The Casual Vacancy

J.K. 羅琳首部獻給成人的小說作品

　　繼全球暢銷超四億冊的哈利波特系列後，羅琳獻給讀者一部犀利詼諧、意味深遠的小城大故事：『The Casual Vacancy』(臨時空缺)

　　故事發生於英國鄉間，有著鵝卵石街道，古樸修道院的平靜小城派格福。小鎮議員巴利的意外死訊，震驚了整個小鎮。

　　事實上，派格福小鎮在平靜表象下暗潮洶湧：窮人與富翁的對峙，小孩與父母的衝突，妻子與丈夫的過招、教師與學生間的鬥智。隨著巴利過世，繼之而來的議員空缺補選點燃一場風暴，小鎮陷入前所未有的爭戰中。究竟是誰，能在這場充滿狂熱、欺瞞、與出乎意料真相的補選中獲得勝利？！

　　When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.

　　Seemingly an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, what lies behind the pretty facade 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?

　　Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.