JK Rowlings - A Casual Vacancy

[Kablooie]

I just finished it.
Hmmm.
Kind of hard to get through until the plot kicks in somewhere around the middle of the book.
There are eight families you must memorize and no central protagonist to focus on.
The first half is explaining the myriad of characters and setting up the web of political and social conflicts and alliances.
It was hard to keep track of who thinks what of who and who is related to who. All the way to the end of the book I would forget certain relationships until they were startled back into my consciousness by the story.

It's essentially about a small town that must deal with the loss of the one council member who has been the linchpin that held the town together. All the other inhabitants seem to be tortured, confused, antagonistic souls. The heart of the book finally narrows down to one character but ends with very little, or no redemption for anyone.

One thing that bothered me was that all the teens hated their parents and actively work to damage their parent's lives. For one or two characters to have this attitude might work but every major teen character, and there are quite a few, does this. It's odd. Could this have been Rowlings personal feeling when she was young?

Rowling is a good writer with an impressive grasp of character and storytelling but it seems this book might be more of an attempt to work out her internal conflicts with her past than to tell a captivating story. Exorcising these demons has overtaken her storytelling ability. I hope she has shaken enough out of her system that she can settle down to telling engrossing stories again in her future books.

[northoftheborder]

1. I'm about a quarter of the way through.

I already do not like this book (but am the "have to finish it anyway" type. Like you said, there is no central character, except the man who dies on the first page. I do not like ANY of the people in the book, the children are all nasty, and the adults are maladjusted. I'm glad someone else finds it difficult to keep up with the many characters, and their children, and their spouses, and their story. it is so grubby, is that the way rural England really is?

I think Rowland is a terrific writer, in general, but this book is too off-putting. I do not recommend it.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Most reviews I read of the book say it is a downer

and characters are depressing.
I passed on it for that reason.

[Kablooie]

3. I think she's trying to make a Dickensonian kind of statement with this book.

But I'm not sure what it is other than living in small towns is really horrible.

I really wonder what her childhood was like.
Apparently her father was an aircraft engineer but she didn't get along with him.

She was also a big fan of Jessica Mitford who's famous for writing "The American Way of Death", an exposé of the secretive and exploitive funeral industry.

[Nikia]

4. My husband got it for me for Christmas and I think that there is a point to it "Spoilers"

I was hoping that Duers would get it because the reviewers on Amazon don't seem to. I think that it is about our responsibilities to ourselves, our families, and society. All the characters were deficient in these aspects, including the guy who died who neglected his family somewhat. Even though Fats and Krystal bore the brunt of the responsibility for Robbie's death, it was telling how many other people neglected him as well. The only person who tried to save him was the persecuted Sikh girl (sorry forgot the spelling of her name). In that act and giving him and Krystal a proper funeral, she was able to come out of her misery and stop cutting herself. I think that there are some other themes as well. I think that I need to read it again though and perhaps find some kind of study guide on it.
I think this book is trying to say something. I don't think that it's really meant to be enjoyable, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a good book.