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The Casual Vacancy

J.K. Rowling

Start date: November 22, 2012

Finish date: November 30, 2012

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What Members Thought

Jan 01, 2013 Trisha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: drama

Wow. Nothing like starting the new year with an emotionally powerful, brilliantly written, completely unexpected, novel. Rowling made it very clear that this novel would be nothing like her Harry Potter novels, and the premise (to be perfectly honest), sounded a little boring, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Because I had been impressed with her writing style through the HP series, I decided to give it a try. Absolutely amazing! It is a complete 180 from her last storyline with its focus ...more

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Jun 13, 2017 Mandy Beyers rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ladies-book-club, z-game-night-build-a-bouquet, z-nbrc-summer-romance-rding-challen

3.5* Only a fabulous writer could keep me reading a chunkster of a book with so many unlikable characters. Watching their lives fall apart was like watching a train wreck, but I couldn't stop. ...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Dina rated it really liked it

My review taken from All The Stacks

I have so many thoughts about this book and must preface with a little bit about my own personal beliefs. I am a very political person (I am very active in county and state-wide politics). I would identify as a liberal. All that being said, I found The Casual Vacancy to be a well-written social commentary.

I believe it is the duty of society to help everyone. That all people deserve an equal chance to live a successful life and that the government has a hand in My review taken from All The Stacks

I have so many thoughts about this book and must preface with a little bit about my own personal beliefs. I am a very political person (I am very active in county and state-wide politics). I would identify as a liberal. All that being said, I found The Casual Vacancy to be a well-written social commentary.

I believe it is the duty of society to help everyone. That all people deserve an equal chance to live a successful life and that the government has a hand in making that happen.

Right now in the United States, the concept of how and if we should help those who are struggling is being hotly contested in the Presidential election. Do we want to be a society where the luckiest of us succeed, oftentimes because of luck or numerous intangible benefits, and the rest are left to languish or one that aims to raise the level of all people? It is a question that J.K. Rowling so deftly handles here.

Pagford, the town so beautifully created by J.K. Rowling is having this same kind of identity crisis. Many years in the past, a portion of land once owned by a famous family in town is sold and public housing is built. Those living in the housing have access to the good schools of Pagford. There are those on the council who wish for the estates to become the problem of the next largest city of Yarvil. They feel that The Fields is a blight on their perfect town.

The Casual Vacancy has a slow start. It revolves around an entire town and is full of characters. The change of voice from one character to the next was somewhat confusing until I really started to get a feel for who each character was. Around the 300 page mark, The Casual Vacancy really picks up steam. We start to see how interconnected this community is and how they can and do impact each others lives. It is not only a story of social responsibility, that we owe to our neighbors to make sure that those with less are treated with dignity but also that the attention that we pay can save lives.

The most tragic storyline of the Weedons is handled so well. We can see why Terri, who is abused nearly from birth, is barely able to function even if she seems to want to change. Why we get a cycle of abuse when her own negligence leads to her daughter acting out and eventually getting raped. It bucks the stereotype of the lazy person with their hand out waiting for their government check to read the story of what went so wrong in one family.

The ending is really brilliant and so tragic. It is like a dance in which each character misses their turn, and one small, seemingly insignificant action has huge ramifications on the lives of the most vulnerable.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling is a social commentary where you are forced to imagine the lives of those around you. They can be raw and cruel but the authenticity is really gripping. ...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Gabriela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: about-marriage

The powerfully engaging style of J.K.Rowling, in a world where real life happens, adults and intrigues are skilfully portrayed. I loved loved loved it and I feel there could be a sequel to this also.

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Jul 24, 2017 Roxanne rated it really liked it

This is definitely one of those books you have to spend some large chunks of time with because there are so many characters that it's tough to keep all the connections straight. It reads like a soap opera though, which is fun for me. It's a very slow start (as in pages and pages of slow), but in the end it was a decent read. ...more

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Jan 03, 2014 Amber rated it did not like it

Shelves: general-fiction

I tried. I mean really tried but had to put it aside. It didn't hold my interest at all. It was really hard to bring myself to pick it up again. ...more

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