Vacancy: Frictions: Part 2-3

[Andrew, Wound Up]

***Open discussion of Parts 1 - 3 below, no spoiler marks needed. Be sure you have read through Part 3 before reading! Note: if this is your first visit to this topic I recommend you read this post about discussion ideas, then skip down and post your initial response, then read and respond to other people's posts.***

At the very least check in here when you finish Part 3 and tell us if you are enjoying the book. I'll post specific discussion ideas below, along with some general topics we'll see repeated throughout the book.

Part 2 - 3 discussions:

1) Samantha's very tense dinner party is interrupted by 16 year old Lexie who says "According to Nietzsche philosophy is the biography of the philosopher." What is your take on this statement and its relation to the interrupted discussion?

2) Do you think Rowling has succeeded in realistically portraying intimate/familial relationships?

HP) How would you finish this statement: Casual Vacancy is essentially a spiritual successor to the Harry Potter series because:

(Have some fun with it! Pretend you are set on convincing an H.P. megafan to dive into this book.)

General Discussions:

1) Share your favorite quote(s) from this section.

2) Do you have a favorite or most intriguing character at this point in the novel?

Location reminder

If you are returning to this topic after having continued past Part 3, here is a plot reminder:

After being viciously attacked Krystal has formulated a plan.

GO!

[Andrew, Wound Up]

Oofta, I had a hard time coming up with questions for this section. There has definitely been an increase in tension, I really enjoyed the dinner party scene. I continue to be impressed with the clarity achieved in spite of ongoing perspective shifts. I continue to hate the parenthetical flashbacks, the style feels like it is pandering.

Nietzsche: I don't know. I asked the question hoping someone can explain this to me. Kay seems to be slaughtering Miles in their discussion about the methadone program. Anyone?

Relationships: Every relationship seems like a foil to the imagined perfection of Mary and Barry. Why is Pagford so loveless? Every child hates their parents and the parents conversely hate their children. Spouses are ignored at best. The negative emotions are so overwhelming that even when they capture moments that seem realistic they fail to fit into any cohesively believable relationship.

Just like H.P.: They are both books that focus on dead men (Barry, Voldemort) who had a major impact on the world around them. Both feature political problems that should have nothing to do with children, yet children are pushed into defining roles. The children get into all sorts of hi-jinx and some even suffer terribly when attacked by the evil adults. Collection is a major theme in both books (votes, horcruxes).

Quotes: (Samantha) found Howard and Shirley's endless talk about the council boring as hell. Me too Samantha, me too. I'll drink to that. But I also find your creepy fascination with a boy band member silly.

There is a similar self awareness to the banality of the plot when Gaia yells at her mom: "Because you dragged me to live in a shithole." Concurred, point to Gaia.

Why does Andrew have to tak(e) care to avoid Cubby's car when biking into the driveway? He is out of training wheels I presume? Most bicyclists don't randomly run into parked cars.

Mary's exlamation that "I want another gin. I don't drink enough." is superb.

I am most intrigued by this plot teaser: Andrew had never yet had reason to observe the first tiny bubble of fermenting yeast, in which was contained an inevitable, alchemical transformation. Usually the reader would have a better idea of what the bubble is, in this case I'm just baffled.

Character: Hackmaster Andrew was pretty cool, and he's got a great name. I hope his relationship with Gaia flowers and that he gets some pro-active.

[Michelle, Overrun By Pets]

Nietzsche's statement referencing that each person's ideals, point of view, opinions and thoughts are shaped from their own very individual life experiences seems to be a pivotal statement about the book's plot. What one person might see as a positive is a very clear negative to another. When conversations of a philisophical vein occur, it is often very difficult to convince another person to see your point of view because you are asking them to reset their point of reference on the world. Simply getting to a point where real communication is occurring and both parties are using language that the other understands is oft times the real difficulty. The Nietzche statement does seem to be at the heart of the Pagford Parish Council's dilemma about The Fields and the Bellchapel Addiction Clinic. There are two opposing factions who are not yet able to get to a place of communication with each other because each side sees the dilemma so differently, yet so clearly to themselves. The conversation between Kay, Miles and Samantha, which was interrupted by Lexie, was a smaller version of the Council's dilemma. This statement also seems to relate to the communication difficulties between adults-children and generations gaps of individuals that continue throughout the book.


Rowling is choosing the characters she follows in the Pagford community very carefully, but is not showing us an unbiased "slice of life" there. The characters seem chosen for their MTV "Real World" attributes rather than showing a more balanced cross section of a community after the loss of a pivotal community member. People such as the Fairbrothers, the older Jawanda children, members of the crew team, who would have been close to Barry, are clearly omitted from the conversation. Because of the clear bias on which characters were chosen, I would have to say that Rowling has not realistically portrayed familial relationships. I feel like there are moments of truth in some of the character interactions, but when taken as a whole it feels disingenuous.


Attention Harry Potter fans, J.K. Rowling has done it again ! Barry Fairbrother, the Dumbledore of Pagford, has met an untimely death. Barry was the spearhead for the fight to defend the poor, the under-privileged, the under-educated, the weak of this community (poor Muggles). Who will take up this fight? Who will defend Barry's honor and lifework? The Millison family, much like the Malfoy's in our beloved H.P. books, are insistent on bringing utter destruction to the residents of the Fields. Meanwhile, the children of Pagford are embroiled in a fight of their own. They use magic taught by a brave computing substitute teacher. The children use technology, SQL injections, and the internet to fight injustices initiated and perpetuated by their parents. Who will ultimately win this battle and the war? Read the The Casual Vacancy to find out.


Favorite quotes: "He would not have confessed it to his mother, because he tried not to fuel the constant cold war between Shirley and Samantha, in which he was both hostage and prize."

"She thought that she would have known them as Americans even if the sound had been off. Their teeth were perfect."

"Fear fluttered inside Krystal's belly like a fetus." (Hmmm...foreshadowing?)

"Parminder Jawanda had copied the message about Simon Price onto her computer, and kept opening it, subjecting each sentence to the scrutiny of a forensic scientist examining fibers on a corpse, searching for traces of Howard Mollison's literary DNA."


My favorite character is "the young supply teacher" who in an effort to be cool, taught the children SQL injections, thus changing the fabric of the Pagford community forever. For a character whose name we do not know, he has caused quite a ruckus.


Favorite words: intemperate, portentousness, sonorously, crestfallen, pusillanimous, prurience, quoins, bolshy, foist, riven.