What, Me Worry?

What could I possibly worry about with four more years of this administration?  How about, say, the rather large drop the stock market took this morning, for starters?  How about Iran? And Russia.  And China.  And paying for the boondoggle known as Obamacare.  And space!  I'm actually worried about space.  And the military. Oh yeah, I'm worried. I blogged back in January 2011 that Facebook was on the downhill slide, overrated.  And you see how that worked out.  So, while perhaps not in the same league as my snotty Facebook comments, let's just say that I think we should all be worried.  Not just me.

Of course I usually cling to my guns and my religion for succor, but right now I'll turn to what comforts me most of all.  My family, my friends, my home, my books, my music.   As such, I just finished J. K. Rowling's new book, coincidentally about a dirty political campaign, The Casual Vacancy.  I really, really liked it.  After the third Harry Potter book, I was kind of done with Rowling.  The books became overly long, and I got the impression she was being paid by the word, the books were so verbose.  In this book for adults (in which there are no witches or magic or anything--please don't ask), Rowling's talent really shines.

In the Harry Potter books, Harry lived with his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, who were suburban, objectionable, self-satisfied, and just generally awful.  Of course, they get their comeuppance in every book.  The Casual Vacancy tells the story of people very much like the Dursleys. It's the tale of a small town called Pagford, and its town council.  One of the councilors dies unexpectedly (a "casual vacancy"), and there is a rushed election to fill the empty seat. Pagford is divided by those who feel the council housing (like Section 8 housing), known as The Fields, should be detached from Pagford, and those who feel it should be embraced. There is also a drug treatment facility in The Fields that would be shuttered if detached from Pagford.  Whoever fills the empty seat will dictate how the town proceeds.  Obviously, drama ensues.

I wonder if Rowling, when she was on the dole and jobless, was treated harshly by her suburban neighbors.  She has a penchant for skewering the mildly successful, and making them seem ridiculous. The characters and the setting of The Casual Vacancy is very English, which I think is probably why it hasn't received glowing reviews in the U.S.  Along with the councilors, there  are the computer-hacking, sex-having kids, from both Pagford and The Fields, that attend the local school.  There are drug addicts and their children.  It's not a feel-good story, not at all, and I wouldn't say just anybody across the board would enjoy it.  But I was completely absorbed.  I would love for Rowling to write a follow-up, to see what happens to the little citizens of Pagford.

Now I just have to wait to see what on earth will happen to us,  the little citizens of America.