The Casual Vacancy
I'm not sure why I expected anything different from a book that opens
with a death, but I was surprised by how deeply sad and painful JK
Rowling's first adult novel was. It wasn't sad in a way that makes you
cry - I didn't shed a single tear while reading this book. It goes
deeper than that, getting a vice-like grip on your heart and making you
wonder if anyone can ever actually be happy.
The scope of The Casual Vacancy is incredibly small, focusing on the inhabitants of a single town in England.The lives of the townsfolk are incredibly intertwined, such that all of their actions and decisions seem to affect each other. The death of Barry Fairbrother, beloved town Councillor, creates ripples and triggers a slow unraveling of the fabric of life in this small town.
Fairbrother was fighting to keep a rehabilitation clinic open to serve the needs of the low-income addicts in the town. Once he dies, the group that wants to see the clinic closed jumps on the opportunity to push their agenda through while Fairbrother's allies scramble to fill his spot on the council. But that's just a small part of the plot of this book. Fairbrother affected dozens of lives and his absence is felt all over town.
Of course, some of the things that were broken had been broken long before he died. Unhappy marriages, ranging from the petty annoyances that build up over time to the outright abusive clearly had very little to do with his influence. Likewise the various wars between teenagers and adults had been brewing for time. But these things collide with other elements, like the daughter of an addict who finds herself suddenly without her mentor, or the prominent bully who sees an opening to squash dissenting voices now that his biggest opponent is gone.
This is an intricate book that requires the reader to follow the intricacies of dozens of relationships as they illuminate how connected this town really is. And the plot slowly marches forward to the inevitable outcome that Fairbrother was trying so hard to prevent.
Like I said, this book hurts. It is deeply tragic. No one in this book is truly happy, though some of them have harder struggles than others. There was one highly awkward dinner party about halfway through that made me immensely grateful for my own friends. I never worry that a get-together will dissolve into a shouting match between two people with diametrically opposite views, nor are my dreams being suffocated out by a life I didn't plan.
At the same time, I completely see myself in some of these characters, especially in a handful of the teenagers who are probably the most sympathetic by virtue of being younger. It's far easier to believe that the 16 year old is just going through a phase than it is to believe that the 40 year old or the 65 year old will see the error of their ways. And as frustrating as it is when one of the ostensible good guys (those fighting for the clinic) is revealed to be deeply flawed, it's nice that this book has so much gray area. No one is perfectly good or virtuous, they're all just trying to do the best they can. The saddest part is that it never seems to be enough.
The scope of The Casual Vacancy is incredibly small, focusing on the inhabitants of a single town in England.The lives of the townsfolk are incredibly intertwined, such that all of their actions and decisions seem to affect each other. The death of Barry Fairbrother, beloved town Councillor, creates ripples and triggers a slow unraveling of the fabric of life in this small town.
Fairbrother was fighting to keep a rehabilitation clinic open to serve the needs of the low-income addicts in the town. Once he dies, the group that wants to see the clinic closed jumps on the opportunity to push their agenda through while Fairbrother's allies scramble to fill his spot on the council. But that's just a small part of the plot of this book. Fairbrother affected dozens of lives and his absence is felt all over town.
Of course, some of the things that were broken had been broken long before he died. Unhappy marriages, ranging from the petty annoyances that build up over time to the outright abusive clearly had very little to do with his influence. Likewise the various wars between teenagers and adults had been brewing for time. But these things collide with other elements, like the daughter of an addict who finds herself suddenly without her mentor, or the prominent bully who sees an opening to squash dissenting voices now that his biggest opponent is gone.
This is an intricate book that requires the reader to follow the intricacies of dozens of relationships as they illuminate how connected this town really is. And the plot slowly marches forward to the inevitable outcome that Fairbrother was trying so hard to prevent.
Like I said, this book hurts. It is deeply tragic. No one in this book is truly happy, though some of them have harder struggles than others. There was one highly awkward dinner party about halfway through that made me immensely grateful for my own friends. I never worry that a get-together will dissolve into a shouting match between two people with diametrically opposite views, nor are my dreams being suffocated out by a life I didn't plan.
At the same time, I completely see myself in some of these characters, especially in a handful of the teenagers who are probably the most sympathetic by virtue of being younger. It's far easier to believe that the 16 year old is just going through a phase than it is to believe that the 40 year old or the 65 year old will see the error of their ways. And as frustrating as it is when one of the ostensible good guys (those fighting for the clinic) is revealed to be deeply flawed, it's nice that this book has so much gray area. No one is perfectly good or virtuous, they're all just trying to do the best they can. The saddest part is that it never seems to be enough.
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