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2013 | Fiction & Poetry
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade 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? A big novel about a small town, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults. It is the work of a storyteller like no other.
J.K. Rowling
(Author)
| Published by | Little, Brown Book Group |
| Edition | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780316228534 |
| Language | English |
Images And Data Courtesy Of: Little, Brown Book Group.
This content (including text, images, videos and other media) is published and used in accordance
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I couldn't believe how much I loved it once I got into its. Full of gritty, believable language and you really get drawn into this provincial town and the people in it.
It's been some months since I read this so I can't recall the finer details but, without spoiling anything I did cry at the end.
Melanie Caldicott (6 KP) rated
Apr 29, 2021
A brutal social commentary illustrating the complex issues surrounding class and problems that society doesn't know how to deal with. It reveals the selfish way humans attempt to shroud themselves protectively in ignorance, clinging to the pleasantries we manufacture in pretence that poverty, suffering and social malaise are not only a stones throw away.
Expect to be taken out of your comfort zone and confronted with stark reality exposing attitudes and prejudices within society and ourselves.
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated
Jan 15, 2018
J.K. Rowlings's first forray into the adult book world is well written, don't get me wrong. She has a true gift in her ability to craft the written word and describes things in a way few other authors can. I just had a very hard time getting in to this book until the last 50 or so pages.
This book tells the tales of several families of all varities in the parrish of Pagford. It is a small town where it seems that evryone has their noses in each other's business and that they know who is who & what is what. The plot flows along following the lives of the various families & showing you how they are all connected, as much as 1 family or person may think they are better than the rest. Of course, the story twists & turns & eventually lets you in to the fact that no really knows what is going on in their neighbor's lives. It is all centered around the sudden death of parrish councillor Berry Fairbrother & the political wranglings around who will fill his seat.
On 1 jand it speaks to the impact that 1 man can have on the people around him. On the other it is a flat lesson on minding your own business. I hope Rowling will attempt more books targeted at an older audience but this one, for me, fell abit short of expectations.