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What Members Thought
I thought this was an interesting first novel after Harry Potter for Rowling. It must be a subject that is very close to her heart, given her state of poverty pre-HP. The book follows a small English town after the death of one of the councilmen. It contrasts the middle-class people of Pagford with the poor of the Fields, and gives insight from multiple points of view. Clearly the book was a political statement, and you know that given the state of austere measures being taken in the UK, that th
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It's really hard to separate my feelings about this book from the hype and the dozens (seemingly) of reviews I've read. I enjoyed reading it, and it was a page turner which I finished in just a few days. The portrait of small minds in a small British town is something I've always enjoyed, from Miss Marple mysteries to M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin and Hamish McBeth series. In terms of quality, though, I'd say it doesn't really surpass the cozy mystery writers that I enjoy so much. It was much long
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Like many I picked up the book because of the author. It is certainly very different from her previous work, which was a bold and I think overall good move on her part. It takes a while to "get into" the book, in part because there are a lot of characters to learn about. Overall I think she did a good job at creating a place and time, exploring the world of a small community in transition. The overlapping stories of the adults and teenagers in the book was very interesting and in what really cap
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Rowling created a world where I either was indifferent to or despised her characters in this book. That being said, I wanted to know exactly what was going to happen next, how these characters were going to get their comeuppance, and see how all the lose ends would come together. This book is more proof of Rowling's amazing storytelling ability.
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This isn’t just about my love of Harry Potter. JK Rowling can really write. And this story of a community battle between poor and rich and a council seat is perfection. You hate pretty much all the characters, but you can’t put it down until you find out how it all ends.
All of the bad reviews helped set the bar low for this book, so enjoying it was a pleasant surprise.
Sep 28, 2012
Susan Schuler
marked it as to-read
Dec 05, 2012
Deanna
marked it as to-read
Dec 09, 2012
Maggie
marked it as to-read
Aug 05, 2013
Katie
marked it as to-read
Aug 21, 2013
Cassandra
marked it as to-read
Oct 28, 2013
FIND ME ON STORYGRAPH
marked it as to-read
Feb 11, 2015
Elle
marked it as to-read
Dec 26, 2018
Rachel
marked it as to-read
