When I heard J.K. Rowling was going to be writing a new book, I was excited and waited eagerly for the book to finally be released to the general public. The story that she relates in her new book The Casual Vacancy is one that is meant to pull the reader in. She writes about people that you are already familiar with, that live around you every single day. However, I have to point out that this story is not in anyway or form like the magical storyline she wrote about in the Harry Potter series, that made her famous.
Set in the small English village of Pagford, the book begins with the death of Barry Fairbrother who is a councillor. She slowly introduces the reader to the many characters of the book as they react to the death of Barry. They are all inhabitants of Pagford. There is one major issue at hand, which is regarding the support for the area they call 'The Fields'. There are various other stories that involve individual characters featured in this book. These include politics, poverty, drug and child abuse, rape, suicide, pedophilia, mental health and many other real life situations.
Who is Joanne Kathleen (J K) Rowling? Well unless you have been living on the moon or some other planet, you should know who this brilliant writer is. She has a degree in French and Classics from the Exeter University. She has worked for Amnesty International researching human rights abuses in Western French speaking Africa. She is most famous for her Harry Potter book series which she plotted out and first started writing whilst she was on a train from London to Manchester. She taught English as a foreign language in northern Portugal for a short while. J.K has one daughter Jessica and is a divorcee. The Harry Potter series has now been published in more than 200 countries and is available in over 67 different languages.
What I enjoyed most about The Casual Vacancy was how it was able to trigger many different emotions. There are some funny moments and then there is some sad ones. Like many other people who have read this book, I initially had difficulties following all the different characters. It then dawned on me that, it was not really important to be able to keep up with each individual character. I should be concentrating on the different struggles of the people of Pagford. Ultimately, there are no heroes in this book. As you read you can feel how the author has a strong perception of human behaviour. She is a master at dissecting a character and exposing them to the readers from the inside out. I have to admit though, that I did find some of the issues very depressing.
The ending is perfect, you get the important questions answered but you are left to think about some of the other things. This is definitely an intelligently written book that has been very cleverly edited too. The Casual Vacancy is a tragicomedy. It is a story that has more tragedy than comedy, but also has some sexual content as well as humour. This book was written for adults and does have a considerable amount of mature language.
If you enjoy British humour, you will have an enhanced experience as you read the book. If reality offends you or you stay clear of the taboo you may want to stay clear of this one. However, if you are an adventurers open minded reader, strap yourself in and get ready for a wild ride. After reading this book, I can without doubt proclaim that JK Rowling is a very talented writer.
Available in several formats - start reading The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling now.