What is the title of J.K. Rowling’s 2012 adult novel about a small English community?
Answer
The Casual Vacancy
The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s 2012 adult novel about a small English community.
Published on 27 September 2012, the novel is set in the fictional West Country parish of Pagford. The story begins after the death of parish councillor Barry Fairbrother creates a vacant seat, and the resulting local election exposes conflicts involving class, poverty, drugs, family, and public policy.
The book was Rowling’s first published novel after the Harry Potter series. Unlike Harry Potter, it is contemporary realist fiction and is aimed at adults rather than children or young adults.
The title refers to an unfilled position on a local council. Readers sometimes confuse this novel with Rowling’s later children’s works or with The Cuckoo’s Calling, which appeared the following year under Robert Galbraith. The Casual Vacancy was published under Rowling’s own name.