The casual vacancy (by JK Rowling)

(Amazon UK link)

When I learned, over a decade ago, that JK Rowling had published an ‘adult’ novel, I read a few reviews out of curiosity. Some praised the book highly; others said it was disappointing after the Harry Potter series. Some said it was realistic and insightful; others complained about the strong, crude language. I decided I probably wouldn’t bother with it.

Then I saw a copy of ‘The casual vacancy’ at a local church book sale nearly three years ago. I decided to fork out fifty cents to try it, knowing that I could abandon it after a few chapters and give it back if I didn’t like the book. It sat on my ‘to-read’ shelf for all this time, and I finally picked it up to read last week. 

The book opens with the death of a man called Barry, who - we learn through the book - was kind and altruistic, and generally liked in the village. His wife Mary sometimes wished he paid more attention to her, but she and their four children are bereft without him. 

Barry’s sudden passing leaves a vacancy open on the village council, and much of the book revolves around the different people hoping to fill this slot. There is quite a large cast of characters, and in the first few chapters I found myself somewhat confused, though I didn’t resort to writing out a list, as I’ve sometimes done with other books. The writing is good enough that the important ones are easily distinguished, and it didn’t much matter when I temporarily forgot who a minor character was.

There are also several threads in the book involving teenagers, who are around sixteen and attend the local comprehensive school. And their language and generally crude behaviour is, in my view, quite shocking. Indeed, so much so that after a few chapters I was tempted to give up. I might have done so, but in the past couple of months I abandoned two other books which I found too crude, with dislikable characters. I didn’t want to make a habit of it. 

So I persevered, and I’m glad I did. I don’t know if these teens are typical of today’s British youth - if so it’s quite worrying. And yet, underneath the brash, lewd and sometimes violent attitudes of these teenagers, there are some positive traits too. Andrew Price is interested in girls, particularly one who is new to the village called Gaia. But he’s also very nervous about approaching her. He isn’t particularly bright, but as we learn quickly, his father is a crook who can fly into violent passions, thinking nothing of hitting out at his sons. 

Andrew’s best friend is a boy called Stuart who’s rather more street-wise, and has decided to befriend and become intimate with a girl called Krystal who lives in a council house. Stuart is brash, and is an online bully to another girl in their class. But he also cares deeply about integrity (on his terms) and honesty. As for Krystal, her language is the foulest of all, and her morals appear to be almost non-existent. But, as we discover, her mother is a drug addict who doesn’t cook or clean or care for her three-year-old Robbie. Krystal adores her little brother, and does what she can to look after him.

There are incidents with social workers, and also scenes in the school. The viewpoint changes regularly, as does the setting, but the writing is excellent and the pace was just right for me, once the story got going. Behind the apparent quiet and beauty of this village, there are so many battles taking place; in marriages, between parents and teens, and in people's own minds. Questions arise, which are never really solved: should potential councillors be upfront about their private lives? At what point is it better for a child to be taken into care, rather than staying with a neglectful mother?

There are also insights into parents’ relationships with their teens, which may be caricatured, but seemed to me to have more than a grain of truth in them. Some parents seem to dislike their children and lash out at them; I hope this isn’t common. Others are busy, and absorbed in their own problems, and don’t necessarily take time to listen properly to their teens’ concerns. This resonated much more strongly with me; it happened to me when I had teenagers at home, and I’ve observed it with other parents.

The book contains some distressing scenes including violence, and some tragedies towards the end which are surprisingly moving. But the author manages to give enough detail to make it clear what’s happening without anything gratuitous. I appreciated that, and while I didn’t like the ongoing crude ‘strong’ language used by so many of the teens, it definitely helped to differentiate their scenes from those of their parents and other adults in the village.

A lot of contemporary issues are touched upon in addition to the more major ones. Possibly a few too many: for instance there’s one non-white family who experience some racism; one gay couple (although they have a very minor role) whose parents aren’t happy; a boy who has been adopted and whose father still finds it difficult to accept. And more. But they all felt so real while I was reading that I hadn’t quite thought about it until I’d finished. 

Indeed, by the time I was half-way through, I found it difficult to put down. I can’t say I enjoyed the book, exactly, and doubt if I'll read it again. But it’s quite thought-provoking. It’s definitely not a book for children, or for anyone who’s offended by bad language. But for older teens, and broad-minded adults wanting something a bit different, I would (guardedly) recommend this. 

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