Jk Rowling - JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy gets lukewarm response from critics

JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy gets lukewarm response from critics

Jk Rowling's new book 'The Casual Vacancy' has failed to impress critics.

The 'Harry Potter' author's first adult novel shot to the top of best-seller lists after selling 2.6m copies on pre-order, but the gritty tale has so far received mixed reviews from literary critics.

The New York Daily News paper has slammed the book, saying: ''J .K. Rowling has gone from Potter to potty-mouth. It isn't dreadful. It's just dull ... We've read it before, darker, bleaker and better.''

The Telegraph newspaper is also less than complimentary, explaining: ''It quickly becomes clear that this is not the book we might have been expecting.''

'The Casual Vacancy' is a great departure from JK's beloved children's fiction about the wizarding world, and the racy tale set in the fictional town of Pagford features self-harm, drugs, heavy swearing, sex and even a rape scene.

However, The Guardian found redeeming qualities in JK's novel, describing it as ''no masterpiece, but it's not bad at all: intelligent, workmanlike, and often funny.''

The reviewer added: ''I could imagine it doing well without any association to the Rowling brand.''

Despite this lukewarm response, the book is one of the most hotly-anticipated novels of the year and is predicted to do well.

'The Casual Vacancy' is released today (27.09.12).