Overall, this is a great story. It’s a story of reflection and how you perceive yourself. Shirley Mollison, one the characters in the books, says it best when she says that the city of Pagford is a reflection of Shirley. On the outside it’s quaint and lovely, having a great school system and a caring local government. But like Shirley herself, Pagford refuses to see the in-fighting amongst residences and the out-skirts where a drug clinic and the less fortunate fight every day for survival. Pagford only sees what it wants to see, its redeemable qualities. And in try to keep these qualities in the forefront, it ends up doing itself more damage than should have happened.

I will mention that I was disappointed by the end. There didn’t seem to be much of a resolution. A lot was left unresolved that I think could have been handled in a couple of chapters tacked onto the end. I felt as if I only got a partial story and was missing the end of the book. But this could have been done purposefully by the author. Maybe she wanted to leave us with that feeling that things are unresolved.

Just a word of caution: For those of you who know J.K. Rowling as the author of Harry Potter, don’t be fooled. This is not Harry Potter reincarnate. Pagford is a regular town with regular folks and once you learn of its short-comings, it’s not even that pleasant of a town. Also, it’s a slow read. In true John Grisham style, Rowling spends half the book setting the stage for what will happen in the next half. Therefore, until you reach the end of Part 3, you may struggle to keep your attention. But stick with it, the story’s just begun and it gets interesting.

This book is linked with the post “Book Review: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling – Dysfunctional Families Unite”.