Should J. K. Rowling have remained a writer for «young adults»?

[Carlota]

Personally I am not sure about it. It is clear she was tired of being labeled as such. But this attempt into deeper waters certainly is not very deep. Is the best yet to come?

[Connie]

Its been a while since I read the book, but I know I had to let it sit before I was able to put the book in context. I think my initial difficulty with the book was the number of unattractive characters that I had to meet before I could get to the "story". I wasn't sure of her point, until I got to the latter half of the book. It was a mirror piece, and difficult to read, particularly while enduring a particularly obscene political season.

Do I think she should have kept writing for youth - of course, she is engaging and captivating, and I hope she returns to it. But do I think she should abandon her writing for adults? No. This piece was not written as mind candy - it was meant to poke and prod, which I feel it did.

[Shane]

I read "The Casual Vacancy" a couple of weeks ago, and enjoyed it immensely even though it was slow going at first. And though I enjoyed the first Harry Potter, I wasn't moved to read any others in the series. Thus, I appreciate that she went in this direction, even though the result was uneven - yet this is a book that has 'stuck' with me. Thus, if she wants to she should continue writing more 'mature' book, although she could use a good editor and/or be less self-indulgent.

[Charmain]

I think any writer should write exactly what they want to write. The only difficulty being that not everyone is going to like what you write, especially if like J.K. Rowling you are well known for one type of genre. I didn't like 'The Casual Vacancy' but of course that's not to say that I won't like every mature novel that she continues to write. I actually find it quite irritating when a writer turns their back on what they have become famous for, reminds me of the stars whom make it because of reality TV and then slur it! To me it sort of seems like a kick in the teeth to the supporters.

[Connie]

@Charmain - I don't think she has turned her back though. Her style - lots of characters with complex backgrounds - remains. Her subject matter isn't all that different either (good v evil mixed with lots of gray). I think the big difference is the candy coating is gone. She is writing from "reality" versus fantasy.

[Katy]

I thought it was brilliant. She can write anything she wants and has proven it.

[Gretchen]

I suppose it all depends on what you believe is deep and what you are looking to take from a book. Is Harry Potter deep? Is this novel deep? I think things are as you take them and what you take from them. Certainly if you dig too much even into the "greatest" literature of our time it can become blazay. Especially if you look for everything to have a hidden meaning.
Overall I thought the novel was good, I didn't like it because the content is an all to real accurate picture of our society a part that being in social service I have come in contact with all to often. However, I think it showed that she is not just an adolescent novelist but can describe and portray more adult situations and realities.

[Marcos]

The start is really slow, the introduction of the story is complicated, but in the end, at least to me, the book gave a sense of bitter-sweet sadness. The story gets you, and the reality (or possible reality) of the book is painful for this very reason. This things happens more often than we acknowledge, the way we, as a society ignore the problems of the others and like at the end, turn around the head again, and again...Rowling demonstrate with this book her amazing ability to correlate with the real frikking world, she doesn't want to get labelled as a fantasy writer for all of her life, and I'm happy for this book in the end.

[W]

I loved the "The casual vacancy", And i have never read another book by JK Rowling, i still have all HP books, but i haven't even opened it. I loved this story, it is her first novel for adults, so i'm sure it won't be too great, but i think she did a good job. Characters are real, and not sugar coated. I loved it, she should be able to write anything. I am definitely looking forward to the next one

[Nermin]

No she shouldnt've. I'm very glad that she wrote the Casual Vacancy. I loved that book. That was one of the best books I've read the previous year. I can understand that many HP fans don't like this book as it is very different than HP series but i don't get people who criticize this book for not being like Harry Potter.

[Fran]

No. I loved the HP books because I loved the characters and the relationships between them, how they grew and changed, but I as Casual Vacancy was so much more true, it was so much better.

[Amy]

I could not get through CV, but I think she is free to write whatever she wants to, but I think her literary calling was children's/YA novels.

[Florin]

I think that she is an amazing writer. Her Harry Potter books remain some of the most compelling story-telling that I have ever read, but this should not confine her to Teen fiction. Based on what we have seen from her so far, she should be able to write whatever she wants, but first she has to forget about Harry Potter and so do her readers.

Reading Casual Vacancy I felt that I was looking for the writer I knew and that the writer was trying too hard to be someone else. She needs to develop her style away from Hogwarts because she can become the standout writer of our generation.

[Helen]

I don't think JK Rowling should remain as a child's writer. I am not a great fan of The Casual Vacancy (it took me a while to get through) but she was writing a different genre of book to the Harry Potter ones.

The thing that got me most about The Casual Vacancy is just the hopelessness you felt from the characters and how change seemed at times impossible: whether it was concerning the clinic or how the characters treated one another. I understood that Rowling was trying to portray society and realistically yet the grim style was not to my taste and the only characters I feel I could support were the teenagers since at least they seemed to be written with more empathy than the adults.

To me The Casual Vacancy read like a 'practice novel' for when she does write another adult novel. It is a flawed novel but a decent attempt at adult literature.

[Kressel]

To me, the most interesting part of this thread is how many non-Harry Potter fans liked this book. Since the styles are so different, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The world is full of people who prefer dark realism to fantasy, so JKR has introduced herself to a whole new audience.

[Andrew]

I think Casual Vacancy was a not entirely successful attempt to move into adult fiction, but it's good that after seven Harry Potter novels and untold wealth, she's still pushing herself out of her comfort zone, even though she doesn't need to pick up a pen ever again.

If she publishes another adult novel I would hope it would improve on CV, but I totally respect her for not taking the easy option and sticking with the kiddy books.

[Heather]

I don't know what to think of this book; had some great characters but I kept wanting more action like the Harry Potter series. The end seemed rushed. I thought it was good but not great; a fast read, however. I'll keep trying if she writes another adult book.

[Mohsen]

I think this book was really good.
A personal opinion!!

And I also believe that her style in writing is rather very very interesting. And she has that ability to suck you into any plot she might think.

Yet the problem in this book is that the plot was a bit, boring rather than interesting, which is what people needed from her.

I do think that she shouldn't ignore the talent she has in adult books but on the same time she should explore what else she's capable of.

I'd gladly buy anything she produces.

[Beltrán]

I always loved the Harry Potter sagas, the world J.K. Rowling created and I'd definitely encourage her to keep writing on young people and children fantasy, it is what make her famous.

I read The Casual Vacancy and I loved it. It may have some things to change but I felt it as a really good book. I don't see why she should retire from the adult writing world, it is her first attempt and only because Harry Potter was at once a world phenomenon we shouldn't expect the same from TCV.

I love her writing and in TCV that wasn't her problem. It was the plot, which I loved but it had some inconsistencies as I said, the one who messed the book.

As Mohsen said, I'll buy anything she produces without hesitation.

[Nichola]

I think a writer should create whatever they feel compelled to write. I'm not bowled over by my first impressions of Casual Vacancy but it seems a lot of people like it for whatever reason they choose. It's not like JKR needs the money anymore so whatever she creates she can do purely because it entertains her to do so. Just my opinion :) As an added thought, people of all ages read HP regardless of the age range it was aimed at. I think JKR successfully proved that she can write books to entertain adults.

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship]

No, she should write whatever she wants to. Someone above said they find it irritating when authors change genres--what I find irritating is when authors get stuck in a rut and rewrite the same thing over and over. It's great that she's pushing her limits, trying new things, not resting on her laurels.

I loved HP as a kid, but I'm 25 now and not into children's/YA books (and we could debate which HP is--too many people seem to categorize everything not for adults as YA, even when it's actually meant for 8-year-olds). I enjoyed The Casual Vacancy very much, but had Rowling written another kids' book, I doubt I'd have read it. That said, it's not for everybody; I have friends my age and older who are still obsessed with HP and, oh, The Hunger Games and stuff like that, and I have not encouraged them to read this one.