Those banging sounds you kept hearing over the weekend were the sound of bookworms’ heads exploding, one after the other, all over the world, at the sudden revelation that a little-known detective novel called The Cuckoo’s Calling, by “debut author” Robert Galbraith, published quietly back in April, was actually penned by J.K. Rowling. You know, she of worldwide fame and wingardium leviosa and quidditch and Defense Against the Dark Arts and O.W.L.s and being richer than the Queen?
Upon its printing, The Cuckoo’s Calling (image source) only sold about 1,500 copies. My library doesn’t even have a copy (I checked). But now that the author is revealed as J.K. Rowling, they’re selling out everywhere. Evidently, Rowling had hoped to keep her identity secret for a little while longer (hmmmmm, kind of like Lord Voldemort stayed behind the scenes while he was raising his evil army in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix… no, no, wait, I didn’t just compare J.K. Rowling to Voldemort, I didn’t, I’m sorry Jo!) and it seems that she wanted to write a novel under a pseudonym so as to get honest reviews, not tainted by having her name on the cover. (Well, I can’t fault her for that – she’s got to wonder if The Casual Vacancy, which got okay reviews, would have done better with critics if it didn’t have to compete with Harry, Ron and Hermione.) And as it happens, The Cuckoo’s Calling did get very good reviews before Rowling was revealed as the author. It was called “scintillating” and “stellar,” and the dialogue “sparkling” – one reviewer even expressed surprise that it was a debut novel (well, it wasn’t).
This will probably come as a shock to some, but I haven’t made up my mind yet whether or not I’m actually going to read The Cuckoo’s Calling. I wanted to read The Casual Vacancy not only because Rowling wrote it, but because I thought the premise sounded interesting – small-town election politics? Right up my alley. (My actual impressions after finishing the book were more conflicted, but I’m not going to deny that I was itching to read The Casual Vacancy for reasons that had nothing to do with the author.) Supermodel suicides and the fabulously wealthy and movie stars and rappers? Not as much up my alley. I’ll probably get on the waiting list at my library (once my library shakes off its surprise at the news and orders a copy, that is) just because it’s a sensation and I don’t want to be the only person who hasn’t read The Cuckoo’s Calling. But I’m not falling all over myself to read it, even though it’s supposed to be fantastic.
That’s not because “Robert Galbraith” is misleading – and by the way, check out my friend Amal’s very well-considered post on whether the fictional biography the publishers invented for “Galbraith” amounts to consumer fraud – I’m just not convinced I’m going to enjoy it, good as it is supposed to be. But I guess I’ll find out.
Have you read The Cuckoo’s Calling, or are you planning to? Were you completely shocked at the news, too?
covered in flour 
I doubt I’m going to read this one. I am annoyed about the misleading marketing (the bio, and I have suspicious about the way Rowling’s identity was revealed), and I also don’t think it’s the type of novel I’d want to read. “The Casual Vacancy” is up my alley, but I’ve put it off. I think it’s a little too dark for me.
Also, thanks for the mention! I don’t know if anyone who purchased the book felt defrauded (I imagine many people were delighted to learn it’s JK Rowling), but how would they have felt had “Robert Galbraith” turned out to be James Frey or even me? I can’t claim to be an ex-military officer, and neither can Rowling.
I completely agree with you that the “author bio” is a huge problem, and I can understand why it would put you off reading the book. Personally, *if* I pick it up, it will be because I hate being the one person who hasn’t read the big sensation – although I’ve managed to avoid THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, so maybe there’s hope for me. I’m not entirely sure I’ll be reading THE CUCKOO’S CALLING, anyway – the plot, as I said, just doesn’t appeal to me.
THE CASUAL VACANCY was pretty dark. I found it an uncomfortable but worthwhile read, but I think it would have been possible to tell substantially the same story in a more hopeful way. I’m fascinated by small-town election politics, and the English setting was particularly interesting (since there were reference to things like parishes and council houses – just a different vernacular) but the feel of the book was quite depressing. I hear that J.K. Rowling’s next book (as herself, that is) will be another children’s book, and I’m looking forward to that. It seems that writing for the young (and young at heart!) is what she does best.