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Book Review: The Casual Vacancy
This is a tough one for me. I was SO excited about this book that I pre-ordered it and refused to read any reviews prior to reading it.
I was fully aware going into this book that it was not going to be Harry Potter. However, the reason I was beyond excited to read J.K.’s new book was because she’s an amazing storyteller. She’s incredible at character development and making you feel as if you have actually landed yourself in the life of the book (if that even makes sense). So no Harry Potter but I was at least in for an interesting story right?
Eh. The book started out really slow and well, just never picked up. There were a few things that happened here and there that made for some excitement but overall I found this book to be pretty boring. I honestly had to will myself to read it. Once I got about halfway through, I ended up going on Amazon to see what people thought of it. Sadly, most of the reviews I read said the same thing-boring. There were a few though that mentioned the story got way better in the second half so I was holding on to that.
Except it never quite picked up. When I finished the book I felt really upset. Part of me wished that I had never of read the book and just had J.K.’s Harry Potter in my brain. The other part of me just wished it were better. I talked to PartyDog about it (he’s more in love with HP than I am) and he made me realize that an author as brilliant as J.K. had a purpose behind writing this story. Author’s like her don’t just write something for the heck of it, they write with a purpose. I definitely believe that, I just wish I knew what the purpose behind it was.
If you are interested in reading this book here’s a basic synopsis from Amazon:
“When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?”
So yes, it’s about a councilman dying and every man in the town fighting his vacant seat while trying to keep their deep, dark secrets hidden from the election. If that sounds interesting to you go ahead and read it as the writing is of course great but the story (IMO) is a bit of a drag.
I really wish I enjoyed this book more but I just didn’t. I’m off to drown my sorrows in The Deathly Hallows now. That’s all the nonsense I have for now!
Biggest book that’s been a let down lately?
Categories Books | Tags: book review, the casual vacancy
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13 Comments to Book Review: The Casual Vacancy
The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg. Billed as a kinder, funnier “Corrections”. Yeah, not so much! Not for me at least. The characters were extremely stereotypical and not sympathetic for me. Very one dimensional, too.
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Kelsey Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 8:55 am
That doesn’t sound too great!
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I also read Casual Vacancy and felt it was lacking something. I had to stop in the middle of the book because I could not get into it.
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Kelsey Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 9:04 am
You should try to finish it-the resolution is at least worth getting to!
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Oh my goodness…I bought this book the second it came out and have been struggling to get through it ever since. I am trying to read all the books I have bought over the last year that I haven’t finished before I buy new ones but I might have to let this one go unfinished.
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Kelsey Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 10:20 am
You should finish!
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Divergent. I’ll complain about that book all day. For fans of The Hunger Games my booty. Maybe for fans of The Hunger Games who have the remarkable ability to not get desensitized to the emotional impact of “scream” when it’s pretty much the only word used in the book and fans who don’t care about minor things like “background” or “explaining how the heck we got ourselves to this dystopian society in the first place.” That book was seriously such a letdown. (Though let’s be real: my Hunger Games love is a liiiiiiiittle on the obsessive side, so maybe there was no way Divergent could’ve lived up to my impossible high standards).
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Kelsey Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 10:20 am
Hm I kinda wanna read it based on how angry you are about it..
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I’ll probably still read it because I feel like I have to but I’m not pleased to hear how boring it was!
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Kelsey Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 10:20 am
Yes. you should read.
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The Paris Wife. I just couldn’t get into it…and then my lending period expired. Oh well.
I got Casual Vacancy for free, otherwise I wouldnt own it. Guess I will be keeping it there to read when all the power goes out and all my other books are read…
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AHHH what a buzz kill! Heard the SAME thing from a few friends and it’s on my to-read list. So bummed to hear it again- BUT thanks for the post.
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It’s bumming me out that everybody has had the same thing to say about this book! I have it requested from my library, but haven’t gotten it yet… and now I just don’t even want to read it after hearing all of the horrible things about it lol.
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