When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seeminglu, an English idyll, with a cobbled market swuare and an ancient abbey but 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, teacher at war with thei pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town's council soon becomes the catalyst for the biffest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election frugnt with pasion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking, and constantly surprising. The Casual Vacansy is the work of story teller like no other