J.K Rowling's new novel, "The Casual Vacancy," was geared towards an adult audience and is incredibly far from the magical world of Harry Potter that the world responded so strongly to. There is no sign of any magic in the book in terms of the intricate land of wizards and sorcery that was present in the Potter series. This novel is filled with adults like Harry's aunt and uncle; self-absorbed, small-minded, snobbish and judgmental. 

It's not entirely surprising to see that Rowling wanted to try something completely different after spending approximately 15 years inventing and building upon the fantasy world that Harry and his friends once lived in and it was incredible to see how book after book, she continued to live up to the expectations of the world. That's why, comparatively, this novel is incredibly and yet willfully banal, so depressingly clichéd that the book is disappointing and also dull.

The novel takes place in a tiny fictional village called Pagford and follows the political and personal fallout created by the sudden death of a member of the parish named Barry Fairbrother. The book should be nowhere near children because it deals with suicide, rape, heroin addiction, all kinds of violence and very sexually explicit imagery. It contains moments of very effective drama and snippets of comedy but it ends on a very disheartening note with two more abrupt deaths that the reader is left dealing with.

"The Casual Vacancy" portrays an incredibly disheartening image of humanity in all its weakness, selfishness and stupidity. It takes too long to get to the real heart of the narrative and the stakes in the novel are so much smaller than what we were used to in the Potter series. We don't come away with the feeling that we are really invested in the characters nor do we finish the novel with a very good knowledge of the story and wanting more.