I've noticed there are quite a lot of mixed feelings about this book and quite a few people seem to seriously hate it. I do think it is jarring for any fan of Ms. Rowling's Harry Potter series to read this book. I was a huge, huge fan of the Harry Potter series (though I was not fond of the final book) and I grew up with those books. However, I truly, truly loved The Casual Vacancy. It's not a happy book. It's not happy or inspiring or kind or gentle, and that's one of the things I like about it most. It can be depressing and heartbreaking, which is sometimes just what life is. I think Ms. Rowling did a tremendous job creating her characters and crafting the plot and emotion. And I think her writing her is far stronger than it was in her previous works. It's more complex and more grown up. So many people have such dislike for The Casual Vacancy due to the fact that it's so divorced from what they previously knew of the author's work. I think that was a pretty brave choice for her to go so far in another direction. The book, while not the most enjoyable read, is tragically beautiful.