The Casual Vacancy

Yesterday I finished The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling. Once you get past the bombardment of characters whose lives hit you almost like bugs on a windshield while you're driving a fast car, you start to care about their lives and even find yourself sympathetic and rooting for the "wrong" people. I often would find myself hating a person when seen through another character's perspective, but then you hear their side of the story, and you're confused all over again. Who really is the bad guy?

This story describes a town that literally erupts into chaos, backstabbing, and paranoia when Barry Fairbrother dies. It seems that this man that we hardly met was truly the cornerstone of Pagford, a little English town. Whether or not people liked him, they respected him as a true adversary, a true friend, or even   somewhat of a savior. The funny thing is ... the Fairbrother family is hardly mentioned at all. They seem to retreat from the Pagford around them.

The plot centers around Barry's open seat on the Parish Council. Politics in a small town might be even crazier than politics in big-time government. With everyone trying to win Barry's seat ... the fate of the Fields (the "bad" part of town) hangs in the balance, as well as the local methadone clinic, without which one major character's mother would fall back into using heroin ... and thus lose her children.

Another plot-line is teenagers vs. teenagers vs. parents. Often these kids do not understand the repercussions that inevitably come after their foolhardy actions, and in some cases this kids lose not only their friends, but also manage to lose a part of themselves to the little town. They also ruin their parents lives. Spouses also start to distrust each other, and soon the whole town's secrets are spilled on a web page. And some of these secrets are truly disturbing.

Is this book worth reading? Absolutely yes. It takes a few seconds to get past some of Rowling's pretentiousness with her big words and twisted/complicated plot lines weaving in and out of each other, but yes ... this book will make you find yourself rooting for the underdogs, and despising those who try for "authenticity." The real authentic people are those who don't pretend to be good, upstanding citizens, but those who accept themselves for what they are, and then have to suffer through the consequences. Those are the people who deserve your sympathy. When all your secrets are laid bare ... how do you handle the looks, the judgment, and the past? The moral of this story, is get over yourself and maybe you can make a real difference in someone's life ... or in the small town that you love (or hate).

Once again, for many Barry Fairbrother was the glue that held the town together and now the town is going down in flames. Read the book to watch the destruction.