Bookseller Reviews
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Definitely worth the wait!
This is the story of how one event, in this case the death of Barry Fairbrother, can change, and in some cases ruin, the lives of so many others. On the ou... READ MORE
Went into this with an open mind
J K Rowling proves, to me at least, that she understands teenagers. Even non-magical ones... The plot centred around a varied group of people in a small to... READ MORE
Definitely not Harry Potter!
I was the generation that truly grew up with the advent of Harry Potter, so when JK Rowling announce a new adult novel, it was almost like one of the write... READ MORE
Darker Than I Expected.....
I knew this wasn't going to be like Potter but I was still suprised by how heavy and deep this was- the subject matter not the readability.
There is quite ... READ MORE
A Whole New World
J.K. Rowling proves herself a great writer with 'The Casual Vacancy'. It is an examination of the residents of the quiet town of Pagford and its imposing n... READ MORE
A Brilliant Listen
You don't need me to tell you the plot- you just want to know what J.K.Rowlings first novel for adults was like to listen to.
Well let me tell you- it was ... READ MORE
Synopsis
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.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
- ISBN: 9780751552867
- Number of pages: 576
- Dimensions: 198 x 153 x 38 mm
- Weight: 394g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allHarry Potter this is NOT
Like most of the reviewers I was not sure what to expect with this book. I must admit the four letter words were a little bit over used for my taste. Howev... READ MORE
The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling
Slow to start, but once you know a bit about everyone you can't put the book down. Keeps you gripped to the end.
I hope J.K. writes another one for adults.
A novel for grown-ups
I was completely hooked from the first chapter and I have to say it’s a long time since I read a novel that made me both laugh and cry. J K R has created a... READ MORE
Brilliantly brutal
It's took me a long time to read this novel. I've started it twice and stopped finding it rather unrelenting grim. So why 5 stars? Because I've now sat dow... READ MORE
A long and sombre read
I accept that it is difficult for J K Rowling to follow her brilliant Harry Potter series and so perhaps it is easy to criticise when she is so highly accl... READ MORE
J.K. Rowling is brilliant, no matter what she is writing about!
The Casual Vacancy gives readers a glimpse into a small English town as it conducts a parish council election. Though the politics are small, the drama is ... READ MORE
Stuck with it... loved it
I hated this book when I first started reading it. I felt JK Rowling was desperately trying to cast off the "children's writer" tag by peppering the dialog... READ MORE
Amaizing read!!!!
Like lots of us I waited patiently for JK new book … Started reading the moment I got it and then, to be honest after few chapters I put it down… It starte... READ MORE
Brilliant!
I have to admit that as a huge Harry potter fan I was sceptical about J.K.Rowling's new book. I was so pleasantly surprised when I read it, finding it as g... READ MORE
Wonderful characters
Not my normal read but enjoyed it very much. The characters are superb. Such a wonderful insight into people's characters. It was so much better than the ... READ MORE
A really good read
I really enjoyed 'The Casual Vacancy' and would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting, gripping and clever read. Rowling has a brilliant way of... READ MORE
Brilliant portrait of small time Middle England
What a wonderful book. I saw all the publicity for this when it came out and took too much notice of the media coverage which slammed it following the auth... READ MORE
South Riding meets Shameless
A kindly local councillor dies, leaving an unexpectedly large hole in the fabric of a community. The subsequent election to fill the titular casual vacancy... READ MORE
Its definatly different
I loved HP so thought I'll give it a go its difficult both in the fact that it jumps back and forward, the other difficult fact is that I suffered a Brain ... READ MORE
Small town antics unearthed.
‘The Casual Vacancy’ by author J.K. Rowling was an enjoyable read which, once well acquainted with the characters and their intertwining lives, the story w... READ MORE
Stick to childrens books
If this is the best J K can do in adult fiction then I think she should stick to childrens novels.
Right from the start I found this book unbelievably bori... READ MORE
Bring back Harry Potter all is forgiven
If you read any of the Harry Potter books you could forgive their lack of style and elegance as they are, in essence, good old fashioned narratives with ch... READ MORE
What a let down!
After all the hype and "shall I, shan't I?" I eventually pre-ordered this book. I needn't have bothered, it was just words on a page, I should have trusted... READ MORE
Unexpected, yet still a good read
I was eager to read 'The Casual Vacancy' as J.K. Rowling is (typically) one of my favourite authors due to how spell-bound I was with the Harry Potter work... READ MORE
Not what I had in mind
Having taken no more than two days to read each of the Harry Potter books, I expected to be just as entralled with The Casual Vacancy and have it finished ... READ MORE
Great!! I loved it!
Pagford is a little town in the middle of nowhere but everyone knows everyone and a simple event has consequences for everyone. I loved how she manages to ... READ MORE
More please!
An unusual premise for a book but a brilliant, character led story which I thoroughly enjoyed, couldn't put down and didn't want to end!
The people in the ... READ MORE
Tedious
Well I finished it! But boy it was hard work.I found this book to be an unpleasant read, full of horrible characters (except for 2) with petty minded preju... READ MORE
It takes a while to get in to...
My first impression of it was that it's a little bit... clunky, the book is densely populated with a rich variety of characters and it is a little hard to ... READ MORE
An enjoyable read
Although it may be impossible for any future J.K. Rowling book to ever live up to the phenomenon that was Harry Potter, I was thrilled to hear that J.K was... READ MORE
Dreadful
Just finished reading J K Rowling - The Casual Vacancy. I did not enjoy this book at all. Sorry to say I would not recommend it.
The Casual Vacancy
This is the first J K Rowling book I've read, not being a Harry Potter fan, but loved this book. Great realistic characters and found myself hoping that Kr... READ MORE
Okay
Initially, this novel was very hard to get into to. Due to the many different characters it was confusing to follow them and relate to them. At the start, ... READ MORE
My first encounter with the works of J.K.Rowling
This book is an easy read that's sparsely peppered with words or jargon that require an on-hand dictionary. I anticipated more from the crescendoes in the ... READ MORE
Eat All bran without milk. easier to digest.
Difficult book to read. Read it through, but will have to read it again in a year or two to understand it. Disappointed read. Annoyed I'd bought it.
Excellent read
This is a very good read even more so considering jk rowlings terrible potter books. Really well written, will get poor reviews compared to the potter seri... READ MORE
Disappointing!
I was looking forward to reading this book, but it was a big let down. I was very disappointed all throughout the book.
I really enjoyed it
Fascinating cast of vivid characters makes it one of my favourite books this year.
A wonderful read
Very amusing book in parts. Could not help but laugh out loud with the language used. It is 21st story telling at it's best. The author has a given us a vi... READ MORE
Too much, too soon...
Unfortunately, for JK Rowling, she received too much, too soon. The success of the Harry Potter series propelled her into the spotlight and fans of the boo... READ MORE
True to life
I along with millions of others loved Harry Potter and I think the reason being you identify with the charectors and care about what happens to them and th... READ MORE
great book
This is a great book I could not put it down, I just wanted to know what was going to be next. Loved it. I hope JK Rowling writes another book like this.
Very mixed feelings - slightly disappointed
I pre-ordered 'Casual Vacancy' and eagerly anticipated it's arrival all summer! I was slightly disappointed though I have to say. I have read all of the Ha... READ MORE
I enjoyed this .....
I think to really appreciate this book you should put all thoughts of
HP right out of your mind, and read the book for what it is, a wonderful > Adults < b... READ MORE
Awful
Unbelievably disappointing! I had to make myself finish this book. So predictable an ending: I had such great expectations and it is the first time I have ... READ MORE
enjoyable reaD
An enjoyable read - but not as good as the hype. More about teenagers than adults - I had expected it to be more about the prospective candidates for the C... READ MORE
Surprisingly good
Jk has the "unfortunate" legacy of the Harry Potter series, but has managed to move on very well. After the incredible imagination of Pottter, now a surpri... READ MORE
Unenjoyable
Having never read Harry Potter I was very keen to read this book, however, it was a struggle to finish it. I found the characters were less than believable... READ MORE
Smart Casual
The Casual Vacancy needs to be looked at in the same way guns n roses chinese
democracy needs to be looked at like Axl Rose's side project, with nothing be... READ MORE
I liked this
Good book
casual vacancy
A real page turner. Lots of characters all not as they would at first appear. A pleasure to read and can't wait for her next book.
A good little read
This is a book I struggled with at first mainly as one just cant stop thinking who wrote it and the words Harry and Potter keep floating around in front of... READ MORE
Really enjoyed it
Having read previous reviews I wasn't sure if I'd like this book but I enjoyed it! I think J.K Rowling has managed to break into a different genre quite we... READ MORE
I liked this
Good book
Best book I have read all year
This book could not be more different from the books JK Rowling is known for. I love her style, where the end of a chapter makes you want to read on.
Tom ... READ MORE
disappointing
I was expecting a lot when i preordered this book. So was dissappointed when i started reading it. It took me a while to get into it because i found it a d... READ MORE
Rambling
I finally managed at the 3rd attempt to listen to this story to the end. Not an easy book to get in to, found some descriptive parts unnecessary and as men... READ MORE
Dispel all thoughts of H**** P*****
Wow. This book left me to the very last sentence open-mouthed at the infallible storytelling skills of JK Rowling.
That’s not to say that it wasn’t a diff... READ MORE
Bewildered
The story dashes around the village and town at a furious pace. You have to have a good memory to recall who is who when you put the book down. As stated v... READ MORE
Amazing.
I was quite worried that this book wouldn't be as enjoyable or as gripping as the Harry Potter books, I was wrong, this new book shows that J.K. Rowling is... READ MORE
Fab
The Casual Vacancy was, to begin with, a shock to me. I'd heard reviews of 'Potter to potty-mouth' and I was aware that Rowling had emphasised clearly in e... READ MORE
Complicated but brilliant.
Very complex initially with so many different characters, and repetitive in some way too.
However once the story develops it is a very immersive one. I th... READ MORE
Thought it was going to be wonderful ...
Our village has an active Parish Council so I expected the book to be fun, insightful, probably containing laughs and honesty. I found it nasty. The char... READ MORE
worth reading
An immersing story, not one to pep you up, but needed and genuine.
I really wanted to like this book
The characterisations are very good, the description of the village vs. town are “spot on.” Unfortunately Ms Rowling appears to dislike most of her charac... READ MORE
Casual vacancy, casual reading, incredible talent
For an author who was linked in ink and blood with the Wizarding World for more than a decade, this book must have been a personal challenge. For the intel... READ MORE