J.K. Rowling's debut novel for grown-ups, The Casual Vacancy was released in 2012, and I admittedly put off reading it for many years. I knew it was nothing even remotely related to Harry Potter, and perhaps that had something to do with my hesitation. Was I really ready to leave my cozy Potter-bubble? Another factor in my procrastination in reading this novel was the simple fact that most reviews I read of it were awful. People really, really really seemed to hate this book. So I passed it over for a couple of years, until late 2014, when I picked it up the first time. Well, I didn't get more than a few pages in. I'm actually not sure why; I think my book ADD kicked in and I put it down in favor of something else. Maybe I simply got busy, as it was during a major transition period in my life. My husband and I had just moved halfway across the country to Seattle, we were living with roommates, we had just started new jobs, and life was just all-around crazy. So I let the library loan expire without finishing. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't read this during that time. I believe certain books come to you when you need them most, and not before you're ready for them. Had I forced myself to read Rowling's novel during a remarkably stressful time in my life, I would have had a markedly different opinion of it. Even this spring, when I bought a copy from a local used bookshop, it still sat on the shelf collecting dust. I was just so hesitant. So afraid. What if it was truly as terrible as all those reviews claimed, and I was forced to alter my opinion of the marvelous woman who penned it, a woman I and millions of others believed could do no wrong? Then again, how could the person responsible for one of the greatest stories ever possibly write anything bad? I knew the only way I was going to find out was to read it. So, finally, just before Thanksgiving, I pulled it off the shelf, took a deep breath, and tried again.
The first thing you need to know if you're going to read this book is that it is not Harry Potter. I repeat: IT IS NOT HARRY POTTER. The Potter-verse and the tiny English town of Pagford that is the setting of The Casual Vacancy COULD NOT BE MORE DIFFERENT. IF YOU WRITE A REVIEW OF THIS BOOK SAYING YOU HATE IT BECAUSE IT IS NOTHING LIKE HARRY POTTER, YOU NEED A SERIOUS TIME OUT TO REFLECT ON YOUR LIFE CHOICES. You don't like a book simply because it isn't another book? Puh-lease.
The second thing you need to know before reading this book is that it is dark. I'm going to be straight with you--nothing happy happens in this book. This is not something to pick up if you want quick, light, and funny. It's not quick. It's not light. There are funny moments, but they are few. This is not an easy book to read. Not because it uses big words or because it is boring, but because it is, simply put, depressing as hell. If you are sensitive to "trigger warnings," this may not be the book for you, because it has all of them. Child abuse. Spousal abuse. Sexual abuse. Child neglect. Drug use. Suicide. Alcoholism. And probably a few more I'm forgetting. Each reading session with this novel was like a heavy weight on my chest. Upon finishing, I was reminded of something Ron Weasley said after his encounter with a dementor in Prisoner of Azkaban. He said he felt as though he'd never be cheerful again. That was exactly how I felt after finishing The Casual Vacancy.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "So, you're telling me not to read it, right? You hated it too? It's horrible?"
Wrong.
Despite the fact that The Casual Vacancy is easily the most depressing book I've read in recent years, I gave it a 5-star rating on Goodreads. Why? Because it is genius.
The story is set in the tiny (fictional) English town of Pagford. Parish councilor Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, leaving a vacant seat on the council (a casual vacancy). Most of the town's residents mourn Mr. Fairbrother, who was kind, caring, funny, and an upstanding member of the community. Others see his death as a welcome opportunity to sink their teeth into the empty council seat and elevate themselves into a position of power. J.K. Rowling gives us a wonderfully gritty insight into the personal and political unrest of this seemingly idyllic English town.
This novel has many characters. ("Too many to follow," whined one unhappy reviewer, to which I say, bollocks. This isn't Russian literature, for God's sake.) We follow the present members of the parish council, as well as the three men who are desperately and obsessively vying for the vacant council seat. We follow their spouses, miserable, desperately trying to reconcile the people they married with the ones they've become, and, failing this, turning instead to the comfort of alcohol. And finally, we follow the teenage children who hate their lives, hate their parents, and dream of turning 18 and finally leaving it all behind. Rowling's novel begins with the death of Mr. Fairbrother and ends just a few weeks after the election. In this time, long-buried secrets are uncovered, relationships destroyed, and lives are turned upside down as the residents of Pagford declare war on one another. This all culminates in an ending that will leave you incredibly shaken.
I heard criticism of this novel that it was "boring," that there was "no action," that "nothing happened." I can only assume that this was written by an American, because believe me, plenty happens in the book, but our society seems to equate action with gunfire, car crashes, and murder. Well, none of that happens here. One of my favorite things about The Casual Vacancy is the British-ness of it. It's more British even than the Harry Potter books. This book hasn't been Americanized in any way, and to some, that may make it boring. But in lieu of what Americans might call "action," we get plenty of drama, gossip, scandal, sex, and trauma. This book feels like a soap opera, and maybe that's part of the reason I enjoyed it so much. I enjoy watching terrible people get their just desserts, and believe me, this novel is chock full of terrible people. With maybe two exceptions, most of the characters are truly awful. But if there's one thing Rowling is good at, it's giving terrible characters their comeuppance, and she does not disappoint here.
J.K. Rowling does an excellent job of character development. Each character elicits strong feelings from the reader, mostly of either extreme sympathy or intense dislike. She perfectly illustrates how the politics of a tiny town that seems perfect on the outside can destroy in a second the lives of its citizens, most of whom are innocent bystanders. Ego, power, class, these can and frequently do lead to one's own undoing. Like I said, this novel is genius, though it may not be in an obvious sort of way. And while The Casual Vacancy is about as far a cry from Harry Potter as it is possible to get, Potter fans will see reassuring glimpses of Rowling's particular writing style in the pages. Here are a couple of my favorite examples, both of which are toward the beginning:
"He was an extremely obese man of sixty-four. A great apron of stomach fell so far down in front of his thighs that most people thought instantly of his penis when they first clapped eyes on him, wondering when he had last seen it, how he washed it, how he managed to perform any of the acts for which a penis is designed." (p. 32)
""Stone dead," said Howard, as though there were degrees of deadness, and the kind that Barry Fairbrother had contracted was particularly sordid." (p. 34)
It is not often that a book leaves me in tears, but this one managed it with ease. Still, I would read it again in a heartbeat. The Casual Vacancy is genuine. It's dark. It's heavy. It's terrible. It will make you think. I know to some that last bit will solidify their intent to never touch it, but for the rest of you, I urge and plead with you to give this novel another look. You won't soon forget it. If you can accept that it's not Harry Potter and isn't bloody supposed to be (go ahead and cry, if you must), I think you will be ready to accept it for what it is: another brilliant work from a master storyteller.
P.S. - The novel was also adapted into a miniseries for HBO. I look forward to seeing how the two compare.
