Courtesy of Wikipedia

The name J.K. Rowling can hardly be mentioned without sparking the attention of a crazed fanatic, or the unimpressed sigh of a disbelieving muggle. At the very least, Rowling’s name and face is one to be recognized. Considering myself a supporter of her work, I eagerly anticipated the arrival of her first and only non-Harry Potter-related novel, “The Casual Vacancy.” Sadly, I did not find myself equally absorbed in the town of Pagford as I previously was in the magical world of witchcraft and wizardry.

“The Casual Vacancy” introduces the inhabitants of an English society, who prove to be obsessed with their insignificant small town politics. The novel’s central conflict revolves around the lowest form of local governmental power, the parish council. In the first few pages, Barry Fairbrother, a prominent member of the council, unexpectedly dies. Fairbrother, a man from humble roots, devoted his time on the council to supporting the Fields, a lower class neighborhood bordering Pagford, and promoting the addiction clinic in Pagford that provides life-saving services to the lower class. After Fairbrother’s death, support for the Fields comes into question, and the town is left scrambling to fill Fairbrother’s place as the narrative follows both those mourning and rejoicing his vacancy.

Although intended as an adult novel (and proved through Rowling’s sophisticated language), I often felt as though I were watching some dramatic teenage television series. You know those shows, like “Degrassi” or “The O.C.,” that attempt to bring in every single potential source of problems for an adolescent? Rowling subjects her characters to abuse, rape, drug addiction, relationship issues, self-mutilation and more. You name it; she’s probably got it. What places it safely in the realm of adult fiction is the graphic descriptions of these severe and appalling situations.

I found it a struggle while reading to become familiar with the plethora of characters and the connections between them. The characters are all subtly interlaced in one way or another, and it takes a while to figure out who is related, who is liked and who is hated.

Rowling’s Harry Potter series closely traced the adolescence of a few main characters over the course of seven novels. The result was a fan base emotionally invested in the welfare of these fictional people. The excessive number of characters in “The Casual Vacancy” made it difficult to get a true sense of each of their identities. We meet Fats and Andrew, two boys dealing with sex, crushes and a shared hatred for their fathers; Krystal Weedon, a lower class, unintelligent young girl forced to try and keep her family together as her heroin-addicted mother does little to help; Kay Bawden, a social worker trying to help Weedon’s family while also vying for the attention of her boyfriend Gavin. And these are only a quarter of the main characters in the novel.

Between all of the characters’ personal and familial struggles and the rapid movement between storylines, it was difficult to really immerse myself in the novel in the same way I fell in love with Harry, Hermione, Ron and their world. I also found myself unconcerned with the town’s class struggle, which was supposedly the novel’s focus. The individual, emotional struggles of the characters keep the reader engaged while the issue of classicism serves as more of a thread to string them all together.

I was, however, compelled by the abundance of drama and persevered to the final page to see how it would play out. Rowling’s writing talents shine through in her prose and her ability to evoke emotion. Even with so many characters, the physical language of the novel transitioned with ease and grace.

So, if you’re browsing the bookshelves of your local Barnes and Noble or shopping on your Kindle, go ahead and try it out. It may not live up to your high standards of Rowling, but she certainly succeeded in writing something entirely unexpected.

My only word of advice: don’t expect this novel to fill the hole in your heart that was punctured when you gently shut the final installment of Harry Potter and said goodbye.