The Casual Vacancy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Method of Reading: Hardcover library book and personally owned paperback novel, 503 pages in paperback
Dates of Reading: August 17, 2013-October 22, 2013
Author: JK Rowling
Publication Year: 2012
Recommended to: Older HP fans (those who outgrew the series and are still readers today), anyone who likes family dramas, and probably those who enjoy political dramas like Scandal.
Quotes:
   "You must accept the reality of other people. You think that reality is up for negotiation, that we think it's whatever you say it is. You must accept that we are as real as you are; you must accept that you are not God" (88).
   "Colin... never seemed to... appreciate that behind every nondescript face lay a wild and unique hinterland like his own" (99).
   "Nobody close to Krystal had ever died of old age" (199).
   "What's needed is a bit of common sense" (226).
   "I'll tell Mist' Fairbrother" (325).
   "What the f***?" (431). (My apologies to those offended by language requiring *s. It's just so necessary.)
   "...vaguely interested at last" (494).
Movie: It's going to be a BBC television miniseries beginning in 2014, which I think sounds like an excellent way to adapt this story.

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Casual_Vacancy
Link: http://www.jkrowling.com/en_US/#/works/new-book

My View: I'm sure some people think that HP had too happy an ending. If you were among those disappointed by the "rosiness" of the Potter universe, read The Casual Vacancy. You will find that JKR's mind isn't really the most lovely place. While I might see a little Harry in Andrew and some Dudley in Fats, I see them equally reflective of Sal and Dean (respectively). Big lesson: this is not the JKR you were expecting. But if her classic characters seem to be absent, JKR's signature style is still there. Her attention to detail, overwhelming character choices, delicately interlocking plot pieces, and powerful understanding of nuance are extraordinary. I missed her genius presence for much of the book, feeling her style but not her brilliance. And even 100 pages in felt the story wasn't quite "there" yet. Though the writing and characters are patently compelling, there is no plot put forth until very late, and it feels like page after page of stalling, like a fractured TV show pilot headed for a nasty cancellation. But when the second SQL hack hits on page 319, the book finally feels like a novel instead of a birds-eye narration of a randomly corrupted small town.
   A word about the characters: they are marvelous. Some of their quirks are so peculiar (i.e. Shirley's omnipresent "favorite medical website") and specific and harped upon that they could not have been pulled from thin air, but must have been the result of JKR's interpersonal studies (like Gilderoy Lockhart). Many of the characters are dreadfully repellant (and the story has no designated hero). Every person has an attitude problem or abuse issues. They *all* love drama (which is almost never the answer to anything). But every single one is so true, honest-feeling. It's one of those marvelous stories where you look up from your reading and are shocked to realize no one you just read about exists. I begged to know what Krystal had of Barry's. I am contemptuous of the town's universal cowardice.  I am compelled by each person's individual strength and complexity, especially Parminder and Andrew (I was inwardly shouting to save them both). I tear up for Colin, who always "suffered twice" (230). I thank Goodness for Sukhvinder, an intelligent character I can respect. I feel like marching straight up to Gavin and demanding an account of his true feelings. I hate Shirley's petty, cruel, needless worries as they destruct the town around her, shallowly corrupting a 3D world with 2D wrinkles. I feel for Kay, hoping that her genuine intellect won't be overwhelmed by her devastatingly low EQ and fly-away temper (both fueled by her dependency issues). Each of the many characters here is exactly 1/2 sympathetic, unavoidably touching. The many beautiful characters' interconnecting storylines force readers to examine the question of who has responsibility for whom in a community and the immense power of each individual. They affect true emotion in me, the strongest empathy (fortunately not sympathy) being when Andrew's father beats his family. It prompted me to write rather a lot of swear words in the margins of the book. Terri's "pathetic dignity" (321) was also moving, constantly redoubling my desire for her daughter's redemption, Barry's proclamation that "You [Krystal] don't have to go the same way" (327) always ringing in my ears.
   For a while, I found this book terribly confusing. This is possibly because it had a rather incoherent plot for a few hundred pages. British literary style standards and slang also put me out, causing me to search for a British Urban Dictionary. Beyond just the language and styling, British culture is clearly beyond me... I was especially unsure of British attitudes toward marriage and family life, and determined that some of their views must be a little more lax than ours or else the questions some of the women ask at tipsier moments are not just rude, but absolutely unallowable. Of course, the amazing awkwardness of some moments are the product of perfectly blended character, scene, and plot descriptions (a JKR specialty). In awkward, triumphant, depressing, or exciting moments, the scene becomes overwhelmingly real, visible, and tangible by her prowess.
   One note... this book was much easier to review than most books of about the same size. I don't know anyone else that has read this and it's not very widely written-on yet... so I haven't been able to tell if I missed something or if it was as easy to distill down as I thought. Anyway...
   On page 288, the author professes that her town is filled with "Things denied, things untold, things hidden and disguised." This is the perfect tagline for her story. When this tragedy of selfishness, isolation, unconcern, and near-sociopathic behavior all pulls together into a plot about responsibility, public involvement, and interpersonal concern... you might lose it (not as much as when Dumbley-dore died, but...). Look out, because this is not the JKR you know.

Always,
Your Bibliomaniac

Bibliographic Citation:

• Han, Angie. "J.K. Rowling's 'The Casual Vacancy' Being Adapted for the BBC." Slash Film. N.p., 3 Dec. 2012. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. .
• "The Casual Vacancy." J.K. Rowling. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. .
• "The Casual Vacancy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. .
• Rowling, J.K. The Casual Vacancy. New York: Little, Brown, 2012. Print.