Normally,
when I get a much anticipated book into my hot little hands, I read
it so fast, I seem to miss the tiny details and hidden gems written
inside these great books. Well, this time, I fought the urge to
breeze through and tried to absorb every morsel that J.K. Rowling
served up. Although it was very difficult to keep my excitement in
check, I did it. I read slowly and I enjoyed. I was completely
transported into yet another Rowling world.
Being
a gigantic Harry Potter fan, I was a little shocked at just how
different this world of Pagford was. Rowling wrote of a small little
town that embodied the brutal realities of everyday life. There was
no magic, no good versus evil, just complex human tragedy,
heartbreak, unrest, and all those other things that those of us born
in suburbia like to pretend don't really exist (at least not in our
neighborhoods).
Yes,
the Potter books are dark too, but in Casual Vacancy, the reader must
face something much scarier than Voldemort. The story of Pagford is
page after page of sex, betrayal, drug abuse, physical abuse, mental
illness, bad choices, and guilt.
This
is not some fluffy novel you read to pass the time. There are times
when you are thrust into ugly situations and you are forced to live
through some terrible moments in the lives of the citizens of
Pagford. This may sound terrible, but really, it is an amazing book.
I often find that I have trouble separating what people should be
like and how they really are. This is usually because I often read
books that cast characters in one specific light. They are either
good or evil. Rowling does not do this.
Nobody
in Casual Vacancy is all one or the other. The heroes are hard to
find because their faults are exposed to the reader, and the
so-called “bad guys” also show their vulnerability. Rowling
makes it almost impossible to decide who to put on which team. This
is what I absolutely love about her writing. This is what makes her
characters seem so real. Whether they are in the Harry Potter series
or this very literary novel, we can relate to her characters because
they are true to human nature.
I
highly recommend Casual Vacancy to anyone looking for a breathtaking
novel. The attention to detail that Rowling pays to every character
and every situation blows my mind. She has a way of tyeing the
tiniest moments to huge events. She does not use words to pretty up
the page. Every word has purpose.
Ok,
I could go on and on, but I will leave it up to you to pick up the
book, read slowly, and enjoy.
--Miki
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