Hardcover, 608 pages
Spanish language
Published Nov. 8, 2012 by Editorial Salamandra.
La historia de esta primera obra de Rowling para adultos se centra en Pagford, un imaginario pueblecito del sudoeste de Inglaterra donde la súbita muerte de un concejal desata una feroz pugna entre las fuerzas vivas del pueblo para hacerse con el puesto del fallecido, factor clave para resolver un antiguo litigio territorial. La minuciosa descripción de las virtudes y miserias de los personajes conforman un microcosmos tan intenso como revelador de los obstáculos que lastran cualquier proyecto de convivencia, y, al mismo tiempo, dibujan un divertido y polifacético muestrario de la infinita variedad del género humano. Sin que el lector apenas lo perciba, Rowling consigue involucrarlo en temas de profundo calado mientras lo conduce sin pausa a un sorprendente desenlace final.
100 pages in, and I simply can't muster the excitement nor expectation that usually comes at the end of the night when I get to read before going to sleep.
Maybe I'll return later. Or maybe not; my bookshelves are awfully full of books with more promise.
Very engaging, well paced, well written--what can I say?
I read this in two shifts, because I couldn't finish it in my first three week loan period, and there was a long wait to get it back again. Still, I was able to pick up right where I left off. I had been so engaged by the story, that I had no trouble remembering the relationships of the characters and the story line. It probably could have been edited down a little, without diminishing our experience.
The relationships between friends, opponents, partners (romantic and business), parents/children, rich/poor were rich and realistic, as were the social and political aspects (for better or worse).
Much too long, much too slow, much too disappointing. There are many characters from whose side the story is told, except - there's not much of a story. A small tragedy in a small backward town, told with 400-odd pages long intro, so the final action feels really anti-climatic.
Sorry J.K., should've stuck with magic, drama turns to boredom under your pen!
