Friday 11 January 2013

JK Rowling: Casual Vacancy

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils... Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

After all the reviews and critiques I was keen to see for myself, what everyone was talking about. At times the story is hard to take, especially where Krystal and her family are concerned. But Somehow the book was written in such a way that I was keen to find out more about each of the 34 characters in the book. Very different from Harry Potter, but still a great read in my view.