After having gone out of my way to acquire the Casual Vacancy on release day and then reading it in 24 hours just to be able to have a review up within a timely fashion, I find myself at a loss for what to say. I think a reread and some serious thought might enable me to write a thorough review of it, but for the moment, I merely wanted to give some first thoughts and basic impressions.
First, this is not Harry Potter. We've all know that since the first rumors of this book, and I found myself able to approach it without expectations of a more realistic Hogwarts. But this is about as far removed from Potter as you can get. Mr. Radcliffe has fortuitously provided us with the expression "Equus moment" almost in preparation for this book.
Secondly, this is not The Fifty Shades of Potter everyone seems to have been scared to death might lurk behind the phrase "first adult novel."
Third, and the reason I feel obliged to say something now and write a real review later, this is an adult novel. From constant language (and I'm not talking Ron's occasional "bloody hell" here), to a far amount of sexual content, to drug use, smoking and beyond, this is not a kids' book people! And with Jo's background I'm concerned there will be way too many kids way too young for what being portrayed here picking up the Casual Vacancy without realizing how not Harry Potter this book is.
What this book is, is a book by Jo. This is a book about deeply real people who the reader can't help by care about and even connect with, and this is a book about how much good one person can do through love. Although stark and shocking without the colorful backdrop of fantasy, the Casual Vacancy embodies many of the truths we saw in Potter and though there are no Patronuses to drive the darkness from the characters' paths, they are not without light and a faint echo of "always."