The Casual Vacancy in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 07, 2012 Katie rated it did not like it

Shelves: ___europe, female-author

How horrible it must be for an author to have to live up to the Harry Potter fame. Try as I might not to compare this to Harry Potter, I just couldn't help myself. How utterly disappointed I am!

The plot of The Casual Vacancy was boring. The setting was boring. The characters were boring. I know I should not be comparing it to Harry Potter, and I know the characters of Harry Potter could not be matched in one book, but I hoped that maybe, just maybe, one character would be slightly well-develope ...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Anie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 2012, ebooks, female-author, female-protagonist, male-protagonist, free

I enjoyed this book, and rather more than I thought I might, given some of the reviews I've read panning it. When JK Rowling writes comedy, she's wonderful, and there are also some meaningful moments in the book. That being said, it felt a bit as if she went overly dark---as if because she's famous for children's books, she had to make her first adult novel into a Novel In Which Sad And Serious Things happen. Okay, I get it. You can swear. Also, I get it that Krystal wears tracksuits; you only n ...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Astrid Lim rated it really liked it

Shelves: politics, dysfunctional-family, british, dramatic, contemporary, psychology

Sooo...Surprisingly I really like this book! I wonder why people were so mean with their stars for this book? :D Well of course it is different than Harry Potter, it's an adult fiction. But you can still trace the magic of JK Rowling's silver tongue- she can describe the characters and their conflicts really well. It actually felt like the adult version of Harry Potter's political plots. What she can't describe in Harry Potter books, she did it splendidly here. All characters have their flaws, t ...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Sarah rated it it was ok

Shelves: kindle, half-read, hot-lit, abandoned

Oh, Casual Vacancy. How I wanted to love you. You are like the boy everyone has a crush on in high school because he can throw a football really far, but then when someone actually dates him she realizes he's incapable of carrying on intelligent conversation. You are as dull as your cover art, and I just have far too many books staring me down from my to-be-read pile to waste any more time trying to make this work.

Maybe some day, when I have nothing better to do, we can try again. ...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Seulky rated it did not like it

Shelves: abandoned

First off, I"m not a crazed Harry Potter fan, but I did enjoy the series; however, though Harry Potter was a great story it too often was punctuated with very uneven writing and 2-dimensional characterization. With that said, the weakness of Rowling's writing really becomes apparent in this book. I like dark. I like gritty. I even like realistic in my fiction. But I could not get past the strained writing, the poor crafting, and the mediocre plot. Abandoned, and on to something else! ...more

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