Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

12 reviews

emotional sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

First I had the book in German (found it on the street). Then I exchanged it for an original English version (university donation book shelf). In the end, I read it in Hungarian because my cousin gave it to my grandma. It was okay, I just found it really sad (and somewhat infuriating) that the only character I actually liked and another who was entirely pure & innocent got such a sad ending.

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was curious to read a book by J.K. Rowling that was not Harry Potter, so I picked this book up second hand (cause I'd prefer my money not go to her directly due to hopefully obvious reasons).

The subject of this book is of course very different from her Harry Potter books, and I was unsure if it was for me. But I was pleasantly surprised and realky got sucked into all the characters and their stories.

It did take quite some time to build everything up. And I have to admit that I needed a cheat sheet from time to time to remember all the characters and how they were related to each other. I wasn't a fan of how the POV would sometimes change within a paragraph and had to backtrack a few times because of it. Also there were a few uses of parentheses that were so long that I got confused why there was a closing bracket on its own, only to look back and see the opening backet more than a full page back.

Having said that; I really got into the goings on in Pagford and The Fields. I loved how all characters felt very real and morally grey. At times it felt kinda like watching a soap series, with lots of drama and a big cast of characters that we follow in turn.

It's nothing like Harry Potter. But what it does have in common with it is the compelling characters and the setting that feels very real and alive.

Trigger warnings for so many things, read at your own caution. And buy the book secondhand if you'd like to read it, to not support Terfs.

4/5 stars

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Hauntingly beautiful.

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What a horrible and well written book. 

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lollybee's review

4.0
challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The lives of the inhabitants of  Pagford are laid bare in this novel by J.K. Rowling. The story revolves around the members of the Parish Council and their families.  The prejudice, snobbery, back-stabbing and malicious rumours that take place after the sudden death of one of the councillors lead to unforeseen consequences that will change lives forever.

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dark funny informative lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A convincing depiction of small-town England, with highly defined, memorable characters and a unique central conflict. Somewhat difficult to keep character names and relationships straight at first. Rowling's writing tends toward superficiality/cheesiness during serious scenes and gratuitous misery/vulgarity in all others.

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dark sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The overarching feeling I had from this book was “she’s trying too hard.” Knowing it was Rowling’s first novel for adults, it felt like she was trying to prove that she can write about grown-up topics, not just kid stuff. But the entire book was an assault of grief, hardship, every kind of abuse, and all of the ways we hurt each other when we’re hurting. The only redeeming thing about it was one character learning to stand up for themselves (and that was only one plot line of many). 

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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