The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling [Review]

Written by: J.K. Rowling.

Published by: Little Brown.

Format: Hardback.

Released: 27th September 2012.

Rating: 4/5.

Official synopsis: "When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the 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 parish 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? A big novel about a small town, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults. It is the work of a storyteller like no other."

I'll be honest, I am completely and utterly at a loss with how on Earth to start this review. So much build up. So much anticipation. Months of waiting after it was announced. And five years of waiting to see what J.K. Rowling, the best selling author of our life time, and indeed ever I do believe, would do next. And it all boils down to this. The Casual Vacancy. Set, in a FICTIONAL town (this point needs to be made clear, press reports of towns being angry that they believe it is set there after the events that take place are ludicrous and pathetic, in my view, get a grip!) called Pagford in the South West of England, all is not well behind closed doors. While the inhabitants of Pagford would like to believe that their lives are perfect, well lived and in some cases of the utmost importance in the day to day life of their town, all is not as it appears on the surface. Like with all human beings, there are cracks, just waiting for the opportunity to burst open and show the ugly truth of it all. The catalyst for these cracks spreading? The death of poor old Barry Fairbrother.

Now, I'll be perfectly honest. JK could write down her shopping list (Tea bags, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, pens and paper) and I would rush out to purchase it, regardless of its subject matter and length. However, that is not to say that she is without fault. None of us are perfect, right? The Casual Vacancy is completely different to what I expected. To what most of us expect, I have no doubt. What was billed as blackly comic, there is barely an ounce of comedy here. Yes there are moments, I'd chuckle and need a moment before I could go back to the story, but what we have here is a dark, dangerous and at times, downright depressing book. My feelings on the book as a whole are very mixed.

JK herself has said that is no beach read and she is completely right. Now there will be no spoilers, as I know, if it'd been spoilt for me there'd be hell to pay. So I'm not going to say anything that Jo herself hasn't already said. Here we have a tale of a town falling apart at the seams. Couples who can't agree with each other, on the verge of splitting up. There's violence. Domestic abuse. Heroin addiction. And a heck of a lot of swearing. I watched the interview Jo did for BBC 2 and as soon as she said the F word, I whooped and got a little excited. Don't ask me why, but it was so radically different to what you'd expect in Harry Potter that I couldn't help but be excited. Now, I swear as much as the next person. I can't always help it. When I'm angry, upset, over excited, in pain, it just comes out. But I have to say that the potty mouths in The Casual Vacancy have well and truly pardoned me of any verbal crimes. At points, I was a little uncomfortable with it all. So many swear words in one little piece of dialogue. Wow. It just made me think and definitely makes me want to cut down on my use of the F word.

Theres sex. There are teenagers, how could there not be? Luckily JK is no E.L. James and its handled well and doesn't really take over. It's just a part of the story, sometimes lasting a paragraph and then it's gone, on to the next character.

While I enjoyed the overall story, I do feel that there were too many characters here. I'm not even going to begin to count them all. But there are some, that I felt if they were cut, it wouldn't of made any difference to the overall effect of the story being told. Some of them, I found to be quite forgetful and when they were mentioned again, later on in the book it'd take a second for me to remember who they were and what they've been doing barely 20 or 30 pages before. Local elections don't interest me, politics as a rule don't interest me. I get that the election for the seat left by the man, Barry, who dies right at the start of the book, is a way in to see peoples faults, but at times the talk of the election did bore me. I just couldn't help it. It's an adult book, and despite the fact that I turn 20 in little over 2 months time, I don't really read adult books. Their subject matters don't interest me. They just do nothing for me. And I'm not going to pretend. If this wasn't written by Jo, I would NEVER of picked it up. Not in a million years. Ever. NEVER! I can't stress this enough. While I enjoyed it, it's not a book I would of actively sought to read. I get what she was trying to do, and I admire her for tackling the issues she tackles, and it is, as ever, well written. There's no denying that. As the synopsis says, JK is a storyteller like no other. 

The ending was heartbreaking, and I liked some of the characters, but I just didn't feel a connection to this cast unlike that of Harry. Maybe because that was over 7 books, but even with stand alones I normally get that connection. I just didn't share any of the wants or characteristics that are on display here. For me, this detracted from the book. I wanted to latch onto a character who I could truly root for, and while I found a inkling of that for Krystal Weedon, it wasn't as strong as I was hoping for.

I'm going to end this review now for fear of rambling on either further. Yes, I liked the book. Would I read it again? Probably not. Was it worth the wait? Hmmm... maybe, I'm still undivided. Will I read whatever she publishes next? Most definitely, and I already cannot wait. I just hope it's nothing like The Casual Vacancy.

Cover for The Casual Vacancy!!!!!

Finally after months of waiting, the cover art for the new J.K. Rowling book has been released. We already know it's called The Casual Vacancy, and if you don't, where have you been living? Under a rock or something? It's out on 27th September and I for one am very excited. The cover was released just a mere half an hour ago and looks like this:

I'll be honest. Not loving it. But I am not hating it either. It's underwhelming to say the least, and totally not what I was expecting. The red and yellow kind of makes my eyes hurt after a bit (good job I always take dustjackets off whilst reading a book, right?!). It's so boring. But then, it's an adult book, and adult books are often a more low-key affair. I do like that it looks a little like a ballot paper, obviously meant to parallel the subject of the book. It's just... I don't know! Maybe it'll be a grower - a cover that you'll come to love? 

As well as the cover, Little Brown have announced that the book will weigh in at a hefty 512 pages! Sweet! And they also revealed that in their origional announcement of the title and blurb, they got poor old Barry's surname wrong. It was announced as Fairweather, but is actually Fairbrother! Whoops!

Either way, regardless of what the book looks like, I can't wait to read it! Bring it on!

NEW JK ROWLING BOOK!

CUE MAD SCREAMING, RUNNING AROUND, A BIT OF FLAPPING AND MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF (EXCITED) CRYING.

Yes! JK Rowling this week announced a brand new book due for publication later on this year! 

Now, I wanted to post about this earlier in the week, when it was announced, but my laptop has been out of service this week (blooming gremlins). But in hindsight, it's a good thing. When it was first announced on Thursday, all we knew was that it was a book for adults, and that it was being published by Little Brown in both the UK and US... Ooh, and that it's going to be very different from Harry Potter. This had me excited, as I'll be honest, as much as I love Harry, I don't want a re-tread of his story. I want something completely new from Jo and the fact that it's so different is such a relief.

Rumours started to fly about when the book will actually be published. Guesses (and I suppose some calculation based on previous announcement to publication date timelines) ranged from around 6 months to late 2013! Ouch. That would be one heck of a wait. 

Then, on Friday, Jo herself took to Twitter and confirmed that it'll be out later this year! YES! YES! So, we're getting a new JK Rowling book in the next 10 months! Argh! I for one am freaking excited and cannot wait!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Last night, I went to the cinema to confront something so terrible, so heart-breaking and yet so beautiful. And that thing? The end of my childhood. AKA... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

It felt really weird in the hours leading up knowing that I was finally going to see those scenes with my very own eyes. It was just so... incomprehensible! After initially reading the first 2 books in 1999 shortly before the release of Prisoner of Azkaban I have been hooked. I have since re-read them and loved them even more than the first time, as I think as an 8 year old I couldn't truly appreciate them as much as I could later on. Anyway... it was thanks to my nan that I read the books as she brought them in a boxset. Still have those copies to this day and they are a little dog-eared so I think I should soon invest in some new copies, hardback of course! Accept no imitations people! She and my uncle took me, along with my sisters and cousin, to see the first two films, and the fact that she's no longer here also makes this a little bit raw. It's because of her I was introduced to the wonder of Harry Potter so she has a lot to answer for!! Anyway, I'm digressing again...

Harry and co have been a constant figure head in my childhood. From reading the books, to seeing the films, from 1999 to today, it's been 12 years. Wow! Really?! That's gone so fast when you think about it. But it's my entire childhood. From boy, to man, although I don't feel that grown up. Hm, the less said about that the better! The books have been there through good and through bad. Like an old friend, they always greet me in a warm embrace (chilling when Voldemort happens to rear his ugly head) and give me hours of happiness, even though I've read the books dozens of times each. 

This film has to be, for me, possibly the truest to the book they have been since about Prisoner of Azkaban. The subsequent books seemed to lose a little essence of the plot, but Deathly Hallows Part 2 had the rawness, the emotions and the heartache of the final half of the book. When I was watching it, I completely forgot about the book. The film one hundred percent sucked me in and I forgot everything. 

The effects were stunning. Absolutely perfect, and in 3D it was beautiful. The scenes in Gringotts were brilliantly handled and seeing the cover art for the UK Children's edition (the one I have) actually on screen, in action, made me a little giddy with excitement. That was one of the scenes I'd most been looking forward to! Then the battle itself. What can I say but... AMAZING! Really. It was handled beautifully. Going in to watch this film, I was possibly the most nervous I have ever been about seeing a film adaptation. Those scenes had to be done just right or the whole film, the entire series would of been a complete waste of time. If they weren't going to be done right, they shouldn't of been made at all. But they were brilliant. The curses in 3D. The destruction in 3D. Everything. I was blown away.

AND THE MUSIC! ALEXANDRE DESPLAT DONE GOOD! So epic!

I am something of a Harry Potter stan, so this was a massive deal for me and I cannot thank Warner Bros, the cast and of course everyone included in making the film, as well as the legend herself, JK Rowling. This has brought my childhood to a satisfying conclusion and has brought possibly my most favourite book and film series to a stunning end. I for one am happy, and shall be going to see this film as many times as possible in the cinema, and then I shall watch it again and again when it's out on dvd!

J.K. Rowling and the Pottermore Secret

Things are hotting up in the world of J.K. Rowling and I could not be more excited. Yesterday, news broke that Jo was preparing an announcment. Not a new book, but something equally as excited... Whut?! WHUT?!!! What could possibly be that exciting? Lord knows I've been dying to read something new from Jo since Deathly Hallows came out 4 years ago next month! Then a website appeared. Pottermore! Pottermore! WHUT IS THAT?! LIKE REALLY?! I did a little jig of excitement hoping all would be revealed. But no. This is Jo we're talking about here, the cruelest tease there is! And now this has appeared on YouTube... JK Rowling Announces. How amazing does that look? Really, that's your answer! There is a countdown to next Thursday when a video will be uploaded and Jo will finally reveal what it is! :D Colour me very excited! What do you think it is? Comment box is down below for a reason, get speculating! :D Not long now

Harry Potter Series Gets A Face-lift!

Yes, I know I'm late to the party, thanks to having no web for 2 weeks, but anyway...

JK Rowling's phenomenal Harry Potter series is getting a face-lift! 7 stunning new covers have been designed by by renowned linocut artist Clare Melinsky. Clare Melinsky’s illustrations follow the style of traditional woodcuts and will appear on the front cover, back cover and spine for all seven titles in the Harry Potter series.

(to see bigger, click on image)

Clare Melinsky commented, ‘I was delighted and excited to be asked to illustrate the covers for such massively famous books – and seven of them! It was top secret for the best part of a year.’

The "Signiture" Look, as it has been daubed by Bloomsbury, will be published exclusively in paperback on 1st November 2010. I for one shall be buying these! Look amazing!

J.K. Rowling News

Okay, so this probably doesn't qualify as news, but for a JK Rowling fan, like me, this is cause for celebration!

Jo was reading at the White House yesterday for their annual Easter celebrations, and in a Q&A, she said that she has written a few things since she finished the epic Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and that there will be something published in the "not too distant future".

All I can say is please... BRING IT ON! Anyone else excited that the prospect for new JKR reading material is coming around?

The Tales of Beedle The Bard [Review]

Written by: J.K. Rowling.

Publisher: Bloomsbury.

Format: Hardback.

Released: 4th December 2008.

Ratiting: 4.5/5

Any readers of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be aware of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. A book left to Hermione by Dumbledore after his death at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In it, is the story important enough to help Harry defeat Lord Voldemort. The Tale of the Three Brothers.

In late 2007, JKR produced seven hand-written copies of the book, featuring 5 tales. Fans feared that they would never be able to read the tales, but then in the Summer of 2008, JKR announced the publication of the book for charity! Yay! I for one was over the moon and could not wait.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard feature 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot', 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune', 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart', 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump' and 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'.

All five of the tales are superbly written and features specific moral messages. My favourite of the five tales has to be The Fountain of Fair Fortune. It's just brilliant. So rich in Jo's brilliant story-telling. The best written of the five. The story is also my favourite because of the actual plot of the story. It just teaches you that what you sometimes think you need, you actually don't.

Out of the five tales, there's only really one duff one, and that's Babbitty Rabbity. It is a good tale, but at the same time, it just isn't as strong as the other four stories.

For JK fans the world over, this is a brilliant collection that should be added to any respecting fans collection!

(N.b. Reviewed this because in my quest of packing today, I stumbled across my copy and had to have a read. Only took an hour and a half to read the whole book.)