I...
I ACTUALLY...
Finished The Casual Vacancy.
And I...
ACTUALLY ENJOYED IT.
Please don't shoot me.
 |
| Yes, I'm as shocked as you are. |
The Casual Vacancy is definitely the complete opposite of J.K. Rowling's previous works (The Harry Potter series, for everyone who has been living under a rock since the past twenty years). There is no fantasy, no clear Good vs Bad, no magic, and absolutely NOTHING that would be of any appeal to children.
Which is how it should be. Because you know, it's a book written for ADULTS.
It irks me when all the teens around me who have read The Casual Vacancy are whining about how bad it is. It's as if they have never read a book targeted towards an adult audience in their entire lives. Please don't tell me I'm the only person who started reading Stephen King and Jeffrey Archer at the age of 13 and 14? Maybe that's why I'm so accustomed to such grown-up story lines.
I can understand why most people I know were disappointed, though. Yes, J.K. Rowling is known for creating the most magical and adored book series known to mankind. The Harry Potter books have been revered by people of all ages. This may be the reason why all the fans of the HP book series went absolutely mad with joy when they were enlightened of the fact that J.K. Rowling was writing another book. I'm sure more than half of the population ignored the constant stress on 'a book for adults', because they were just so happy that their favourite childhood author would be publishing another book.
I won't divulge the plot here, as this is not really a book review (I'll leave that awesome stuff to ChickLitGirl haha) - but I will tell you guys what I did like:
- The small town setting. Rowling created a community with Pagford, such as Stephen King did in his books that featured the town of Castle Rock. It's a big feat to create a fictional community.
- The large amount of characters. I love books with many characters, many points-of-view, and sub-plots which accumulate to form the book in whole. I love knowing what's going on in everyone's minds, what they're thinking of.
- The realism. Cuss words, sex, drugs, politics, dark humour, racism, deaths - this book has it all. This could have easily been a REAL, non-fictional story. This kind of stuff happens everyday, to actual people - and that's what I truly admired.
- The writing style. I can't read books by Danielle Steele because I effing hate the way she writes. The same way, I will gobble up anything J.K. Rowling writes because she is a true master of storytelling (after Stephen King).
Admittedly, I would have wanted the story to carry on a bit more, so that it would answer some questions that I had whilst reading it.
So, in conclusion, if you're used to books written for an adult audience, or are an adult yourself, and if you can forget for a little while that J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, and if you're not afraid to read loads of dirty stuff and have some sort of political knowledge, The Casual Vacancy is the book for you.
18 comments:
I haven't read this yet BECAUSE I know I got this stupid expectation of it being another HP. Like, give me the book under another author's name and I might give it a read. Its so bad of me >.> but I'll try to read it. Its kinda hard cause in my mind, JK ROWLING = Queen of HP. I still think she should write another HP series, set in their children's time.
Danielle Steele, in my honest opinion sucks. Her books are so predictable, and its so cookie cutter after a while. Its for people who wants to read without wanting to get invested in the story.
And, I'm bad with books that have plenty plenty of characters. Hence why I haven't finished Under The Dome, yet.
Imma buy it now. I'm so stupit i didn't even know it was already out. -.-
Loads of masterfully written dirty stuff, eh? Count me in!
I think I'll read it now, I was waiting for someone to do a review. thanks :)
I thought it was brilliant :)
I Don't Understand Why People Want/Expect A Writer To Write Exactly Like Their Previous Books. I See So Many People Whining About It How It Is Not As Good As Her Previous Work And I Don't Even Know How Good Is Her Previous Work But I'd Say That This Type Of Behavior From Fans Is Just Annoying.
I read adult books all the time. I too started reading such books when I was 14. AND I haven't read HP properly... except for the 7th book *don't judge me!* I will... someday.
BUTTTT... I tried Casual Vacancy and didn't like it...
because it seemed very depressing and I am already depressed with tonnes of exams and also because I couldn't at all connect to any of the characters. So never got around to finishing it.
x
*pulls out the shotgun*
Sorry, you saying 'don't shoot me' only increased the temptation x)
Yeah, well, I heard Ghadeer loved it, so I'm willing to give it a go. I've never read Stephen King, but I have read adult. I'm willing to risk it now. Kind of. I need to order a new pair of Confidence Pants. I'll do it now, 'cause you're the second strong Positive ^^
I do read adult but J.K.R left me kinda dejected...the writing was definitely good...little bits of reality and life...but it made me saaad. I walked around the house moping about the state of the world for some time.
So even though I wanna be in the for majority, that's one more against your views Furree!
I gotta read this one. :) Like your blog, read couple of your posts. Planning to read more. :)
http://www.iredeem.blogspot.com/
I've been reading so many reviews. Both, good and bad. Mainly bad tbh :p but I guess this book is totally worth reading.
P.S. I AM SO GLAD YOU'RE BLOGGING REGULARLY NOW :D
I miss you too!! I'm glad your back
@Hanis, I know exactly how you feel! And OMG I'm so glad someone finally agrees with me on the Danielle Steele bit. Her books are awful.
@The Me, It was out since ages, my post about it is extremely late, in fact.
@Martin, I have a feeling you will enjoy this book :)
@quartertoinsane, YAY! I'm glad my post proved helpful to you.
@Ghadeer, Me too! :) Glad you've read it.
@Daniyal, I know, right? I mean, a writer is a writer, they have every right to be creative and write whatever they want to. Their fans don't own any part of the writer's mind, regardless of how much they adore them.
@Sana, Oh yes, it IS filled with depressing stuff. I advise you to read the entire Harry Potter series. Now that's the most powerful anti-depressant, haha.
@Laila N Mysis, I'm glad my post about The Casual Vacancy was of help to you. You should definitely check it out. And NOOO, don't shoot!
@Talitha, Yeah it did leave me a bit dejected too! But the writing was lovely. I just love good writing, haha. And no worries, it's great to know people with varying opinions, haha :P
@Shreya, Thanks, but I have a feeling you won't come back...
@Maryam A, I think you'll enjoy this book more in a couple of years. My advice is to not read it now, rather check out the stuff ChickLitGirl reviews, those will definitely be more enjoyable than politic-y dirty stuff. Haha. AND YES I'M GLAD, TOO! *hugs* You're the best.
I did not like CV at all. I mean, If I wanted to read some adult stuff I'd go for Sidney Sheldon or D.Steel. In my opinion, Rowling should concentrate upon writing another HP book.
PS: I used to read Danielle Steel. :p
I don't know if you heard, but the BBC is planning on making it a mini-television series :D
@Hama, WTF DANIELLE STEEL WTF. WHY. WHY. WHY. SHELDON?!?!?!? THAT'S EVEN WORSE. Hamza. I'll put it kindly. THOSE AUTHORS ONLY KNOW DIRT.
@Ghadeer, No, I haven't heard! Thanks for informing me! :O
Oh Yeah? I Once Came Across A Woman Who Told Me That SidneySheldon Is The Best Writer EVAR And That Other People Can't Have A Different Opinion Than Her's Because SidneySheldon Is The Best Writer EVAR.
I Don't Even Know If I'll Even Try To Read His Books After That.
I started with this book. Hoping that it would turn out as you have explained :)
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