Not Rowling Along

So many of us kids and kids at heart have loved reading the Harry Potter series of books.  Although the writing style may have been mundane, what really sold these books to readers was a creative world of wizardry as seen through the eyes of its child protagonist.  We explored Hogwarts, the Leaky Cauldron, and Honeydukes Sweetshop together with Harry, and we became interested in the different fascinating people he encountered, good and bad.  The Harry Potter books were page turners because we had to know what was going on with Harry, causing each newly published volume to be more anticipated than the last.

When J. K. Rowling announced that she was going to write another book after concluding the Harry Potter series, her fans were overjoyed to learned that they had not read the last from their beloved author.  When it was announced that the new post-Potter book was targeted at an adult audience, fans were surprised and skeptical, yet mostly open-minded.  They trusted that Rowling would no-doubt have the Midas touch with yet another publication.  Sadly, though, I'm afraid a number of Rowling fans will be disappointed by The Casual Vacancy.

I'm not normally a quitter when it comes to books, but I have to confess that I wasn't able to get very far past the opening of Rowling's latest offering.  The same mundane language of Harry Potter is there, only this time it's laced with gratuitous profanity.  We know this one character is dead and that many people are happy this character died unexpectedly, but we don't really care why he's been so hated.  Unlike with Harry Potter, Rowling can't gain our sympathy or interest.  Even a quaint, charming fictional town nestled among the majestic English hills can't draw us into this ordinary, non-wizarding world.  After being bored and apathetic for the first 25 pages, I just didn't want to confirm my first impressions by trudging through the next 478 pages. 

There are writers, such as James Patterson, who can easily shift between writing for adults and children, but unfortunately not all writers are blessed with such a gift.  Some writers are better off finding a niche they're good at and sticking to it.  If you ask me, I think Rowling should keep writing children's books that captivate children of all ages and leave them hungry for reading more.  Be honest--am I the only one around here who wants to know what happens to Harry Potter's kids and whether there's new dark magic brewing at Hogwarts?

Unmagical me daydreaming magical dreams on the perch.