When I was in middle school, I read a series of murder mystery novels set in a fictional Welsh town. The police constable was named (seriously) Evan Evans and all of the titles featured wordplay like Evans Above and Evan Blessed. Evan had a romance with a girl named Bronwyn and all in all, things were fairly idyllic aside from the fact that enough people were murdered in the town to fill ten novels. 
 I...I kind of thought that The Casual Vacancy was going to be a little like those books? More challenging, obviously, but I wasn't prepared for the depth of heartache that I would experience. Because SHEESH. I can't identify the exact moment that I went from hating the characters/reading experience to becoming so immersed in world of Pagford that I finally couldn't put it down. There was a definite transition, though, which is a testament to Jo's talent with characters. (Side note: If you're trying to decide if you should read the book or not, just imagine 500 pages worth of the Dursleys. Harry's days spent at Privet Drive are merely a augur of things to come.) 
 The Casual Vacancy is brutal, magnificent, and utterly bleak. I can't get Pagford out of my head and I don't think I'll be able to for a long while.