Puzzled about A Casual Vacancy
I'm about a quarter of a way through the novel now and I don't really get it. It's very well-written and compelling, but it's not totally clear to me what the point is. Maybe the problem is that there are so many characters to keep track of; it's the town itself that is the main character, in some ways. There is not really any character to identify with or focus on yet. And so many bleak things happen; I just finished a chapter where a boy is bullying a girl by saying she's hairy and she is wishing she could die. Then there's the father who almost explodes in rage quite regularly, and the coke addict mom whose kids are going to be taken away if she can't stop using. Fascinatingly written, but no apparent redemption available.
logospilgrim, you would not like this book.
logospilgrim, you would not like this book.