The Casual Vacancy Book Review Endnote
By Hadier Jassim
We collectively decided that it would be in our best interest, as researchers of J.K. Rowling, to introduce and discuss other literary works by our author. Just this year, Rowling put our her first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy. We thought that by showcasing a book review as one of our genres, we would enhance our audiences perception of Rowling. In this genre, I learned that Rowling's ability to be versatile in her writing illustrates how intelligent she is overall. I also learned that The Casual Vacancy grapples many of the same themes as the Harry Potter books: the losses and burdens of responsibility that come with adulthood, and the stubborn fact of mortality. This book depicts a darker, more depressing tone that is absent of magic and wizardry and full of realistic issues.
My choice of audience for this genre would be young adults, around 16 or 17 and on. This is definitely not a book for children as it showcases aspects of suicide, rape, heroin addiction, beatings, sex scenes, and alarming scenes of violent domestic abuse. I wouldn't advice younger students to read this book as it surpasses many inappropriate subjects that are not suitable for young readers. Most of the themes in this novel aren't something you would want to teach or discuss to younger students until they have matured enough. Some of the characters in this novel were particularly young and because of this, were hit much harder with controversial issues. There is a reason why my genre was particularly for an older audience because they are able to cope better with harsh life issues.
I chose to do this genre because I wanted to show my audience the versatility within J.K. Rowling's writing. When I was reading some critical essays on this novel, a lot of literary critics questioned Rowling's abilities to drastically change her genres from children's fantasy book series to more adult themes. I wanted to show in this genre that even though Rowling has been the wizarding queen of Harry Potter for a decade and a half, she can still put out great literature. Some of the same themes in the Harry Potter series, such as the realization of adulthood are depicted also in this novel. There is a parallel between both novels, despite the dark and depressing tone that comes with harsh issues like rape, suicide, poverty, and drug addiction. Rowling hasn't left her writing style just to the Harry Potter series, she has incorporated her same sense of creativity and realness in The Casual Vacancy. I wanted my audience to get a sense of how diverse J.K Rowling's writings can be and how she creates such memorable characters and scenes in all parts of her literary work.
I integrated my sources from the book itself and I used it in a way that didn't reveal the books entirety. What I mean is that I wanted this book review to give my audience a sense of the plot, setting, and theme without revealing too much from the story. I integrated a couple of characters to showcase how Rowling has a wide range of knowledge on her characters, from a young white female to a young Sikh female. Every character had their own identity which helped formulate every chapter which was a depiction of a new character and their struggles. This book was very complex and I feel as if my genre illustrated the complexity of the book.
I think I successfully was able to communicate to my audience in the fact that I was able to show the complexity that Rowling incorporates in all her novels. People have doubted her writing this novel, and this genre helped reassure my audience that her writing style hasn't changed at all. Her way of creating complex characters and scenes is something that will always be in her writing, not only in the Harry Potter series. Rowling took a step forward in her writing and wrote a novel illustrating real life issues that affect real life people. I was able to show the versatility that Rowling incorporates in her writing, which also communicates to her sense of creativity and identity as an author.
We collectively decided that it would be in our best interest, as researchers of J.K. Rowling, to introduce and discuss other literary works by our author. Just this year, Rowling put our her first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy. We thought that by showcasing a book review as one of our genres, we would enhance our audiences perception of Rowling. In this genre, I learned that Rowling's ability to be versatile in her writing illustrates how intelligent she is overall. I also learned that The Casual Vacancy grapples many of the same themes as the Harry Potter books: the losses and burdens of responsibility that come with adulthood, and the stubborn fact of mortality. This book depicts a darker, more depressing tone that is absent of magic and wizardry and full of realistic issues.
My choice of audience for this genre would be young adults, around 16 or 17 and on. This is definitely not a book for children as it showcases aspects of suicide, rape, heroin addiction, beatings, sex scenes, and alarming scenes of violent domestic abuse. I wouldn't advice younger students to read this book as it surpasses many inappropriate subjects that are not suitable for young readers. Most of the themes in this novel aren't something you would want to teach or discuss to younger students until they have matured enough. Some of the characters in this novel were particularly young and because of this, were hit much harder with controversial issues. There is a reason why my genre was particularly for an older audience because they are able to cope better with harsh life issues.
I chose to do this genre because I wanted to show my audience the versatility within J.K. Rowling's writing. When I was reading some critical essays on this novel, a lot of literary critics questioned Rowling's abilities to drastically change her genres from children's fantasy book series to more adult themes. I wanted to show in this genre that even though Rowling has been the wizarding queen of Harry Potter for a decade and a half, she can still put out great literature. Some of the same themes in the Harry Potter series, such as the realization of adulthood are depicted also in this novel. There is a parallel between both novels, despite the dark and depressing tone that comes with harsh issues like rape, suicide, poverty, and drug addiction. Rowling hasn't left her writing style just to the Harry Potter series, she has incorporated her same sense of creativity and realness in The Casual Vacancy. I wanted my audience to get a sense of how diverse J.K Rowling's writings can be and how she creates such memorable characters and scenes in all parts of her literary work.
I integrated my sources from the book itself and I used it in a way that didn't reveal the books entirety. What I mean is that I wanted this book review to give my audience a sense of the plot, setting, and theme without revealing too much from the story. I integrated a couple of characters to showcase how Rowling has a wide range of knowledge on her characters, from a young white female to a young Sikh female. Every character had their own identity which helped formulate every chapter which was a depiction of a new character and their struggles. This book was very complex and I feel as if my genre illustrated the complexity of the book.
I think I successfully was able to communicate to my audience in the fact that I was able to show the complexity that Rowling incorporates in all her novels. People have doubted her writing this novel, and this genre helped reassure my audience that her writing style hasn't changed at all. Her way of creating complex characters and scenes is something that will always be in her writing, not only in the Harry Potter series. Rowling took a step forward in her writing and wrote a novel illustrating real life issues that affect real life people. I was able to show the versatility that Rowling incorporates in her writing, which also communicates to her sense of creativity and identity as an author.
Resources connecting to this piece
- Losowsky, Andrew. "'The Casual Vacancy' Review: JK Rowling's Long-Awaited New Book." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.
- Rowling, J. K. The Casual Vacancy. New York: Little, Brown and, 2012. Print.
Picture credited to:
- The Casual Vacancy book picture: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jk-rowling-casual-vacancy-sales-first-week-376202