There are simply too many perspectives to keep track of and just when you find yourself comfortably rooting for the foul-mouthed but loveable Krystal, the quiet but wildly hormone-driven Andrew or one of the many flawed and insufferable adults, you jump, yet again, to somebody else. By the time the story actually begins, well over 100 pages into the book, many readers will probably have given up trying to keep track of just who everyone is and how they are all linked.

By trying to detail the everyday lives, struggles and backstories to practically each and every character in the village of Pagford, however, Rowling has bitten off more than she can chew. Had she focused on either the adults or the children of the piece, the story would have been far more coherent. Were half the characters removed, the story would have been far more compelling. The real shame though is that for The Casual Vacancy, she really should have let some of her characters sit down. Rowling has such a vivid imagination that she creates not just a story but a world – an intricate one, filled with characters so real they stand up and leap off the page. In The Casual Vacancy, Rowling takes a closer look behind the façade and discovers a war brewing… The sudden death of Barry Fairbrother acts a catalyst in the quiet village of Pagford when the empty seat his death leaves on the parish council sparks controversy and brings to the forefront age-old wounds that go back decades in this seemingly idyllic part of England. Rowling's first piece of fiction since the end of the Harry Potter series – and her first book written for adults – The Casual Vacancy. One of this year's most highly anticipated books finally arrived with J. This post was originally published at and is now at.

The casual vacancy book review