New J.K. Rowling Cover Revealed
Little, Brown unveiled the cover for J.K. Rowling’s adult title, The Casual Vacancy, which releases world wide on 9/27. The NYT gives this analysis,
“Following the aesthetics of recent literary titles like The Marriage Plot and The Art of Fielding [ed. note, also published by Little,Brown], Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s first adult novel will sport swoopy script, solid colors, and minimal design. The checkbox on the cover is likely a nod to the political themes of the book, which takes place in a small England town roiled by controversy.”
In a press release, the publisher describes the 512 page novel, as “a big book about a small town” and gives plot details:
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?
The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling, Hachette/Little, Brown, 9/27
ISBN 978-0-316-22853-4 Hardcover ($35.00), 516 pages
ISBN 978-1-619-69500-9 Audio CD ($44.98) — Read by Tom Hollander
ISBN 978-0-316-22854-1 Large print hardcover ($39.00)