How
to (or not)read The Casual Vacancy:
1. DON’T read it just because it’s written by JK
Rowling
2. DON’T expect it to be like Harry Potter (magic
stuff)
3. DON’T read it if you’re not comfortable with the
fact that the woman who might have created your childhood, is writing about
drugs, teen sex, prostitution, rape, etc. This book isn’t for you. And this is
not a children book, this is an ADULT book
4. For the love of God, DON’T compare this with her previous works
When
it was announced that Jo Rowling was coming out with a new book, comparisons
with the Harry Potter series were inevitable. Every fan (including me)
desperate for another book in the series. But when they(and me) were proved
wrong, there’s a backlash of protest in every review I read. But I choose to be
disagree in that part.. even this book is not a Harry Potter book or anything
like it, I will say this is a very bold literature of JK Rowling.
Synopsis :
The novel is set in the small English town of
Pagford, home to a gossipy community of people who live in their middle class
status. When an empty seat (which is called as "casual vacancy")
arises on the local council of Pagford, the death of Barry Fairbrother, quickly
become a major issue in the town. Upon the news of Fairbrother's death, the
project's opposition screams to take advantage. The upcoming election of
Barry's empty council seat fuels a sea of pettiness, gossip, self-interest, and
betrayal with citizens of Pagford as the swimmers. The rest of the story
brought us closer to the place...a seemingly pretty-little town, surprisingly
become the area of the most harsh "war" ever happened..
TCV
is a step in reality. There is no unicorn and such. The characterization, is
simply mind-blowing. Each and every characters is so very real, they are just the people you can find in this modern
community. Jo writes them very well and they are all very different. Andrew
Price, who lives with an abusive father, Sukhvinder Jawanda is a depressed teen
who self harms herself, Samantha Mollison is a 40 something woman desires her “young”
dream and live unhappily with her husband, Howad Mollison is a local council
member hungers for more power and position, Krystal Weedon is a troublemaking
teen and the daughter of a drug-addict, and much more. This book is a raw
description of human characters and its imperfections. Unlike the Harry Potter
series, where Jo told the story from a single character’s perspective, The
Casual Vacancy is written from the perspectives of all characters; making it easy for us to seek into almost all of the characters’ inner minds. Jo
throws out subtle hints throughout the narrative which then all join up
together towards the end. Last 100 part of the book is probably become
everyone’s favorite, where all the story tied up into a triumph ending and
heartbreaking moment. I would say the ending is unsatisfying, and it left me
crazy a bit while I turnover the page and found there’s no words anymore. It’s
like, “..what?” But well, that’s the only thing that I dislike from this
book.
With
this book, Jo has proved beyond a doubt that she can WRITE no matter what the
genre is. It doesn’t change my life like Harry Potter; of course, but it’s a
clear explanation about what is going on with the world nowadays. It’s hard to
accept, but it’s the truth. Sad, brilliant, sadistic, vulgar, maybe not a book
for the faint-hearted, but it’s definitely a book with strong message. Bravah!
“You
must accept the reality of other people. You think that reality is up for
negotiation, that we think it’s whatever you say it is. You must accept that we
are as real as you are; you must accept that you are not God.”
- J.K. Rowling, The Casual
Vacancy
4 comments
Nice review, I think I am gonna read it because of you.. Thanks! Xoxo
ReplyDeleteArghhhhh saya belum sempat baca T_T bukunya masih tersimpan rapi di lemari T______T
ReplyDeleteSalam sejahtera,
ReplyDeleteSaya udah membaca ulasan Anda tentang TCV. Hmhmm.. Saya masih blom rampung menyelesaikan bacaan TCV karena ini sangat membutuhkan tenaga dan pikiran ekstra untuk memahami isi ceritanya. Saya kadang2 masih agak bingung dan masih agak susah mencernanya isi ceritanya, beda sekali dengan karya JK. Rowling sebelumnya yang mudah dipahami isi cerita. Apalagi TCV ini saya ingin mengambilnya menjadi bahan skripsi, bisa kah Anda membantu saya kira2 judul apa yang bagus diangkat untuk TCV buat skripsi saya sebagai bahan pertimbangan dan saya setidaknya sudah punya bayangan untuk memulai mngerjakan skripsi saya karena Anda sudah membaca keseluruhan TCV ini. Terima kasih sebelumnya :)
Salam, kalau boleh tau anda mahasiswa jurusan apa ya? :)
ReplyDelete