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The Casual Vacancy Hardcover – 27 Sep 2012

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J. K. Rowling (Author)
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J. K. Rowling (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars 3,854 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown; First Edition edition (27 Sept. 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 140870420X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1408704202
  • Product Dimensions: 16.1 x 4.3 x 23.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3,854 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 34,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

This is a wonderful novel. JK Rowling's skills as a storyteller are on a par with RL Stevenson, Conan Doyle and PD James. Here, they are combined with her ability to create memorable and moving characters to produce a state-of-England novel driven by tenderness and fury (Melvyn Bragg, The Observer)

A needle-sharp and darkly comic expose of today's class-ridden society . . . A highly readable morality tale for our times (Emma Lee-Potter, Daily Express)

The Casual Vacancy is a stunning, brilliant, outrageously gripping and entertaining evocation of British society today. [J.K. Rowling] has done a rather brave thing and pulled it off magnificently (Henry Sutton, The Mirror)

One marvels at the skill with which Rowling weaves such vivid characters in and out of each other's lives (Christopher Brookmyre, The Daily Telegraph)

Heartbreaking - turning the page seems unbearable, but not as much as putting down the book would be (Deepti Hajela, Associated Press)

An exquisite and occasionally moving black comedy . . . The acid test - I suspect it would do well even if its author's name weren't J.K. Rowling (David Robinson, Scotsman)

A big, ambitious, brilliant, profane, funny, deeply upsetting and magnificently eloquent novel of contemporary England . . . This is a deeply moving book by somebody who understands both human beings and novels very, very deeply (Lev Grossman, Time Magazine)

Insightful, meaningful, daring and resolutely challenging to tabloid assumptions regarding the moral worth of individuals (Scotland on Sunday)

The action bowls along compellingly, most of the characters are vividly drawn and there are some sharp - often very sharp - observations about their social pretensions . . . a bold and distinctive effort (The Sunday Telegraph)

This is a novel of insight and skill, deftly drawn and, at the end, cleverly pulled together. It plays to her strengths as a storyteller (The Economist)

The Casual Vacancy is a brilliant novel, entertaining, intelligent, moving, passionate and hard-hitting; touching on familiar subjects but approaching them with great originality and skill. Moreover, it's unputdownable . . . The novel is a triumph (Irish Times)

Rowling is a great storyteller with a clear eye and a warm heart, and The Casual Vacancy is a moving and immensely pleasurable novel (Sunday Business Post Ireland)

Book Description

The first adult novel by J.K. Rowling

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsKrystal's progress
By Dave on 30 Sept. 2012
Format: Hardcover
Oh dear! There seems to so much negativity on this review board that it is difficult to start a positive review without dealing with some of it. I think I will therefore start with some advice as to who shouldn't buy this book, this might save some people some money and also stop this board from filling up with largely unhelpful 1 star reviews.
Don't buy it is you resent paying a tenner. That's how much it costs. It's a new book by a much loved best -selling author and you're reading it within a few days of publication. Get over it.
Don't buy it if you want a roller-coaster fast- moving plot. This is a quietly written character driven novel that requires a bit of patience and thought. It needs its length for the many characters to develop. You can't really comment on it until you've read it right to the end.
Don't expect any magic. This is a starkly realistic novel. I would view this as one of its strengths but if you can't take "warts and all" characterisations of ordinary people and some pretty unsavoury behaviour than stay away.
Don't buy it if you have knee jerk political opinions. Many people seem to see this book as a snobbish and judgemental duffing up of the poor old squeezed middles. This isn't in fact the case, everybody gets a pretty good duffing up but if you believe everything it says in The Daily Mail (or The Guardian for that matter) it might be an idea to stay away :-)
You need to have a bit of patience with the characters. They are not at first sight loveable (any of them) but if you've read the first few chapters and have decided (correctly) that Samantha is a first class bitch and Fats is an appalling little shit then please give them a little more time. Character development is a lot of the point of this book.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsWell-Written and Undeniably Thought-Provoking
By George on 3 Jan. 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
My desire to read this book stemmed purely from a love of J.K. Rowling's previous work (You-Know-What, or They-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named). From the off, I knew to expect something different. I'd seen the poster at the books store. It stated categorically that her new book was for adults (funnily enough, this poster was in the children's section). Regardless, I knew that I was going to read whatever she brought out next, having already been impressed by her writing skill. Yes, before I'd even begun reading, I had "baggage"; expectations of a certain standard of story-telling. Once the book was out, I heard a number of bad reviews. I was not put off, and I was not disappointed.

Pagford is a picturesque, parochial town with cobbled streets and quaint little cottages. Just beyond is the council estate, The Fields; a crime-ridden, concrete-crumbling embarrassment to the Pagford old guard. When Councillor Barry Fairbrother dies suddenly, leaving his seat in Pagford Parish Council open - a Casual Vacancy - old grudges break to new grievances. The council are divided by pro-Fielders and those who wish to see Pagford restored to its supposed former glory. It soon becomes clear, as the town's pretty façade begins to crack, that this division will inevitably lead to a disastrous conclusion.

This Dickensian approach, of telling the story of a town, rather than a character, is a marvellous example of just how good an author J.K. Rowling is. She weaves a rich tapestry of characters and situations together in a masterful and undeniably thought-provoking way. This story is told from the different perspectives of a number of complex personalities, young and old. For instance, you'll find yourself casting judgement on an individual; only to have your opinion receded by the next chapter.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsA good book. Maybe not a nice one
By Mike Robbins on 12 Jun. 2015
Format: Paperback
J. K. Rowling’s first “adult book” certainly generated some interest. In its first week, it sold 124,000 copies in the UK and three times that in the USA. It also got a good kicking from some of the critics, and readers – after all, Rowling is quite a target. She is rich (worth about £620m, according to Sky News, though one wonders how they can know). She is massively successful as a writer and generates plenty of jealousy (another writer once accused her of “sucking the air” out of the market, apparently). She is politically on the left despite a massive fortune. Many critics, I am sure, would have liked this book to be rubbish; they could then wag their fingers and say, well, she’s a one-trick pony, isn’t she? All she can do is wizards really.

They must be disappointed. Rowling really is a good writer, and The Casual Vacancy is a good book. Whether it’s a very nice one is another question.

The Casual Vacancy is a portrait of Pagford, a small town in the West of England, said to be based on the one where Rowling grew up (she has never confirmed this). It begins with the death of a decent local councillor who has opposed attempts to shut down the town’s methadone clinic and to rid the town of responsibility for the local sink estate – “project”, in American parlance – called the Fields. The election that follows for the dead man’s council seat is the frame upon which Rowling has hung her portrait of the town’s people.

They fall into three basic categories: smug, ineffectual, and disgusting.

The smug include the conservative “first citizen” of Pagford, Council chairman Howard, a shop and cafe owner, 65 years old, of mighty girth and opinions; and his wife, Shirley.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsThree Stars

I found this very disappointing.

Published 21 hours ago by Charles Knox
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great book

Published 3 days ago by Niti
3.0 out of 5 starsThree Stars

As a novel too disjointed

Published 3 days ago by Jim
4.0 out of 5 starsGood holiday read

Read this book recently. Picked it up in desperation from the hotel book exchange. Couldn't put it down. Gripped me from the first page. Read more

Published 6 days ago by Anchri
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Different cover.

Published 8 days ago by jull
1.0 out of 5 starsOne Star

Unreadable

Published 16 days ago by Paul Millar
3.0 out of 5 starsRather disappointing

I would not recommend this book if you want an insightful novel although it works well on a more mundane page turning book. Because it is written by J.K. Read more

Published 17 days ago by martin from herts
5.0 out of 5 starsGripping throughout

In The Casual Vacacy JK Rawlings demonstrates an extraordinary eye for the detail of human interaction and keen understanding of our frailties. Read more

Published 17 days ago by David Jones
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Casual Vacancy

My attention was held by the narrative. Although I dislike foul language and tales of sordid behaviour, in this story all was necessary to set the scene and describe the characters... Read more

Published 24 days ago by Vivien
5.0 out of 5 starsCompelling insight into,

How small town narrow mindedness can make adults behave like children, I found it slightly slow going at first but became hooked halfway through and couldn't put it down.

Published 24 days ago by Kindle Customer

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