The Casual Vacancy - by J.K. Rowling

"A casual vacancy is deemed to have occurred:

a) when a local councillor  fails to make his declaration of acceptance  of office within the proper time; or

b)when his notice of resignation is received, or

c)on the day of his death..."

My sister read this book before I did, and I asked her what she thought of it. "There are no like-able characters" was her response. After reading the book myself I must concur. There are some characters who are less despicable than others, but this is certainly no "triumph of good over evil" story. In fact "Harry Potter" fans will not find much in common with the books they love in this adult-themed novel. This is not to say it is not a good book. I enjoyed reading it, and found it to be quite a page turner. Although it takes place in small-town England, the back-biting politics described could just as easily been in small-town New England. Coincidentally, my own small New England town has just found itself with a "casual vacancy" of its own, and it seems there are already some questions as to how to fill it. Watching this play out should be even better than reading the book

There are two kinds of libraries mentioned in the book. A high school library, that is simply an incidental setting, and the other is a first for this blog - a hospital library trolley. The Trolley is pushed through the wards  by hospital volunteer Shirley Mollison, one of the many unlike-able characters in the story.