The Casual Vacancy

Author: J.K. Rowling

Genre: Tragicomedy

Rating: B

When I was a teenager I stumbled across the comedic styling of George Carlin almost by accident.  I was flipping channels while waiting for the parents of the kids I was babysitting to come home, the kids having been put to bed, and I found this comedy special that caught my attention.  The entire time I was watching it I was trying to figure out where I knew the comic from, but I just couldn't place him.  Then, all of a sudden, he told me stating that he'd been Mr. Conductor and I realized that this man who had been cursing up a storm was from one of my favourite shows as a child, Shining Time Station.  It was really rather jarring.

I had a similar feeling in reading The Casual Vacancy, although I knew the entire time where I knew the author from.  Vacancy is so unlike the Harry Potter books that if you go into it expecting magic you'll be sourly disappointed.  I'm not sure how much I went into it expecting magic and how much I went in with no expectations. It did take me a while to really get into this novel and I was thoroughly shocked when topics and language that were so unlike the ones utilized in Harry Potter.  Perhaps I was expecting some magic.

The Casual Vacancy follows the little town of Pagford after the death of Parish Councillor Barry Fairbrother, particularly the many people affected in some way or another by Fairbrother's death.  The issue at hand, beyond the actual death, is the case of the Fields, a rundown and poor local estate that some town members wish to be rid off because of the way in which it degrades the reputation of the town.  Among the adult characters factions form between those who are in favour of the Fields, or simply want to honour Fairbrother's memory, and those who wish to be rid of it all.  The younger generation is no less divided, although somewhat less so on the issue of for or against the Fields.  Through its course, Vacancy covers the huge issues of class, politics, drugs, prostitution, rape, bullying, sex, sexuality, suicide, and race.

This book is immense, both in size and scope, and as such I found it really took a lot to get into.  The big problem of Vacancy is that there are so many characters and it's such a negative world that things seem really bleak and dark and ugly.  It wasn't until I was about half way through the novel that I realized I was hooked on it, and even further in that I realized that I was thoroughly attached to some of the characters.  Things had to really start going wrong for them before I realized I cared.  I think a big problem that this novel has is the comparison to Harry Potter, which is unfair to Rowling.  Vacancy may not have the magic of her previous series, nor even the joy of it, but it's still a wonder to read.  The style is different but the writing is still magnificent.  There are weak moments, as their are in Harry Potter, but I enjoyed it overall - once I realized that I was hooked on.