It's taking me forever to write this review, perhaps because J.K.Rowling's first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy, is such a behemoth. At 512 pages, this work rivals a Harry Potter book, as it does in scope. Talking about Rowling's first serious work is daunting, when one considers how major is was for her. But into the breach.
This is not a book for children, or even high school students. I doubt I would have enjoyed it much in college. The Casual vacancy is about small, petty people, doing small, petty things in a small, petty town. A town council member dies unexpectedly, leaving the council in a uproar and his circle of acquaintances (both friendly and not) reeling. While most of the book deals with the townspeople's relationships, a significant portion concerns the town council's upcoming decision whether the allow a methadone clinic to continue renting space in a town-owned building. The clinic mainly serves residents of a public housing area that is on the outskirts of town, and many consider a part of the neighboring larger city. Many debates over class and belonging are sparked by this town issue.
The characters are well-drawn and realistic, but perhaps too much. Even the sympathetic characters are deeply and inherently flawed. While this initially drew me in, after a certain point I began to care for no one because they were all so despicable or weak. Rowling also went too far in making the book adult and serious, leaving out much of the humor that made the Harry Potter books so charming, and leading me to skip over some parts with too much council details. Yet I enjoyed this first serious work. Seeing Rowling find her style when not distracted by fantasy is fascinating.
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