secrets of a variety of people in a small town threatened by civil war.
This was beautiful.
I loved it.
It made me cry.
I wish it never ended.
Loved the layers and layers of characters. Loved the political and social criticism.
I would actually give this book three and a half stars. For me, five stars are my absolute favorites and four would be for good reads. This was just below that only because it was hard to read, at least at times.
The vernacular was hard at times as was the subject matter. I'm a realist and feel like Ms. Rowling did a good job of not sugar coating what true life can look like at times. It was just hard, for me, to not get emotional reading about hurting children or abusive parents.
I bought this book September 2012 just when it got released. I was excited since this is a J.K. Rowling book, but I have it pending for a year, for a reason I do not remember (but I believe it's because of other pending books to be read). So I said I have to start on this. So I did, and it took time, because every chapter, I would get stunned because of how real one book is. How so much emotion can be in a page. I cannot stand hearing Umbrella and not remember Krystal Weedon. Now I'm tearing up. The characters, though irrigating, are all amazing. The setting. A small town. Is perfect. I love each was place was described as if the author lived there. And I feel for Barry Fairbrother. Everyone deserves a hand. Even if they are not willing to take it. They all deserve it.
This book is precious.
NOT a children's book.
I liked this very much and look forward to more for J.K. Rowling in the future.