From a letter to me written by Hogwarts Professor.com’s Adjunct Tutor, Chaya Golan:

I have finally read The Casual Vacancy, motivated in good part by wanting to be able to read and enjoy your posts about it.  And indeed, as I read through the beginning of the book, as many others who responded to your posts have said, I might not have continued reading if it weren’t for that motive.  Mysteries were introduced (“What was Krystal going to be interviewed concerning?” and then “What was the terrible thing Tessa Wall did?”), but the main and most compelling mystery for me was, “Why did J.K. Rowling, who can write so beautifully, write this???? “  You had said before the book came out that as an “adult” book, it was likely to contain foul language and sex scenes – but even thus forewarned, I couldn’t help but say to myself, “but to such a degree???”

However, by the end of what turned out to be, I thought, a beautiful – if very sad – story, I understood why.  And I am moved by what I imagine to be JKR’s story – that of someone who must feel such an awful responsibility for what she writes – knowing that she has the power to reach millions of people all over the world – and choosing how to use it.  I could feel that this was a story that came straight from her heart.

So, a bunch of things went through my mind as I read the book, and I wanted to share some of them with you. [Read more…]