I don\\\\\\\'t mind long books I enjoy them however it was 300 pages before it became semi interesting. It\\\\\\\'s ok for a personal reading but other book club members may lose focus.

From the reviews at Amazon I expected to throw this back. We all know J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter) can tell a great story, but the average for this one was only 3 stars. I think that is an injustice!! Once again, though, it maybe a case of the book being better on audio. Tom Hollander is a great voice for this story. Rowling\\\\\\\'s story begins when Parish [Town] Councilor Barry Fairbrother dies in the Country Club parking lot of natural causes in his wife\\\\\\\'s arms. This then creates a casual vacancy on the Council. What happens next is WHY the Bible tells us God keeps vengeance strictly for himself!!

An ensemble cast of characters who are vividly drawn and well-developed tell the rest of the story, though it is not told in first person. Each person has an inner ax to grind or an unrequited passion to live out. The teenagers, the law partners, the Deli Owner and his wife, the addict Mom in the projects (Council Housing in the UK) and her very vulnerable little boy as well as the dissatisfied wife of one of the attorneys, the spurned girlfriend who has ruined her life moving to the village--it\\\\\\\'s quite a cast. The story shows how gossip, ridicule and hatred build and ruin lives. It is an excellent moral tale without being a moral tale. I highly recommend it. This is not a Miss Read story though. It is very, very gritty. Personally, I hope there is a sequel!! The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.

200 pages too long of nothing other than the black side of humanity

A wonderful book full of drama and eccentric characters - a soap opera of a novel. Fabulous character development. The book illicited a great discussion about all the various characters, their flaws and their virtues. The beginning can be a challenge and it takes some patience to get into but once the setting is established and the pace is set, it is a joy of a read.

As one of maybe 12 people on the planet who has not read any of the Harry Potter books, I was pleasantly surprised by the descriptive and wonderful writing style of JK Rowling. Many characters reside in this novel, but they are so fully developed and unique, it isn\\\'t hard at all keep track of who\'s who. At times funny, sad and poignant--- one of the rare books that when not reading it, I was impatiently counting down the minutes until I could. Quirky, flawed, people populate this small town--some you hate, some you love. Some you cheer for, some you cheer when life gives them their just desserts! One of my favorite books this year.

All of the club agreed that the writing was good and it kept our interest. Sometimes the number of characters was confusing, especially in the beginning. Not many, maybe one, were sympathetic and overall it was a pretty depressing read.