As you should know by now, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. Most people who know me think I’m a little weird due to my extreme love for this book series. Well, like most Potter fans, when I heard that the genius behind the story had written another book I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on whatever this new novel was going to be.
Then the press release came out. It was revealed that JK Rowling’s new novel was called The Casual Vacancy and would be about the ripples caused by the death of a man on the council of a small town in London. I remember staring at the official description in shock at how boring it sounded.
But this is JK Rowling we’re talking about. Surely anything written by her would be good. It couldn’t possibly be bad, right? Alas, yes, it could.
I bought this book when it came out on September 27 and only just finished it last week (part of why I posted no blogs, I was on a mission to finish this thing). For the first 150-200 pages I actually fell asleep every time I tried to read. I think the most I got through before battling sleep was 15 pages. That is not normal for me.
JK Rowling wrote the book from the perspective of nearly every character that featured and almost none of them were likable. It wasn’t just a matter of them being flawed, which they were, but I genuinely had difficulty caring what happened to most of them.
The plot (I use that term very loosely) gets more interesting the last 100 pages or so, which mainly means I no longer struggled to stay awake. It wasn’t until the last 20 pages where I actually felt invested and cared about the events taking place. And then it was depressing.
I am sure that there are some people who would enjoy this book, but I am not one of them. Most of my fellow Potter obsessed friends didn’t even finish the book. I think part of the problem is that the genre is so completely different from what made Rowling famous that it reached the wrong audience. If this book had had any name on it other than Rowling I wouldn’t have even considered purchasing it because it didn’t sound like anything I would ever enjoy reading. The writing itself was still great and there were even times when I could hear the writing voice I loved so much from Potter, but pretty words are not what keeps me turning the pages late into the night when I should be asleep.
I think it is pretty evident that my reading of The Casual Vacancy was a colossal disappointment, but I am still hesitant to give the blanket advise not to read it. Instead, what I would say is, if you read the description inside the jacket and it sounds like the type of book you would normally enjoy, give it a shot. If not, leave it be and just be content to reread Harry Potter.
Have you read (or attempted to read) The Casual Vacancy? What did you think? Did you find it as boring as me or do you think I’m crazy and that it is a fantastic read? Let me know in the comments.
Well, now I want to read it. I am not a Harry Potter fan, so when a book came out by the same author I figured it wouldn’t be my kind of thing. But, maybe if it is that different it will be something I like. I think there is definitely a place for quiet novels and some of them are ones I love. The description is short, so I’m not sure, but I loved “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” which was about a retired major in a small england town who falls in love with a somewhat shocking member of the community. I literally couldn’t sleep because I kept turning the pages. I think, for me, it’s really about the characters. So, once it’s in paperback, I’m going to read it. Yes, I’m going to be cheap in case I don’t like it.
I agree, a book really is about the characters. For me personally, I didn’t connect with the vast majority of the characters, but there were a few I did end up caring about. I think it’s smart to wait for the paperback just in case, but who knows, maybe you will love it! Whenever you do read it let me know what you think.
I’m a huge Potter fan, and I loved it! It took me a week to get through it, but that was more due to school. I think I finished it in two or three sittings. Anyway, I liked it a lot. Except for maybe the end. I feel like it was added to bring more drama into it, and it didn’t feel necessary to me. I do understand why a lot of Potter fans won’t enjoy it, but I didn’t expect so many of them to hate it. Especially those who are now in their twenties or even older. I grew up reading them, and I wouldn’t go as far as saying I grew out of them, but I did move on to adult novels. (I do still read young adult and even children’s books) , and I expected a lot of the other fans to have too. Of course that doesn’t mean you’ll like this particular book, but I just don’t see many flaws in it.
This is my goodreads, maybe that can give an idea of my general taste in books.
I don’t think it’s the fact that this book is adult vs YA so much as it’s in a genre so completely different from fantasy. It felt very soap opera-y to me in the formula that it followed. It was kind of episodic as it followed the daily lives of all these different people who were connected to each other. The death of Barry and the election to fill his seat just happened to be the event we were watching their reactions to, but it could have been anything. I honestly don’t really even know how to explain the plot to people because I didn’t feel there was much of one. If it had been any other author I wouldn’t have finished the book. But to each his own. I’m actually really glad to know that there is someone who loved the book! Thank you for sharing your different perspective.
P.S. I glanced at your goodreads and there were quite a few books you had listed that I love as well, mostly the classics and historical fiction. Those are my favorite genres along with fantasy.
You’re right, if you don’t link the genre, you won’t like this book. I just thought it was interesting to get a glimpse into such a small community, that pretty much is a mirror of the ‘greater society’ we live in. I thought it was marvellous how she was able to get inside these different characters. But I do get your point. After all it all comes down to taste.
Now, that is true about all the meaning and things you could pull out and analyze. I can totally see this becoming a book that is used as a study tool in lit classes down the road. I just found it dull as dirt, lol.
This reminds me of the other lackluster stuff Stephenie Meyer has written. I’m not a Happy Potter fan, and only minimally cared about Twilight, so I’m not the right audeince. Or maybe I am? Maybe I would like this Rowling novel better?
I’m not really familiar with the other things Meyer has written, but I don’t think it’s comparable at all. I believe Meyer stayed in the sci-fi/fantasy world, while this book is set in the real world. In our world. I think you should give it a try. If you like classics, I think you’ll enjoy it.
You might. It’s basically a book that is just about the lives of a whole bunch of people and uses this small election as the thing that propels their actions. If I had connected to the characters more I may have enjoyed the book, so perhaps you will. It’s certainly worth a shot. I’d say if you aren’t into it within about 50 pages you can set it aside. The improvement as the book goes on isn’t enough to warrant trudging through the whole thing if you aren’t already hooked.
I know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (and how many of us do) but the cover turned me away from it. If it didn’t have her name on the front, as you say, would it sell?
I might get it out of the library all the same.
I glanced at a few pages of the book while in a store to see how much of her writing voice from the HP books still remained – not very much, it seems. I may check it out more some day, but right now I have too many other books to read.
I always assumed that the next thing Rowling wrote would be totally different from the HP books. That’s why I decided to write my own story about Hogwarts – just to help keep her world alive and growing. Who knew I’d end up loving to write fiction. Strange how these things work. Thanks for the mini review.
I’m about a third of the way through the book; it is a slow starter and there are a lot of characters and a lot happening. I am however enjoying the book but I understand why you don’t. I’m British and I find the characters, society, and general feel of the book relatable to modern day Britain. The goings on of this book do actually happen. I find the book is brutally honest and I think this is one of the reasons people are so harsh about it – because people don’t want to talk about the issues but try to brush them under the carpet and they find it depressing. I think this must be a personal story for JKR because she lived off benefits herself and dealt with the stigma attached to the poorer community. This is especially important now with the Conversatives in government who only care for the wealthy upper class.
I think this is a book for people who are interested in these issues. Anyway, hope I didn’t bore you with my essay! Haha. And I also love HP