Reality in J. K. Rowling’s "The Casual Vacancy"

Abstract

After the success of Harry Potter series, in 2012 Joanne K. Rowling published her first novel for adults that received mixed criticism in public sphere. The novel provides an eloquent depiction of contemporary England. Though intended to be a comic tragedy it more likely resembles a gloomy melodrama, and is written in a realistic and ‘true to life’ manner. While hardly providing pleasant emotions, the novel truthfully reflects numerous emblematic social problems of provincial life, like neglect and abuse of children, domestic violence, lack of likeable characters – the representation of which are further analysed in the present paper paying attention also to the first critical reviews the novel has received.