The Casual Vacancy in Around the Year in 52 Books

Oct 05, 2012 John Warner rated it really liked it

J.K. Rowling made her fame and fortune crating a world of fantasy; she has now created another world, but this time, one of raw reality. Pagford appears to be an idyllic English village but its facade belies a seamier side which is exposed when a young beloved parish councilor, Barry Fairbrother, dies suddenly from a stroke. As several men maneuver to be elected his replacement, an anonymous citizen known as Barry's Ghost begins revealing their ugly secrets on an Internet community discussion bo ...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Cindy rated it it was amazing

A story of how individual lives overlap and intertwine to create something incredibly complex. Like a row of dominoes; one slight movement and they each tumble, one into another into another. Rowling has created a world as real as any other, populated by a unique, and yet still ordinary, set of individuals, to form the collective whole of the town of Pagford.

Do not read this book looking for Hogwarts. The lives of the people of Pagford are not touched by magic. Do not read this book expecting t ...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Heather L rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, 2012, group-read

I wasn't sure I was going to like this one after the first twently pages, and found it difficult to keep all of the characters straight the first half of the book. Am glad I stuck with it, though, as I was actually a bit choked up at the end. This is Rowling's first novel written for adults, and is as different from her Harry Potter series as any book could be. I think the mixed reviews this book has garnered stems primarily from people expecting to be swept into a fantastical realm like Hogwart ...more

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