Book Review: 'The Casual Vacancy'

Enter a small, quaint town full of conflict, immorality, and secrecy: Pagford. Set in the present day, following the lives of seemingly ordinary married couples, single adults, teenagers, and children alike, The Casual Vacancy contains realistic, yet very dark themes. The plot is set in motion when one of the most important members of the tight knit community, Barry Fairbrother, drops dead without warning. He had held an important seat on the town's council, and now that there's a vacancy, people are eager to fill the position. The only trouble is that the people desperate to fill Barry's position are not necessarily the most honest, open minded bunch. One of the main issues in the community is the recently constructed, less wealthy area of Pagford, known as The Fields. Former council member Barry had plans to keep supporting The Fields as part of Pagford, and to help its poor, often neglected residents. But the majority of new contestants for the council seat want to cut The Fields out of Pagford's budget altogether. In a series of often heart wrenching experiences, the vast variety of characters undergo the struggle of continuing to live in such a problem strewn community. It's a story about loneliness, corruption, acceptance, abuse, and family.

This book is an extremely far cry from Harry Potter, no doubt about it. The writing style is starkly different and the content is geared towards a much more mature audience. While the story is hard to read at times, especially when a character is going through something incredibly painful and challenging, the plot is captivating in its own way. It reveals how, no matter what community someone lives in, people keep dark secrets hidden from not only the public, but their own family as well. It also warns against indifference to situations that obviously need correcting and how the lack of action can cost people their lives. Some of the characters are easy to become attached to and sympathize with, while others invoke disgust and repulsion. A character isn’t simply a name and a face in this novel: they all have a history, a family, a home, a dream. They all have the good and bad in them, and both sides of their personality are revealed for the reader to judge.

While you might consider yourself nothing like any of the characters, the book makes you question your own beliefs and stance on certain social topics. One thing to definitely keep in mind if you plan to read this book: it's not for someone who wants a lighthearted, pleasant read. It delves into some of the darkest moral issues that exist in society today: drug addiction, all forms of abuse, suicide, stealing, sexism, and more. And, just like reality, not everybody gets a happy ending.

If you can digest all of that, you glean the important messages that J.K. Rowling conveys with her descriptive language. Would I call this a particularly fun, easy read? Definitely not; it takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions that aren’t positive. It’s very hard to read this book with apathy, because your own sense of right and wrong tend to emerge as you progress in the plot. But I would recommend it to those who look for themes between the lines and want a more serious, reality based novel.