The Casual Vacancy — J.K. Rowling

“I’m a writer and I will write what I want to write,” says J.K. Rowling preemptively.

Incontestably, Rowling’s spick-and-span publication has been painstakingly exiled from the hocus-pocus of the Harry Potter oeuvre. No cloaks, no wands, no fantastical beasts, no Quidditch; but purely mundane Muggle universe. (Yes, you’ve read that right.) So folks, don’t be expecting anything magical in here.

Pagford, a considerably queer and fractious English township, has latterly lost its predominant councilor, Barry Potter Fairbrother—a stalwart face of a meritorious superior. With the town already in the midst of intrigues and controversies prior to his death, the conceited Mollison family pursues to gain the favor of many to get rid of the Fields—a low-income community inhabited by the impoverished and the drug-addled, which, throughout Barry’s leadership, consumed much of his affairs. Not everyone agrees, and so a myriad of Pagford’s citizens are meaning to fill the vacancy. The election heats up when scandalous yet concrete accusations starts appearing in the council website, posted by “the Ghost of Barry Fairbrother.”

J.K. Rowling’s divergence from the world of children’s fantasy steers us into a whole different path—reality. The little town of Pagford tours us into its fairness and ideals, as well as its deformities and crookedness. There were the pot-stirrers; the seemingly crude and tacky citizens who were the garrison of rumors; the self-mutilating, the goldbrick and the lecherous teenagers; the prideful families; those who live their whole lives in falsehood; and a whole lot more. This is what’s great about the Casual Vacancy,” Rowling is more frank and blueprints the realities of life—the flaws, the ugliness of human nature, and the reasons behind human fallibility.

The large Harry Potter fan base may find it sour for their taste, many would retire from their loyalties, but more than a few would eventually call themselves fans after reading it. To be honest, I found it boring and tedious. I almost gave up. But since I have this rule “no books left unfinished or unread,” I continued and persevered. The little events that I found boring at first lead to the final climax which was definitely the gem of the story. Barry’s death, I presume, is just a pretext in starting the story. It touches the complexities and complicacies of the world of politics, where everybody is right and everybody is wrong.

The Casual Vacancy isn’t plot-driven, but character-driven—more like a character study. Rowling delves into each character using the third person in an omniscient point of view. There were clearly no protagonists and antagonists in the story and each were given distinct voices and profound depth as well.

The writing was beautiful, totally J.K. Rowling-esque. As for the language, it was contemporary mixed with slang.

The ending for me wasn’t abrupt like for some people because I think everybody found disclosure within themselves.

Overall, it wasn’t as bad as people think. Those who read this just because J.K. Rowling’s name on it, and those who were constantly complaining that “I was duped!” and “This is not Harry Potter!” should all die. (Seriously? I’m just kidding.) And is the feud among liberals and conservatives, any different to the war between good and evil in Harry Potter?

 

Rating: ★★★✰✰

The Three Musketeers — Alexandre Dumas

The Three Musketeers is indeed one of the most celebrated historical romances and well-known classic tale of all time. A perpetual favorite amongst a variety of audiences—from juvenile to stripling ones, to a cluster of full-fledged devotees—it has been adapted to a series of media types. There are movie adaptations, TV shows, and even cartoon shows. Altogether tells the story of the dashing musketeers namely: Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Still, it is inevitable that the media may tarnish the genuine foundation of the story. I say if you want to know the real story, then go read it. I am certain you’ll devour it as much as I did.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, every so often, the media muddles the original plot of the story. The latest movie version proved otherwise. At the course of my reading, I’ve been consistently waiting for a portion of the movie scenes to occur in this book, but much to my regret, this was different. So much for my Logan Lerman fandom. *sigh* However, my interest still did not dwindle. The gallant Gascon young man will always be Logan to me. That sure gratified me, ha!

Probably the best thing about this book is that it was based from real history—real events and real people. Who could not resist a peek into the good old days? Definitely not me. Ameliorating it by adding a fabrication of Dumas’ imagination wouldn’t hurt either.

And though sword fighting isn’t really my type of action, these swashbuckling heroes did not dismay me. Truly, there weren’t any dull moments that had me yawning in ennui.

Dauntless and chivalrous they may be, the musketeers including our Gascon fellow, are also liable to troublesome and displeasing deeds. They constantly try to resolve predicaments, even petty ones, through duels; hot-headed, brusquely mannered; and one fellow doesn’t even respect his lackey—he doesn’t allow him to speak when not spoken to. But what would you expect, humans aren’t perfect, and so Dumas concocting a realistic individuality to his characters is acceptable, at least for me.

By no means is this novel a bodice-ripping one. Albeit the presence of lovers and mistresses of the protagonists strewn all throughout the book, Dumas carefully crafted an intelligent style of subtlety by which no amount of sensual hints were encouraged. Young readers may likewise take a plunge on this wonderfully written novel even without supervision.

The most intriguing villainess in the world of literature, only here, you will meet. How many people has Milady de Winter deceived and victimized before leading to her death? I was actually trying to find something good in her albeit all her evil-doings. The tale she confided with that poor bloke, Felton, had me convinced that she’s not so bad after all, but then again, I was wrong.

Dumas must be the master of cliffhangers. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger that pulls you more into the world of sword plays, deceptions, political intrigues, love founded and lost, nobility, vengeance, etc. It strikes as a sin putting it down, but what would you ask for a 750-page book?

 

Rating: ★★★★★