J.K. Rowlings is a master at world-building. But if you’ve even considered picking this book up ever since it came out, you already knew that. Instead of illuminating a magical world that exists intersected with ours, in The Casual Vacancy she throws open the doors of the mind into a deceptively quiet village in Britain.
When family-man and friendly neighbor Barry Fairbrother dies suddenly of an aneurism, it leave an incredible number of holes in the hearts and minds of his fellow citizens of the village of Pagford. As the village bustles to fill the “casual vacancy” left by his death on the local Parish Council, J.K. Rowlings explores the unforeseen repercussions of his death, revealing the complex relationships and inner workings of this intimate community. Barry Fairbrother’s death is a catalyst for the building pressure between neighbors and within families, and the cracks are finally beginning to show.
As you become familiar with the characters, it reads like a sitcom of the tiny English town, one by one baring all of the residents’ petty grudges, and dark secrets. Rowlings’ observations of human nature are bitingly sharp, often satirical, but ultimately compassionate. And despite its length, readers will be hanging on every word, waiting for the inevitable eruption.