Let me say first, I am a HUGE fan of the Harry Potter series, and I'm an adult with a literature degree currently teaching high school English. I've read the Potter series four times all the way through and have gotten more out of it every time. I was so excited to have a new J.K. book and pre-ordered a hard copy and a Kindle version. I only made it through five and half chapters and am thoroughly disgusted and disappointed. As a friend said after I told her about my experience, "It's like the child actor who grows up and goes into porn just to prove they are no longer a child." Why, J.K., why?
Almost any literature lover or student can tell you that the hottest trend right now is young adult fiction, particularly the dystopian genre. While there are good, better, best novels in this arena, one thing they tend to have in common is their appeal to both juveniles and adults. Rowling had a good thing going with her young adult series that translated into a loyal fan base of ALL ages. Why mess that up?
Reading what I did of Casual Vacancy left me feeling violated, like I need to wash my mind out with a bar of soap. As its review by the Huffington Post states:
"Here's what most publications will say about J.K. Rowling's first book for adults: it's not for children. It contains swearwords, rape, racism, pornography, self-harm, suicide, domestic violence, heroin and marijuana use, a character who contemplates child abuse, and graphic descriptions of sex."Obviously it's not for children, but I'm an adult and it's not for me either. I could have forgiven the copious use of the F-word, this is British after all and they don't have our same American compunction with using it. I could have even maybe gotten on board with the rhetorical choices being character appropriate...well, if she had developed the characters better. What I couldn't get over was having to suffer through the minds of a horny teenage boy and his descriptions of his personal, public, and private sexual encounters, and at least one equally horny, but completely asinine adult male. Not to mention the overt references to the female genitalia.
I'm not a prude and I've read a vast amount of good and bad literature over the years, including the more recent Game of Thrones. The Song of Fire and Ice series is very adult in nature, but the character development is stellar and the action counter-balances the more raw sexual moments in way that makes you believe you are reading something that is an honest view on a particular time period and society. Casual Vacancy just reads as crass. I've already returned my Kindle copy and will be shipping back the hard copy as well.
