"The Casual Vacancy" is set in the small (imaginary) English village of Pagford and begins with the unexpected death of one of the local parish councillors. Whilst on the surface the plot concerns the re-election of a new councillor, the story delves in to the real people behind the every day facades of suburban village life and exposes the ghosts, secrets, desires and fears of Pagford's inhabitants along the way.

People who like to read novels with lots of different characters in with many storylines going on at the same time, people who like to read novels based in the UK.

The intricate web of characters created whose lives all intertwine and connect - some connections of course being stronger than others. I thought this gave the book a realistic feel and I liked how Rowling made all the connections between the characters. The story was written in a style which I found engaging and both easy and pleasurable to read - this was the kind of book I wanted to pick up again so I could discover the next instalment of the story!!

know what happened next to all the characters! I could have read another book about them :)

is of course the author of the famous "Harry Potter" series - which, funnily enough, I have not read. The book contains many "adult" themes and strong language throughout - I got the impression Rowling really wanted to write something very distanced from children's literature!

the book really is very interesting and the portrayal of all the different characters is excellent and believable. There are many sub plots running through the book which I think helps to retain the readers interest - it's a great book which I really loved reading.

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Created Oct 05, 2014 at 3:57pm • Submit your own review...