The Casual Vacancy Book Reviews

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Return on Investment. I tried reading this in 2012 and couldn’t get through it. For some reason, I decided why not try again? So I got through the first part, and as I got into uncharted territory, I found it better and better. The ending was heavy and quite good, solid even. This is the story of a small town where everyone knows each other. You might know of such a town near you, or you might even hail from one. There’s a good deal of setup for all of these people, these characters, and that’s where I find most people fall off the wagon. But it’s required reading. Once everyone begins to have their stories intermingle with one another, the story takes on an amazing new light. This is not an archetypical tale of good versus evil, but rather a shrunk-down view of the society we actively exist within. In each human character are prides and follies, and those often form the most volatile of this tale’s chemical reactions. I didn’t like many people at all in the beginning, but the people of Pagford grew on me much like my own neighbors have over time. By the end, it felt like a real place with real people. So if you’re looking for an unabashed slice of life, a telescope into raw honesty, then perhaps you’re due a visit to Pagford as well.

It Takes Too Long to Get to the Good Stuff. The novel began halfway thru the book. It is not bad but it could have been much much better!

Casual Vacancy. In my opinion the author tried to skate on her reputation with this. For me it was so dull, that after several attempts to start it, I put it down and went on to another book. Remember these reviews are opinions and reading the freebies is a great way to get a taste of the story. Unfortunately, I didn't get enough of a bite and spent the fuller price to get the real book to go on my bookshelf with her other tombs. Now I probably can't even sell it for the price to ship it used.

The Casual Vacancy. I knew to expect a more adult-themed read, but this is pretty bleak. The plotting all comes together towards the end though. Not a bad book, but this was a struggle to get through.

Yes, this is a good one!. This book isn't meant to be a new Harry potter. This is a real book. And it's really good.

Disappointing. Complex plot that meanders to the end. Almost need a chart to keep tract of the characters. Had to really work to finish the book, not an entertaining read.

Very discouraging, no one to root for. Not recommended.

Awesome. Didn't expect anything less from her.

Depressing. This book leads with incredible depression and despair. I could not get past the first 80 or 90 pages. Yes, she writes with great insight that is sharp as I've ever read, but she chose such a sad, lost, huge cast that it was feeling like being caught in a hailstorm of porcupines. I don't need bouncy Potter stories, but neither do I want to drown in poisonous characters.

A Bit Too Much. At first I was really enjoying this book, (even with the darker tone) but at about page 20 it just exploded into a hurricane of cussing. I was hopeful that it would just be a bad section of the book, but it didn't seem to stop. If you are okay with this, then I want you to know that this is still a beautifully written book and I would definitely recommend it to you.

Dumb. You have to be a brit to understand this one.

Horribly Vacant. This was the worst book I have ever read!!! The characters were mean, and the plot was extremely complicated. A huge Harry Potter fan, but this was by far a terrible book.

Wait. Why JK change her nickname again?

Horribly written and boring.. Horribly written and boring. Don't waste your money or time.

The darker side.. A heart breaking story that reveals the pettiness, cruelty and class-conscious trappings of small town life. Hits hard in spots but the journey is worth taking.

Very good read!!!. It starts off slow in beginning, but definitely engages you. It's not the best on iBooks though. It didn't sync with my other devices, so it was hard to figure out where I left off, even with pages bookmarked.

This is a bad book, period.. First off, let’s get this out of the way: I don’t care one bit about the price. $9 for an e-book is a fair price. But any price for a bad book is a bad price. The story is bland. The characters are flat. There wasn’t a single element that made me care about what happens in the end. I tried my best to slog it up, but I gave up halfway through. The bottom line is, if this book was written by John Jones and not J.K. Rowling, it probably wouldn’t have been published. I know that Rowling is a national treasure in Britain, and people all around the world adore her. I myself read every Harry Potter book as they were published. But that only feeds my disappointment in A Casual Vacancy. This is a boring book.

A bit of a chore. No, this is not a happy book and no, it's nothing like Harry Potter. Neither is a reason to fault a book and we all know the author is an accomplished writer but the shot gun like style of this book made it a chore for me to read. The reader needs to take in the identities any relationships of almost all of the 25 major and minor characters in the first few chapters. The narrative skips around quickly between vignettes make the use of pronouns problematic. All the way through the book I found myself asking "Which one is Tess married to and what's her kid's name? It's probably better on second reading but I'm exhausted and There are other books to read.

Powerful and provocative. Brilliant depth to characters, insightful look into society and the profound ways the life of one impacts so many others.

The Casual Vacancy. This gave a face to economic and cultural divisions as they effect children from different walks of life. Though a tragedy, it manages to unite two diverse cultures in an ultimately important way. It offers hope that the next generation shall be wiser...

Perfect!. JK Rowling proves she can fascinate and spellbinding even under the guise of another name, genre and for a different audience. Long live her masterful and engaging style!!!

Great book. You don't have to be a Brit to understand this book. It's awesome. It takes a longer time to get through a page due to the detailed descriptions of human emotions. Very tantalizing, like listening to gossip. who doesn't like that?

Good Read. Harry Potter fans that are looking for another magical fairy tale will not be getting it. I think that's where all of the terrible ratings are coming from. Intelligent look into the human psyche and the way we interact. It's not pretty but it is real and compelling. Very different from Harry potter but a great read in its own right.

Excellent. Wonderful well drawn characters and a very compelling story that seamlessly moves from character to character. Highly recommend.

Superb Character Study. IF YOU LIKE CHARACTER-DRIVEN FICTION, YOU'LL LOVE THIS NOVEL. IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS GENRE, PLEASE FORGET WHO THE AUTHOR IS--AND WHAT SHE'S PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN; YOU'LL HATE IT! (Read the countless negative reviews carefully and you'll see that those who hated CV shouldn't have bought it.) The audience for this book is relatively narrow: readers who enjoy deep character studies. It is not for those who prefer an action-filled plot, mystery, crime, fantasy/magic, etc. Low ratings are easily explained. Too many readers bought this book solely because JK Rowling authored it. Apparently few listened to JKR's warnings pre-release in which she made clear the book's genre. I dislike the Romance genre. If I buy a Romance novel odds are, I'll hate it. The thing is, I wouldn't write a negative review because of this. I should have known better than to waste my money on a book I was sure to hate. This being a genre I love, I found Casual Vacancy enthralling. The people of Pagford represent people everywhere. We wear facades to project ourselves as admirable members of our communities while underneath, hide our shame and countless weaknesses. I may not hide traits as despicable as some of these characters, but I'm not as far removed as I'd like to think. Every character was transformed by the end of this book, not always for the better. For me, the story concluded with a beautiful sense of closure.

The Casual Vacancy. I cannot believe this was written by the author who wrote the brilliant Harry Potter series! I have read the classics, and I believe that the Potter books will one day be listed among them. Therefore, it is with regret that I must rate this book as horrible. So many characters, as to be confusing. Action too slow moving. Time shifts make the story, if one can find it, too difficult to follow. One of the very few books ever that I could not finish. If I were you, Ms. Rowling, I would burn all copies.

Boring. Boring book. Boring movie. Sounded great but just didn't deliver. I'd hoped the movie would succeed where the book failed but it never did. Flat ugly unlovable characters that never get off the ground. Save your money. If you HAVE to read it take the sample first.

OK but flat ending & predictable. There are a lot of interesting characters in this tale but you could see the plot twist coming. It was entirely predictable and felt like I was reading the British version of the movie "The Spitfire Grille" in many ways. The ending needed more work. 2 1/2 stars should be a rating option.

Excellent book. The Casual Vacancy gets off to a bit of a slow start, as we are introduced to the members of several families in a small English town and their various reactions to the sudden death of a popular local councilman who had succeeded in life despite a disadvantaged background. But the pace of the novel picks up as rival factions by for the vacancy he has left on the local council, and soon the novel is as much of a page-turner as the Harry Potter books, as we follow the lives of the teenage children of these families. tThe book does a good job of showing the plight of children born into a life of poverty, addiction and abuse.

Oof. Nope

Sad to have wasted money on this book. Too bad there isn't a second hand market for iBooks. I really tried to get through this, but it's incredibly boring. I appreciate the need to develop characters and story, but come on, get on with it! I'm not waiting to get half way through to get to the story. Life is too short for boring books. There are plenty of good ones out there.

The Casual Vacancy. The book was a revealing testament to the experiences of youth and the relationships between social classes. The problems we are all presented and psychological hardships that we are faced with in our youth whether we are wealthy or not. JK Rowling turns the lives of the characters into our own and challenges us to make difficult, sometimes impossible choices of right and wrong. Sometimes the most deviant of characters are the ones we sympathize with the most. The ending reaffirms we all have a value if given the chance and the attention to be given a role in life. I recommend the book strongly.

Come on people,. I give this five stars stars! It is a good book about romance and war! I know it's not the usual J.K Rowling book, with magic and evil and good, but just because the newspaper reported it was not much fun doesn't mean you should believe them!! I am a J.K Rowling fan, (does not mean I vote this because of this) because she has a,aging book and has a real talent for writing books I would just give this book a chance. It's 10.00 as a tablet form, and yes maybe it was a little expensive as a hard cover, but maybe the publisher just thought it would sell for that much because she is amazing at books!!!!!!!! One stars is a total down fall, at least give it a chance, and maybe you will see it's not so bad after all.😊😊

The Casual Vacancy. I read and enjoyed all the Harry Potter series. I can't say the same of Casual Vacancy due its inability to engage me. Throughout the book I kept waiting for some major unraveling of the story but it never happened.

Fantastic DUD. I had hoped for so much more from this talented writer but was sadly disappointed, had to force myself to finish the book. Loaned it to a friend and he just quit after the first 60 pages, I see too many copies of this book in the charity shops that don't look as if they have been read from start to finish.

Not funny. Perhaps it is because I am not British, but I see no humor in this book whatsoever. It is dark, grim, confusing, and depressing. Also, sadly, boring. I have read this author's other non-Harry Potter fiction, and it was great. This book? I have to say I cannot recommend it. I don't think I can even finish it.

Boring. Worst book I have read. If she had written this book before the Harry Potter books, people probably wouldn't have read them. They would not have given her a second chance. Too bad, I was very disappointed.

Beautiful Character Depth. I'm no Brit, far from it, but I have to say I enjoyed this book. Granted it took me a long time to get through the first third of it, the other two thirds flew by. Rowling is a master of character creation, and proves it once more. It is not a quick paced book, but it has a reality of human nature that I am sure we can all relate to. Those of us that gave it a chance were well rewarded!!!

my personal opinion. This book is beautifully written with some lines that I won't forget for a long time, It's deeply satisfying and the characters are so well created that you can relate them with yourself of people that you know in real life. It was quite emotional, i loved it.

Totally not good. Tried to like this book. Even bought it after being ambivalent about the sample. Wow, just couldn't get past all the people and their issues to figure out the plot or theme of the book. Gave up, abandoning the book I had purchased. Never a good thing. Couldn't get past the first 200 electronic pages. I understand why JK's pen name was exposed. For sales!!

Loved it!. This was a compete surprise & quite frankly not the sort of story i would look for. However, i was completely taken by this story & could not put the book down! Sad, sad story but i an excellent read!

Amazing!. I recommend reading this book if you are a devoted Harry Potter fan. This story is a mystery about the mayor’s death and how it effects the town. J.K. Rowling does blind side you with the unexpected sex scenes, but it is a page turner, and it was hard putting it down due to the english language, I literally felt like I was in London! 5 stars! Fats is my favorite character by the way.

The Casual Vacany. Very disappointing

twist ending. J.K Rowling killed Harry, not Stephanie Myer. ok, I have read it. and i think to myself, "This is the muggle England that Harry Worked so hard to save?" Pro: It is nice to know that J.k Rowling is capable of writing in a different format from Harry Potter, even if it is terrible. Con: The book is dry. It doesn't flow. it gives you no reason to care about the characters. there is no central character, therefore nothing to look forward to and no one to root for. no joke, my favorite character is the dead guy.

The Casual Vacancy. Wasn't sure what to expect from the magnificent Ms Rowling after Harry Potter with which I fell in love after the first page. I must say it's another great read, in a very different way. Don't pay attention to those who thumbed down this book. Characters are so believable and heart-wrenchingly painful to witness. Well done, Ms Rowling!

Severely disappointed. I love harry potter, I must have read all the books at least three times! So when I saw Rowling had written a new non- harry book, I jumped at the opportunity to read it.......and then fell flat on my face. How could the same woman who wrote the beautifully crafted and captivating harry potter series write something that was 500 pages of severe disappointment? You see, this book has no central plot, it just jumps around from one character to another. Each with long, drawn-out histories that rival any Tom Clancy novel. I must have read at least a third of the book, hoping desperately that a plot would emerge...sadly it didn't. My recommendation is that if you want to read it, check it out of your local library, don't waste your money on a big disappointment

The Casual Vacancy. I found this disappointing. Far below Rowling's writing in Harry Potter.

Wow was this book bad. I kept reading hoping it would improve. It doesn't. It's awful. And I liked the Harry Potter books. Depressing, senseless and not even well written. Don't buy it.

Casual vacancy. Well written with believable characters. You become absorbed as you read. Wonderful!

Csunsuzq. A very good read! This story of a small town reminded me of the small town I came from. Casual Vacancy shows all the angst of teenagers, all the good and the bad. The feelings Ms Rawlings brings out in her writing makes you feel like you know these people. I’ve also read the Cormorant Strike series by Ms Rawlings and had the same feelings about those books. Please keep writing more stories like these!!!

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Painful!. I have always been the type of person that will finish a book even if it kills me! This one will kill me! Very disappointing considering her Potter books. Stick to what you do best. It's definitely not adult fiction. Yawn.

Amazing. I like this book very much. I find it to be an interesting read, and an exceptionally well written work. It is easy enough to keep up with all of the major characters, even as the viewpoint is consistently changed through the course of the story. I think a lot of the negativity surrounding other reviews comes from a place where people were essentially looking for something along the same lines as Harry Potter, which, even if you have read only 25 pages, you know that this is not. Although they do seem to contend with some similar themes, TCV does it in a much more open way than HP as it's an adult book. Harry Potter is also very dark at times, but it's clouded by kid-friendly writing. This is not. People have also been saying that it is difficult to keep up with it, but it is an adult novel, so obviously it's going to be a tad more challenging than HP, which was originally meant for children (obviously having appealed to a much wider audience). I say, that if a fifteen year old can read it and take something away from it, so can you, and you'll be glad you did. :)

A Casual Vacancy. Well written, absorbing & full of rich characters! Rawlings draws us into the many interwoven lives of Pagford & makes us care about them.

The Casual Vacancy. I expect better from her. The story about town in Countryside of England. She tries to be very descriptive but lack a true plot or flow of character. She rambles on and on and never really gets to the point. The story could have been told in a short story and been much more compelling. She needs a new idea for a good story instead us wasting good money on this e book. The publisher was just trying to make money use her name knowing that no one would have publish this if it was her first book. Very very bad book!!

A Casual Vacancy. Good read. I couldn't put it down.

Loved it. I'll admit it did take me a while to get in to but only because of all the characters. After I had them all done and started to understand who they are, I read and finished the book in three days. I've always been a fan of her books but I knew that this one is COMPLETELY different, hence ADULT NOVEL. I think she did a great job and what can you say she's a writer and she will write about anything she wants to write.

Real. Good book. It was hard to read simply because I found it brutally real.

Another gem by a true master. Rowling will go down in history as one of the literary giants. She has the ability to reach into the depths of human nature and show us that we are all human, flawed, decent, cruel, selfish, cowardly and brave.

A Casual Vacancy. Wow, Ms. Rowling can write not only fantasy books, but also, great true to life novellas. I very seldom give 5 stars to a book, but I believe this deserves it. The characters are so everyday real, that you so strongly sympathize with them or you want to shake them with all you might. There is redemption for some characters, tragic ends for others. In the end, our lives are what WE make them to be!!

Casual vacancy. Very strong, yet tragic ending. Seemed to drag in middle.

The casual vacancy. Tedious, bogged down with irrelevant detail, nothing of any importance happening, not a single sympathetic or likeable character despite a huge, cumbersome cast. Hugely disappointing, very sorry I spent $17.99!

J.K. Rowling wrote this?? She has lost her touch. This book was very disappointing. I've read a few comments saying that if this was her first book no one would have published it - and I agree!! Sure I read the whole book because I wanted to know what happened, but it went on, and on, and on... I bought the book because I think J.K. Rowling is a fantastic writer - Harry Potter is in a league of it's own. She should have waited till she had a fantastic idea for a novel and lived up to her potential. All this novel comes off as is a money grab.

Amazing. This was very opposite from Harry Potter, so I was a little nervous starting it, but shouldn't have been. Rowling is an exceptional author, and this was an excellent book. Highly recommended!

Dry, Dampened and Depressing. Rowling is able to create a very detailed sense of atmosphere, and her ambitious approach to the 20 or so equally important characters is definitely worth applauding. You are able to keep good tabs on each character and nearly everything about them. The only problem here is when you don't like any of the 20 characters. Each character is a grim and greasy portrait of some social or political idea that everyone loathes or is negatively affected by. The 500 page book constantly flips you between the lives of these two dozen characters always with the minimal overhead plot of 'the Casual Vacancy'. Even though the book is actually an 'easy' read, it's a continuous downward spiral of dry humor, dampened spirits and overwhelmingly depressing characters makes it a challenge to keep reading. The book starts off slow, but doesn't really pick up anywhere except the last 50 pages or so. The continuing very weak overhead plot makes it difficult to read the book without thinking that very little is actually going on. Then as you have been drug through the mud by the dank depressing characters, the last 50 pages just might make you throw the book down in disgust.

I was thinking the exact same think!. !

Casual Vacancy. I was looking forward to this book and it was a great disappointment. Too many confusing characters and hard to follow. Much too dark and evil.

Amazing. Amazing. What else did you expect?

The Casual Vacancy. Really struggled to get through this book. Very boring.

Dope read y'all. Fgt

Grim!. I have tried to keep on reading but have given in and stopped. There is not one character that I like and I find that sad and irritating. I'm off to find a better read.

Different but very much appreciated. I found this book compelling. It does start a little slowly and some of the swearing and sexual content seems a little gratuitous but it's an excellent foray into the realm of adult literature by JK Rowling. I grew up reading Harry Potter and loved those books dearly, but I'm actually thrilled that JK Rowling tried something completely different. People have been complaining about the characters, that none of them are likeable. That's the point. The characters are all terrible people, but Rowling made me love them anyways, they're real people. What I enjoyed about the book was that it was real. Rowling proves she can write a great novel with this effort and I applaud her for it.

The Casual Vacancy. Waste of money and time. Did not finish the book. J.K. Rowling better stick to writing about wizards.

A Casual Vacancy. This book introduces the reader to quaint, British, small town characters of diverse social class. A story formed by struggle and victory; it gives the reader an inside view of petty politics, mismatched love, and deep rooted anger.