The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one was one of those books that I couldn’t just read straight through. I needed breaks. Quite a few. It’s not a flaw in the book, it’s that some of it was so real it was deadly depressing & I needed some time out. The Weedon family was almost too sad to abide with but were too important to simply skim. Throughout I was sure that things were not going to end well. The Price family seconded them in the sad line. The other families, though having high levels of unhappiness, were more easily read through. The residents of Pagford & the Fields were real in all the great and terrible ways. And accessible in that any of us could easily be or know any of them. This doesn’t make for a breezy read but it did make for a compelling one.
Personally, I found Sukhvinder to be the heart of the story for me & from her introduction, I was most interested in her & held hope that her plight would improve. I finished the book feeling very pleased about her. I think she may have been my favorite character & I didn’t even expect her to have as pivotal a role as she wound up having. It was a pleasant surprise.
I’d totally recommend this but I don’t think it’s one for the beach or vacay. If you should crack this one open while at the airport… I don’t know. If you’re in for a hellish wait due to the holidays or some epic weather, this may make you call it and pull up to the nearest bar or go on a spree at SkyMall to improve your mood. Be advised. But, if you have the mental fortitude & some time in general, this one could more than do in a regular reading rotation. Now that I’m done, I’m off to find some light, quick reads.
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