Nook Book: Casual Vacancy

Casual Vacancy

by J.K. Rowling

Length: 426 pages

Format: Nook book
Price: $17.99 (I know...but I really wanted to read it!)
Author Website: http://www.jkrowling.com/en_US/ (photo credit)

Basic Premise: When council member Barry Fairbrother drops dead of an anurism, his vacant council seat becomes an object of contention amongst the citizens of Pagford, a small, picturesque English town - well at least, it would be picturesque, if it weren't for "the Fields."  An impoverished and unkempt neighborhood, the Fields finds itself the center of a heated controversy. But, as the story unfolds, whether to continue to support the Fields and the impoverished who live there becomes much more than an issue of mere politics.

My Take: 2 out of 10 (scale here)
I did not like this book.  I knew it was not going to be like Harry Potter, but I did not expect it to be so...adult.  No, adult is the wrong word, because the novel, in large part, focused on teenagers.  I did not expect it to be so dark and vulgar.  The language is filthy.  I had to look up many of the words because much of it is British slang, but that did not help to improve the filth.  The worst part, though, was the characters.  JKR is a stunning master of character development - I truly believe it is one of her greatest strengths as a writer.  The problem with these characters is that they were atrocious human beings.  They were like what I imagine would be the Dirsley's inner circle. There was not a single character in the story with whom I would want to be friends.  

Short rabbit trail that will (I think) communicate what I mean without giving away any of the story: A few semesters ago my husband had several classes with the same guy and girl.  As a result, they studied and hung out together quite a bit on campus.  Rick told me about a conversation this guy had with this girl as they were eating one day.  He (who is very attractive) told her (who is also attractive) he would not be friends with her if she were fat.  And Rick vouched for the truth of the statement - he was that kind of guy.  This story bothered me for many reasons, but I found myself in disbelief that someone would actually be that shallow.  Now take that kind of mentality and project it on to each character in this ensemble cast.  Every last one of them seemed so shallow, self-seeking, and dirty.  I hope people don't actually think like this.  Perhaps I am naive.

I know there is an underlying message of social injustice and the massive unfairness of poverty and those who are clinging to the fringes of society, and I believe I caught it.  Even though I am quite far removed from these harsh realities, I know there are people who exist like this, parents who raise their kids like this, children who think it's okay to live like this - but for me, this was a slimy excursion into the darkness of lives lived in the pursuit of the instant, the here, the now.  I suppose that in and of itself could be some good gleaned from this book - reinforcement that earthly gain will never be enough to satisfy.

That said, this is not a book I recommend.  Perhaps I am being too hard on it...?  I don't know - I tend to guard my precious reading time carefully, so wasting it on something like this is quite irritating...