Casual Vacancy is set in a small town in the U. K., not too
far from London, but far enough to be somewhat isolated. Next to the town of
Pagford is a low-rent district called Fields, originally established by the
neighboring town, but now somehow the responsibility of the good people of
Pagford. And that’s where the first problem comes in: there are no good people
of Pagford. Virtually every person portrayed by Rowling in this book has major
character flaws, they are mewling and back-biting and drunk and drug addicted;
they are mentally ill and physically unappealing and abusive and mean-spirited
and vindictive. They are just plain hard to like. Some, very few, might have a
few redeeming qualities, but their faults are so loudly portrayed, it was hard
to see. And the man who dies in the first chapter was apparently very likeable,
but he’s dead. So, just over 500 pages of unlikeable characters and I had to
ask myself why did I read the whole thing?
Well, it was by Rowling and I loved Harry Potter and all his
sequels. And there were shades of Rowling’s skill throughout the book. She
writes well, she draws you into the story, she portrays characters with aplomb,
even if those characters are unlikable.
The second reason I did not like this book is the story.
These mean, malicious townspeople spend their days trying to get rid of the
responsibility of Fields. They do not want the children of Fields to be
educated with their children; they do not want the people of Fields to go to
the same clinics they go to; they do not want to have to see the detritus of
humanity in their backyards and they are not afraid to own up to their betrayal
of this humanity.
Not only were there shades of Rowling in the portrayal of
the characters, some of whom resembled the most despicable of those found in
the Potter books, but her craft was also evident in the multiple storylines and
the careful plotting of the story.
While I did not like this book, I still love Rowling as an
author and I would probably read most anything she wrote. I would just
encourage her to write more fantasy because her view of reality is too scary for
me.
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