The Casual Vacancy

I was curious to check out J. K. Rowling's new novel, The Casual Vacancy. 

I'm a fan of the Harry Potter series so knew what this woman is capable of delivering. I knew that her adult novel was going to be nothing like the books that made her oh so rich and famous and was excited to see what she would produce. I was less enthusiastic when I saw the cover. (Of course I know you can't judge a book by its cover, but an ugly cover does make me pause and become more reluctant to pick it up.) And so it was a while after the book was released that I actually read it.

I quite enjoyed this book. It's not exactly a page turner, but was a nice blend of serious and comic, both literary and readable. It begins with the death of a local politician and the lives of people who knew him start to unravel. There is a diverse cast of characters and the reader is given a glimpse of each of their lives. Rowling does so with such skill and her writing voice is addictive. Sometimes I found myself more into the way she writes than the actual story. It's definitely not a light read as there is a healthy dose of melancholy, but overall a worthwhile read. I hope she writes another adult novel and I will certainly not wait so long to read it-- regardless of how ugly the cover may be.