JK Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy Book Cover & Synopsis Revealed

By Curtis Evans / July 7, 2012

The cover art and a new synopsis for J.K Rowling€™s up and coming novel The Casual Vacancy has officially been released to the delight of fans across the world. Love or hate Harry Potter, from now on there will be no escape from hype for any book with the name J.K Rowling splashed across it. This first adult novel from the mind behind one of the biggest cultural phenomena in recent memory will surely be one of the most anticipated reads of the year. The Casual Vacancy has been described by its publisher Little Brown Company as "Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising", with the plot centred on a €œwar€ over a newly vacated parish council seat in the fictional town of Pagford. The full synopsis can be found below with the official cover artwork.

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the 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 parish 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? A big novel about a small town, €œThe Casual Vacancy€ is J. K. Rowling€™s first novel for adults. It is the work of a storyteller like no other.

If the synopsis and cover is anything to go by, Rowling's first foray into adult writing couldn't be further from the world of Hogwarts. The cover has a vintage look about it, utilising the hand drawn look that has been making its way back in to literary fashion in the last decade. Its clean look, bright colouring and lack of imagery reminiscent of J.D Salinger book covers. Regardless of your view on Rowling's writing, it's difficult to deny that this much anticipated novel is heading anywhere but the best seller list, with older Potter fans likely to pick it up even if it's only down to curiosity. The Casual Vacancy is due for release on September 27 and will be available online and in all good book stores.What's your view on The Casual Vacancy? Will you be donning your wizard hat and robes and heading down to the bookstore at midnight for old times' sake? Wizards let me know your opinions via Owl, for all you muggles just sound off in the comment box below as usual.