Set in a small pastoral
town similar to that of ‘vicar of dibley’, this book begins slowly and remains
at this pace throughout most of the read. It is not until the last 100 pages
(or so) that the tension really starts to build resulting in a cascading series
of events that collapse into a rounded finish.
On the surface this
book seems to deal simply with the day-today gossip and affairs of these Pagford
and Yarvil folk. The matter of a re-election has the town in a state of
excitement, triggering revelations to be divulged and sides to be taken.
A character study of
humans and their over-pompous behaviors divides the small society into two
social classes. These two classes still represent much more than just Pagford
and Yarvil, they stand for the rich and the poor and the ongoing inequality,
which surrounds us today. Under a mask of insincerity sits Howard, the most
obvious example of a hypocritical politician/chairman who continues this divide.
Fear of living too close to the scum brings such men into positions of control
and dictation. As corrupt and bitchy as Howard is the snooty Shirley. How many
times growing up did I meet blabbermouth couples such as Howard and Shirley?
Far too many. You are always sure to come across sickly smug couples such as
them on school pta’s, church committees or as volunteers.
As long as men and
women like these are in authority, the poor and invisible will remain in their
place.
Unfortunately the poor
cannot better themselves so fall into the same patterns and stereotypes of the
ones to come before them. I thought Krystal was a very convincing character who
contained the force to arouse both dislike and empathy from the reader.
JKRowling has proved
she can write about fantasy and magic but this book seems so much more
personal. I do not think this book is smug, I think it is truthful. JKRowling
knows what struggle is from raising her daughter as a single mother and
continues to help such charities as to prevent situations such as Krystal and
Robbie’s from occurring. I only wish the book had been a tad shorter, I know it
was slow to mimic the pace/feeling living in a small town can have but some
chapters could have been cropped. This way we could still experience the slow
without subtracting from the overall impact of the book.
But I was surprised by
how much I enjoyed this book, as I don’t usually like suburban narratives. Although
JKRowling has such expression and talent for characters that it really is a
wonder I was surprised at all. I was very affected by this book and hope it can
bring about some change and discussion.
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