The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling

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csbaker
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Re: The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling

Post by csbaker »

I enjoyed this one. It was hard at first to keep the characters separate, but in the end, I enjoyed the range of characters. The image and retelling of "The Good Samaritan" at the end left me speechless.
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andyb0810
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Post by andyb0810 »

BBC is making a mini series out of the book. Are you interested in watching it if/when it shows in the US?
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Circling Turtle
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Post by Circling Turtle »

I really enjoyed this book, and I don't think it deserved the bad reviews it got. It did start a bit slowly but it was well written and the characters were complex and interesting (some were a bit irritating though). One criticism I have is that it seemed like she was trying a bit too hard to write a book with adult themes, perhaps to distance herself from Harry Potter. Overall though, it was much better than I expected.
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the_bluebell
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Post by the_bluebell »

A very well-written fiction--more about the negatives in life...setbacks, substance abuse, messed up parenting. It is certainly not a positive, uplifting kind of book. I would like to call it the :dark" fiction, but sometimes wonder, is this the reality?
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Butty92
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Post by Butty92 »

I've just finished reading this book by JK Rowling and wondered what your thoughts are on it if you've read it?

I find it to be a very interesting, hard-hitting read, As a book, it isn't afraid of tackling some quite controversial issues. It's also a heavily political book that tries to reflect society in a way in which Rowling herself sees it.

The book isn't exactly a laugh a minute, some may even say it's quite depressing and sad, with themes of rape, drug abuse, domestic violence, poverty, truancy, lots of swearing and mental health to name a few. But that's what I admire about it, as Rowling is prepared to confront and expose these issues head-on. Admittedly, I think her left-wing views do come across quite strongly in the book, not that I mind myself as someone with similar ideals, but the book definitely gives the reader a sympathetic take on the Fields estates in Yarvil and its inhabitants, while portrays the middle-class, Conservatives in quite a crude way.

A very different book to Harry Potter but one I enjoyed as it challenged me to think and was heavily political, a topic I've always been interested in. An undoubted Labour party supporter Rowling may be, but it was refreshing to see an author challenge the 'societal consensus' set by the likes of the Daily Mail. No wonder they called it 500 pages of 'socialist manifesto masquerading as literature crammed down your throat'. She must have done something right then if the Daily Mail don't like here. :lol:
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Naval Aulakh
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Post by Naval Aulakh »

J.K Rowling is one of my favourite writers and I love his books but this one is worth reading :)
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skytriff
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Post by skytriff »

I am using a kindle app on my phone, how do I add the device to start reading? Pls help
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Mallory Whitaker
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Post by Mallory Whitaker »

I tried to read it once when it came out, couldn't get through it. The beginning was hard to get through, probably just because I expect different things out of J.K., which is unfair to her. Of course everything she writes can't be on the level of Harry Potter. A few months ago I gave it another go, trying to look for the things I love about J.K.'s writing instead of what wasn't there. Her characterization is some of my absolute favorite. Her wit and humor shines through in how she describes her characters in all of her books. I loved some of the characters, hated others (and not in the "I love to hate you way"), and just felt -meh- about others. But I loved enough of them to want to keep going and figure out what happens to them. I do have to say the ending left me with the "THAT'S HOW WE'RE GONNA END THIS?!" feeling. (Sort of like the HP epilogue but that's another conversation for another time.) I did end up enjoying it though. More than I thought I would. It definitely got better as it went on.
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aprenni
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Post by aprenni »

I'm currently reading The Casual Vacancy, and I'm glad to hear that others have iffy feelings about it also. I grew up on Harry Potter, and I bought this book the day it came out because I love Rowling so much. But I remember sitting down to read it that night years ago, and I couldn't get through the first 50 pages. I ended up letting it sit for years. I finally decided to pick it up and read it again (because I've committed to reading everything on my shelves I haven't read yet), and again, getting through the first few chapters was rough.

I think it's a pretty dry book, but now I'm on page 169. It's daunting to see that I still have so much left in it to read, because I'm just waiting for it to pick up speed so that I can speed-read through it, but I don't think that's going to happen.

I will say that it's an impressive book in that it's written in 3rd person omniscient, which is pretty difficult to do well. There are a massive amount of characters, but I'm able to keep them all straight, and they all have a vital role in the story. This book actually seems like it could be several books in one, but it has to be told in one volume, because all the storylines are interconnected.

I'm going to keep reading, and hopefully by the end, it'll have grown on me. It makes me sad to not love something that Rowling wrote, but as I'm reading, I'm starting to like it more and more.

Have any of you read the Cormoran Strike series? Is it better than The Casual Vacancy?
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HollandBlue
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Post by HollandBlue »

Sounds like if the book wasn't by JK Rowling many wouldn't have been interested in reading this book. I think I'll pass because it has a slow start and too many characters.
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