Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Man, what a letdown.

I am a crazy die-hard Potter fan.  I've read each book at least ten times, devouring them each for the first time in a 24 hour time period, and I've seen every movie just as often, never missing an opening weekend.  I envy J. K. Rowling's imagination and ability to bring the world of Harry Potter so vividly alive for people.  I also envy her ability to write young adult books that teach positive messages in such a unique way - a way that attracts people far beyond young adult age.

It is with this passion that I downloaded J.K. Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy, intended for an adult audience.  Perhaps that is where I went wrong - my expectations were already way too high.  Unfortunately, those were not met.

Okay, this is coming from a person who loves sad books... but this book was just so sad.  One of my friends said that all the ills of society are in this novel and she's right.  You don't finish the book with much hope for humanity.  For some reason, the overall storyline that connects the characters didn't interest me either.  Basically it is about a town divided when one of the major leaders dies suddenly from an aneurysm.  They fight over who should take his spot and what to do with "The Fields," an area of town that most people want redistricted.  I don't know, it just kind of bored me.

In fairness, I did finish the book so it wasn't awful.  It is, of course, well-written, but that was never a question for me.  It focuses on several different characters who collide at the end and their individual stories are interesting.  I guess, if you can forget it is by J. K. Rowling and you just want something to read, it isn't bad.  But don't expect the greatness that was Harry Potter or you will be disappointed.

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