Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
Release Date: September 27, 2012
Pages: 503 (Hardcover)
Series: no
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
LONG STORY SHORT:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it as much as you can enjoy a book out of a genre you don't typically like and aimed towards an age group you don't feel mature enough for. The author's work? Excellent, in my opinion. But I won't give a book three Smarties when I actually know that I enjoyed other 3 Smartie books way more. This was certainly interesting, it met my expectations and did not at all disappoint. But I'm not obsessed with the story, either.
REVIEW:
I thought I'd make a big spectacle over the new Rowling book. I mean, I started reading it the day it came, even thought of pulling an all - nighter to make it more special or at least post this review with a bunch of special features. The reason I decided to treat this book like any other book was because it felt like any other book to me as I read it. A good novel for adults, I'm glad I read it and here's why:
Rowling's writing style was, is and will always be fantastic. I just like discovering the hidden humor behind the words and between the lines. I like that she makes me laugh out loud or grin sullenly. The Casual Vacancy is a chunk of a book, but I never felt like taking a break or reading something different. I was never fed up with the story because Rowling lulled me into that world so fast - and then I started confusing it with my own. It all just felt so real and alive and I seemed to know the characters like I know my oldest friends. Sound familiar? Hehe...
The actual plot and idea of the book surprised me but I think they were very well done, too. Rowling told like....ten (or probably more) different stories that all intertwined in a way and she still found the right words for every one of them. The issues in TCV were quite heavy...and the ending was quite disturbing, but then again it's pretty close to the real world (I would say).
The only factor that makes me give this book two and not three Smarties is that after all there are books I enjoyed more. There's a reason I don't read adult books unless I'm forced to and there's also a reason for people calling The Casual Vacancy an adult book. Let's just say although the author did everything right it was just not my cup of tea.
RATING: 2/3 Smarties
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