J.K. Rowling dissects small-town life in new novel
J.K. Rowling holds nothing back in her first adult novel, a searing study of small-town life, writes James Kidd
The Casual Vacancy
J.K. Rowling
Little, Brown
In case you haven't heard, The Casual Vacancy is the first novel for adults by J.K. Rowling. Who is best known for writing a series of novels
Set in a small fictional English town called Pagford, Rowling tackles grown-up themes in grown-up language. We start with a death (Barry Fairweather collapses, vomits and dies of an aneurysm), proceed through the cold calculations of local politics, and along the way experience heroin addiction, racism, internet porn, domestic abuse, rape, child molestation charges, self-harm, burglary and drug dealing. There's not much magic, but a great deal about rowing - of both the argumentative and sculling variety.
What is arguably most striking in Rowling's novel is her fondness for swearing. Having spotted the first "f***" on page 14 ("I'm not going to fund the little f*****'s filthy habit" - the filthy habit being smoking), I tried to keep a J.K. curse box, only to give up when confronted by the sheer virtuosity of her profanity. F*** leads quickly to s*** and, after a brief hiatus (filled with plentiful f***, s*** b***** and p****), to c***. Wash your mouth out Joanne Rowling.
If nothing else, this adeptness with Anglo-Saxon vulgarity makes The Casual Vacancy a lively read. Rowling is good at ventriloquising a range of English vernacular - from deceptive middle-class courtesy to the glottal-stopped grunts of those neglected by Britain's education system. Here is Terri, an emaciated junkie who shuttles between relapse and brief periods of recovery: "Lying was the only way Terri knew to meet her many accusers. Yeah, all righ', go on, then, give it 'ere, and then, No, I never, no I ain, I never f*****' did …"