REVIEW: The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling
(Don't worry, no spoilers)

J. K. Rowling's first book for adults tells the story of three citizens of a small town vying for a seat on local council after it's previous holder suddenly drops dead. When I told this to one of my library co-workers she replied "that doesn't seem like much of a plot", I see her point. At times I did get quite immersed by Rowling's legitimately 3D characters however the book dragged on too long to sustain my interest.  For this story, the book was about a quarter too long (the length of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone).
There are no lead protagonists in the book, instead we follow about 15 characters as they face life's trials. At first this jumping back and forth between characters was very confusing but eventually I got the hang of it. I would assume that Rowling's message is that no matter your socioeconomic status, life will still present you with terrible situations. Unfortunately I found none of Rowling's characters like-able and therefore, although I felt sorry for them, I didn't really care all that much about their problems. Some will be shocked by the nature of these problem (drugs, rape, suicide etc.) I believe however this is a brave and correct direction for Rowling to take.

But overall there is no getting away from one disappointing fact, this book is just not Harry Potter.

REVIEW: Bell Shakespeare, School for Wives

At drama school I was taught, as I'm sure English teachers will agree, that the key to Shakespeare is the text.    For me, the actors of the Bell Shakespeare Company consistently deliver beautiful handling of Shakespeare's words to the stage. I was therefore, very interested to see how they would deal with the words of Moliere (or translation of his original French mots as the case may be). I was moderately satisfied with what I heard. Certainly I could understand what was going on, an essential element to any play, and the joy of language was present, especially with the fun use of rhyme. Perhaps my slight disappointment stemmed from my own preference for William's words over Jean-Baptiste's jokes. Seeing such a young cast (although spiking my envy) was a treat. John Adam went from strength to strength, Alexandra Aldrich delivered some delightful comedy and Harriet Dyer, although at first unsettling me with her character choices, had completely won me over by interval. Damien Richardson however did not do it for me, too much yelling. School for Wives was a thoroughly enjoyable trip to the theatre, especially once they delivered my personal favourite tidbit, a wonderful and high-spirited curtain call.