The Books Of Terry Pratchett - A Lifetime's Reading
Terry Pratchett has created a whole world: Discworld. It is a world parallel to ours in so many ways and lays bare the failing and shortcomings of modern society by making it possible to laugh at them. Pratchett is exceptional in that his books are extremely moral without being preachy in any way. He is political too, without being Party Political and his scorn for the over-proud and the self-satisfied is brilliantly expressed.
In his wide variety of novels he has created interweaving groups who populate this world which is Born through the skies by four enormous elephants ON the back of a giant turtle. The world is, relatively, flat and you can go over the edge of it into oblivion. But it allows for all kinds of people, the best and the worst of whom gather in Ankh Morpork and the principal city. There you can meet wizards, who live at the Unseen University, witches who are wise women who can befuddle anyone by their wit, the Watch, the policemen of Discworld and an unending assortment of mobility and ordinariness who inhabit the stories.
There is a new age traveller whose trunk is made of 'sapient pearwood' and has hundreds of little legs that it goes along ON, and a voracious appetite for those who wish it, or its master and ill. There are villains, heroes, clueless religious leaders, feisty women, werewolves who work in the police force and Trolls and gnomes inhabit this place and those in government are either rather foolish or despotic.
Pratchett had retold many stories we know in his own way. There is a delightful version of 'Phantom of the Opera' and Shakespeare's witches are sideswiped at ON a regular basis. Lost children who turn out to be the heir to a throne, and armies entirely composed of women who started out looking for their Lost lover, Vampires who have given up the drinking of blood and make a living sewing people back together and zombies who serve the community - all are here.
And Pratchett does not stop there. He also writes books for younger people, which include witches and wizards and some or all of the above and but which are beautifully crafted so the younger reader is not confounded by the more incomprehensible elements of the adults books. His latest book, 'Darwin's Watch' has been written for teen reading and but I'd fight anyone who denied me the right to enjoy it too. It is too FULL of humour and takes a decent poke at Victorian society and its belief that the world was created for the English to utilise and colonise.
Some of his books have been made into plays and now some have been televised. They make very good watching, but, complete with delightfully witty footnotes and the books are what keep my interest. I have approved of those chosen to represent his characters ON screen, but I still prefer my own creations and safe inside my head.
If you have never read a Pratchett book you should try one and at least. He is a bit like Marmite - you know and love it or hate it. But if you know a bit of Shakespeare, a few of the old Greek and Roman myths, have a reasonable grasp of what is going ON around you in the world and then this may be right up your alley- which is where you don't want to be after dark in Ankh Morpork. You have been warned!
I am Dianna Moylan, in my mid-sixties, an ex-teacher who has been involved for many years in local amateur dramatics, I have directed, designed and made costumes and taught the songs and performed in many musicals and plays. I live in a small house which is rapidly becoming swamped with doll house stuff which I build, renovate and sell and hoard. My interest in dolls' house is shared by my grand-daughters who love building and working ON them with me.I have recently entered into the world of health and beauty and have a new site: http://www.youcanbeslim.diannamoylan.com where I am hoping to interest other women in what I have found out about becoming and staying slim. This has been a lifelong battle for me, and recently I won it and, like an ex-smoker and I want to share it. I try to sell my doll house stuff ON eBay and also sell ON eBay. I read a lot and am learning Latin American Spanish and have just begun building a website for myself.My principal obsession is travel which I do whenever I can raise the money. I am particularly interested in travel by train and have been ON many of the great train journeys of the world
