With her new novel The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling set herself apart from the magical world of witchcraft and wizardry that she invented with her seven-book series Harry Potter. The Casual Vacancy, a political novel, didn’t attract the millions of Potter fans that Rowling earned with her previous record-selling books, but her latest work has opened her to an entirely new audience. 

Centered around the small town of Pagford, The Casual Vacancy brings up much-debated topics such as the pros and cons of welfare and addiction clinics. But people not interested in the realm of politics shouldn’t be turned off. Rowling disguises her argument by taking on the lives of many characters in her book. The chapters take on viewpoints of different characters so the reader gets a well-rounded look at Pagford’s citizens. Howard Mollison is portrayed as the grotesquely large-bodied and narrow-minded leader of the Pagford Parish Committee, Pagford’s political counsel. Krystal and Robbie Weedon take on the role of society’s forgotten children, the byproducts of their drug-abusing mother’s many flings. But by far the most important character in the book is Barry Fairbrother, whose death starts the book off with a bang.  Although Barry’s life expires just as the story of Pagford begins, he holds the ties together between the most different characters in the book and causes the outbreak of political controversy in Pagford.

Next to Pagford lies a town named Yarvil, home to dilapidated houses and shady characters. A motion has recently been brought to the Pagford Parish Council on whether Yarvil should become part of the same county as Pagford. The two arguments on this topic stem from the deceased Barry Fairbrother and the detestable Howard Mollison. Barry supported joining the two towns, as he felt that the children of Yarvil should not be prejudiced against because of the poverty they live in or their parents’ drug abusing habits. Howard Mollison takes the opposite argument, that Pagford should not associate itself with a town obviously not up to Pagford’s caliber. The Casual Vacancy that Barry Fairbrother left behind also becomes a hot debate as people from both sides of the arguement try to fill his spot with people who support their arguement. (A Casual Vacancy is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly is vacated during that assembly’s term.)  

By revealing the many secrets and intricacies of Pagford, Rowling nicely portrays how Pagford is  just as corrupt as Yarvil, albeit in different ways. By centering characters’ stories around teenage angst, self-centeredness, betrayal, life, death, and love, Rowling weaves an intricate web of connections among the citizens of Pagford and Yarvil. For example: Howard Mollison is married Shirley Mollion, who volunteers at the local hospital with Ruth Price, who has a son named Andrew “Arf” Price, who has a crush on Gia Bawden, whose mother Kay is a social worker that watches over Terri Weedon, who has a daughter named Krystal Weedon, who starts dating Stuart “Fats” Wall, who is best friends with Andrew “Arf” Price… And the connections continue on.

Because of the reader’s exposure to multiple character viewpoints, the end of the story causes mixed feelings. Some characters leave with hope for a brighter future and some give up on having a future. The Casual Vacancy presents a both heartbreaking and inspiring tale of both politics and people.

Although Yarvil and Pagford are fictional towns in Rowling’s enchanting story, the poverty debates in The Casual Vacancy come from a place close to her heart. Before becoming the world’s richest author, Rowling struggled financially and ended up on welfare after her first marriage crumbled. By presenting an issue close to heart, Rowling uses her relativity to the issue to portray a solid and relatable argument.

But one question remains. How long will J.K. Rowling leave the Potterheads without fodder for fantasy? Maybe forever. Branching out from the potter series by writing a political adult novel is a sign that Rowling wants to make different headlines. Although The Casual Vacancy began a new era of Rowling writing, she will forever be known to the majority of people as the creator of the boy who lived.