When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Not a bad first "adult" book for Rowling. She did a pretty good job of highlighting class differences within a community.

There's an awful lot of swearing in this book. I'm not bothered by swearing at all but I wonder if Rowling used it so much to distance herself from her "childrens" books

Like I missed Harry Potter

J.K Rowling is best known for her Harry Potter Series, which are also hit movies.

J.K. Rowling's real name is Joanne Rowling. There is no "Katherine" in her name. The publishers thought that a gender non-specific name would sell better.

J.K. Rowling received an honorary degree from Edinburgh University in recognition of the Potter books on 7 July 2004.

On the 23 February 2012, Rowlings website stated that a new book written by the author will soon be released and that more information is to be released later on in the year; it is an adult novel. On the website is a note from Rowling which reads: "Although I enjoyed writing it just as much, my next novel will be very different from the Harry Potter series". The news was spread quickly through social networks and became a trending topic worldwide on twitter.

The characters were so well developed that I found myself sympathising or otherwise and desperate to find out out how it all panned out.

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Created Nov 29, 2013 at 1:50pm • Submit your own review...