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What a way to break the mold Ms @jk_rowling !

“The Casual Vacancy” had been on my To Be Read list since February and it took one of my TBR pal from a book club to select it for me to read.

Well, I am glad I got to read it. I even feel a bit bad I waited this long.

I believe it is the first published work by author J.K.Rowling post Harry Potter era and anyone who was expecting a Harry Potter story will be truly disappointed.

Luckily, I was/am one of those people who was looking forward to finding out what else Ms. Rowling has in her arsenal and must say that I was pleasantly surprised.

My first impression of the book came through my mental visit of Pagford.
It felt very real, in the sense that yes, there are places in the UK reminiscent of Pagford.
Although I would not hazard a guess as to which town inspired the the author I can imagine that many have tried. This is probably due to the authentic feel that emanated from the fictional little town.

And then, there were the people…but then I did think a couple of times:” Are these guys for real”???
I could not imagine that all the heartless, self centered, power hungry people you can think of happen to all gravitate around that little parish council with the only potential positive influences coming mostly from outside of the town. What are the odds?

What I enjoyed the most (once I got over the author’s potty mouth..) was the constant hilarious darkness written in…except for the ending that I did not expect but understood…and accepted.

LaChouett