The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling
4/5 stars
This is my 9th book in Rex & Jake's 50-Book Reading Challenge,
which Rex leads 12-11. Full list can be found here.
This is the first non-Harry Potter book I've read of hers, and it was delightful. She created real characters in their own little world, a small town where everything feels bigger than it really is. Or that's the case at times. In some cases, it becomes true to human nature, and that's the worst of anything. At first, I thought it would be a comedy of errors, but it eventually evolves into real people with real problems with each other. Centered around an open seat on the local council, adults and their teenage children have their own issues with each other and they begin to pile up and overlap. It never goes into truly devilish, uncomfortable territory (like Franzen), but it gets under your nerves without cheap bandages.
