The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

The Casual Vacancy

by J.K. Rowling

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?

A big novel about a small town, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults. It is the work of a storyteller like no other.

Reviewed by Chelsea on

4 of 5 stars

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I feel terrible rating a book written by J.K. Rowling less than 5 stars but I really didn't like this book.

First of all,l I have no idea what the plot was. The story just kept going on and on and I have no idea what happened. The climax sucked since it wasn't even exciting at all and the book just kinda ended. I had to force myself to continue reading because it was so boring. Maybe that's the point she was trying to put out there but it bored me to death. The book didn't have anything happy happen in it. What's the point of reading a book when it's just gonna depress me?

Secondly, I hate every single one of the characters. I understand she was trying to make them more human so we'd related to them but every character is stupid. Half of them are wimps that can't stand up to any body and the others think way too highly of themselves. None of the characters even liked the other characters.

So basically what I'm saying is I'm really disappointed in this book. I knew it would be way different from Harry Potter but if J.K. Rowling hadn't written this book I wouldn't have read it. If for some crazy reason I did pick it up to read there's no way I would have finished it. I think she needs to stick with children's books. It's more her style.

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  • Started reading
  • 11 October, 2012: Finished reading
  • 11 October, 2012: Reviewed