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J.K. Rowling: A Casual Vacancy (Book Review)
Being sick gives you time to read, and thus I could finish J.K. Rowling's new novel in one go. Here's what I thought:
It's good, and among many other things, it shows her unafraid of and up to the task of tackling something new. I don't just mean the "adult" label (a lot of fiction labelled adult is far more immature than a lot of great children's books), I mean the way the story is told, which is by multiple pov. Which matches the fact this is a genuine ensemble story without a leading character. The story is kicked off by a sudden death, that of Barry Fairbrother, part of the Council of his hometown Pagford, and there is some resemblance to a mystery story in that said death and the reactions to it introduce us to the cast, various adults and teenagers in the fictional town of Pagford - but Barry's death, which opens the novel, is no mystery and of natural causes, and there is no detective (either insider or outsider) for the readership to cling to.
The other resemblance I noticed, structure wise, and maybe because I read the book only a few months ago, was to "South Riding"; the schemes and machinations of the council provide much of the plot in both, amd there is a vehement social agenda in either. The Pagford Parish Council is locked in a battle over "the Fields", low income housing developments, i.e. slums a lot of them would like to get rid off, and a clinic for addicts (ditto). Barry's sudden death provides an opening both parties in the struggle jump at. While you can tell which side Rowling sympathizes with (there is a scene in which the nearest thing the novel has to a villain, complacent deli owner and local Tory heavyweight Howard, spouts the usual "addicts are responsible for themselves and should just stop using, hard work will always be rewarded") dogma and gets the most gloriously eviscarating response), she doesn't make the mistake of simply making her conservatives evil and her pro-Fields folk good. Everyone has their complexities, their hypocrisies and virtues.
Nor does she let the issues be abstract. One of the most gripping plot threads deals with a teenager named Krystal, whose mother is a heroin addict, and who is one of the most vibrant, unforgettable characters in the book. Speaking of teenagers, in addition to Krystal we have Sukhvinder, Gaia, Andrew and Stuart aka "Fats" (he isn't) as important characters, and one of the surprises of the novel to me was how much better it deals with teenage sexuality than the HP books did. In which I always thought Rowling was great at friendships but lousy with romances. In "A Casual Vacancy" there aren't romances, but there is sexual experimentation, and it feels very real. (Maybe not writing for young readers freed her?) It's just one aspect of these adolescents's lives, though, and each of them have to deal with far more, Krystal most of all, and there are no benign deii ex machina to save them as Harry is at the start of the HP saga. The multiple pov comes in really handy for characterisation: Andrew early on has an idealized pov of Fats, who is and plays the role of dissaffected cool teen handing out sarcastic quips to perfection, but from Sukhvinder's pov Fats is a vile bully who humiliatates her at every turn both in real life and on the internet. (BTW: because the American high school stereotypes of "jock" and "nerd" are so pervading fanfiction and some pro fic these days, it's refreshing to see a school bully who doesn't fit this cliché. Fats isn't a jock. He's not into sports. Were he not busy posing disaffectedly, he could be one of the best students. But he uses his cleverness in a cruel way, with the bullying of Sukhvinder just one case in point, and justifies this to himself as "being authentic" and "being honest/ real".) Krystal is seen first from the adults pov, where she is at various points regarded as sexually precocius, hopelessly rude, an education project, a lost cause, or a devoted sister/mother to her little brother (since their mother the heroin addict hardly does anything anymore) - and when we get her own pov, we see that all of it is true, and yet was just scratching the surface.
As for the adults, this is a female centric book; the late Barry (who had his own marital problems) and next-thing-to-a-villain Howard aside, the men of Pagford aren't very efficient, and most of the povs belong to the women, mainly Kay the social worker (Krystal, her little brother and mother are her cases), Tessa the teacher (mother of Fats), Samantha the frustrated daughter in law of Howard, and Parminder (Sukhvinder's mother) the doctor. Samantha, while less likeable than Tessa or Kay, and early on apparantly destined to represent the town's version of Martha in Who's Afraid... (drinks too much, queen of bitchy remarks, hits on younger men), developes in interesting and unexpected ways later on. Oh, and Howard turns out to have a very sensible, caustic lesbian daughter, who wisely left Pagford ages ago but comes back for a visit during the course of the novel.
Warnings: were this fanfiction, there would be plenty. Sex both consensual and rape, death (not just Barry's at the start), violence. But none of it feels gratitious. And in the end, the novel leaves you emotionally wrung but also with some hope; (some) people can change.
It's good, and among many other things, it shows her unafraid of and up to the task of tackling something new. I don't just mean the "adult" label (a lot of fiction labelled adult is far more immature than a lot of great children's books), I mean the way the story is told, which is by multiple pov. Which matches the fact this is a genuine ensemble story without a leading character. The story is kicked off by a sudden death, that of Barry Fairbrother, part of the Council of his hometown Pagford, and there is some resemblance to a mystery story in that said death and the reactions to it introduce us to the cast, various adults and teenagers in the fictional town of Pagford - but Barry's death, which opens the novel, is no mystery and of natural causes, and there is no detective (either insider or outsider) for the readership to cling to.
The other resemblance I noticed, structure wise, and maybe because I read the book only a few months ago, was to "South Riding"; the schemes and machinations of the council provide much of the plot in both, amd there is a vehement social agenda in either. The Pagford Parish Council is locked in a battle over "the Fields", low income housing developments, i.e. slums a lot of them would like to get rid off, and a clinic for addicts (ditto). Barry's sudden death provides an opening both parties in the struggle jump at. While you can tell which side Rowling sympathizes with (there is a scene in which the nearest thing the novel has to a villain, complacent deli owner and local Tory heavyweight Howard, spouts the usual "addicts are responsible for themselves and should just stop using, hard work will always be rewarded") dogma and gets the most gloriously eviscarating response), she doesn't make the mistake of simply making her conservatives evil and her pro-Fields folk good. Everyone has their complexities, their hypocrisies and virtues.
Nor does she let the issues be abstract. One of the most gripping plot threads deals with a teenager named Krystal, whose mother is a heroin addict, and who is one of the most vibrant, unforgettable characters in the book. Speaking of teenagers, in addition to Krystal we have Sukhvinder, Gaia, Andrew and Stuart aka "Fats" (he isn't) as important characters, and one of the surprises of the novel to me was how much better it deals with teenage sexuality than the HP books did. In which I always thought Rowling was great at friendships but lousy with romances. In "A Casual Vacancy" there aren't romances, but there is sexual experimentation, and it feels very real. (Maybe not writing for young readers freed her?) It's just one aspect of these adolescents's lives, though, and each of them have to deal with far more, Krystal most of all, and there are no benign deii ex machina to save them as Harry is at the start of the HP saga. The multiple pov comes in really handy for characterisation: Andrew early on has an idealized pov of Fats, who is and plays the role of dissaffected cool teen handing out sarcastic quips to perfection, but from Sukhvinder's pov Fats is a vile bully who humiliatates her at every turn both in real life and on the internet. (BTW: because the American high school stereotypes of "jock" and "nerd" are so pervading fanfiction and some pro fic these days, it's refreshing to see a school bully who doesn't fit this cliché. Fats isn't a jock. He's not into sports. Were he not busy posing disaffectedly, he could be one of the best students. But he uses his cleverness in a cruel way, with the bullying of Sukhvinder just one case in point, and justifies this to himself as "being authentic" and "being honest/ real".) Krystal is seen first from the adults pov, where she is at various points regarded as sexually precocius, hopelessly rude, an education project, a lost cause, or a devoted sister/mother to her little brother (since their mother the heroin addict hardly does anything anymore) - and when we get her own pov, we see that all of it is true, and yet was just scratching the surface.
As for the adults, this is a female centric book; the late Barry (who had his own marital problems) and next-thing-to-a-villain Howard aside, the men of Pagford aren't very efficient, and most of the povs belong to the women, mainly Kay the social worker (Krystal, her little brother and mother are her cases), Tessa the teacher (mother of Fats), Samantha the frustrated daughter in law of Howard, and Parminder (Sukhvinder's mother) the doctor. Samantha, while less likeable than Tessa or Kay, and early on apparantly destined to represent the town's version of Martha in Who's Afraid... (drinks too much, queen of bitchy remarks, hits on younger men), developes in interesting and unexpected ways later on. Oh, and Howard turns out to have a very sensible, caustic lesbian daughter, who wisely left Pagford ages ago but comes back for a visit during the course of the novel.
Warnings: were this fanfiction, there would be plenty. Sex both consensual and rape, death (not just Barry's at the start), violence. But none of it feels gratitious. And in the end, the novel leaves you emotionally wrung but also with some hope; (some) people can change.
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