nicoleeoli 's review for:

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

3.0

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Rowling was not kidding when she called this an adult book; the writing style and content are very adult-appropriate. The characters drive this book, not necessarily the plot. Rowling is so good at understand people and how all different kinds of people work; people that are very different from herself even. I am always impressed with her ability to so perfectly capture the feelings and emotions and thought patterns of people of an age and from any walk of life and to bring those to life in her characters. This book is very real in the way it presents the somewhat pitiful lives of normal people in a small town; there is no overt social commentary or judgement, but all is laid bare. It will take the reader a while before he/she can keep all the characters straight though.