Last year, when the news was announced that British author Terry Pratchett had a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, a collective sigh went up around the Disc ... er, world. If you read much of my blog, you will know that I consider Terry Pratchett to be one of the finest writers alive today. I have Mr. Ether to thank for getting me hooked, and believe me, it is an addiction ... but a good one, all things considered.The Discworld books are frequently shelved with fantasy books, but they are very much satire. Bright and joyful satire. Terry Pratchett clearly loves his fellow human beings, with all their foibles and idiosyncrasies. And he loves poking fun at them.
When I try to name a favorite character, each one makes me think of 3 more favorites: Sam Vimes, Captain Carrot, the Librarian, Quoth the Raven, Leonard of Quirm, Bloody Stupid Johnson, Death, Nobby Nobbs, Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax, the Igors, Lu Tse, Gaspode the wonder dog ... they are all wonderful, imaginative, and likable.
I recommend Pratchett to many people, and I am frequently surprised when people come back to me and say that they tried a Pratchett book but just couldn't get into it. So let me offer a few tips for reading Terry Pratchett. First of all, he has been writing for many years now, and I have to say that the earlier books in the Discworld series are not as well developed as the more recent ones. Furthermore, while all of the books comprise one series, there are different series' within the series that follow specific characters or groups of characters. I like some of them better than others. If you want to follow a specific thread, you can consult the L-Space. Finally, I think people see that he has so many books and assume that they will be a quick, fluffy, fantasy read. So be forewarned: when you pick up a Pratchett book, you are reading literature. The plots are multi-layered and may take a while to figure out what's going on.
All of this is to lead up to a book review of Hogfather. It is December 32, Hogswatchnight. The night when the Hogfather travels around the Disc in his sleigh pulled by 4 pigs, delivering presents to all of the good little boys and girls. But the Hogfather has disappeared and a proxy is filling in for him. Only a few people have noticed that strange things are afoot: Susan Sto-Helit (Death's granddaughter) and the wizards at the Unseen University have just a few hours to figure out what is going on and put things right so that the sun will rise on the new day.
If you haven't read any Pratchett, this is a good one to start with. It explores one of his favorite recurring themes, belief, in a way that I certainly can believe in. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Hogfather and intend to make the reading of it an annual tradition each December.
Millennium hand and shrimp. Buggr'it!
11 comments:
I can feel myself getting drawn in.....
Good post. Of course, I also have the addiction, so I guess it's preaching to the choir in my case.
Tusker is a very naughty pig.
Sounds like one of those that needs writing down in my notebook with books I want to get yet..
I just got a dog-chewn copy from my local library's trade shelf.
Sorghum -- Chewed by Gaspode the wonder dog, I'll warrant!
Have any of his excellent books been made into movies or are there any plans to do so?
Also, he's a much better writer than what's her name that does the Potter books....LOL
Anna was just watching a movie of Hogfather last night. We're hoping to borrow it from her before she sends it back to Netflix.
We have an ongoing conversation about who should play Sam Vimes. I think Kevin Spacey.
Poodledoc: Pratchett and Rowling aren't even in the same league. Fame and sales have nothing to do with skill and talent. Putting it into, oh, let's say basketball terms, Pratchett would be Michael Jordan and Rowling would be someone like Madonna.
A Terry Pratchett quote about his books being made into movies. The "Neil" mentioned in the quote is 2009 Newberry Award winning author Neil Gaiman, with whom Pratchett co-authored Good Omens:
"The difference between me and Neil in our attitude to movie projects is that he doesn't believe they're going to happen until he's sitting in his seat eating popcorn, and I don't believe they're going to happen."
That said, there have been a handful of Pratchett books made into movies or made-for-TV movies, the most recent of which is Hogfather. I haven't seen any of them yet, as I'm scared they won't be done well, but I'll give Hogfather a try and see how it is.
Sam Vimes: I'm thinking Gary Oldman.
Gary Oldman? Nope. Sorry. Can't get past Sid and Nancy.
You need to see him in a few more things, then. He's an incredible chameleon of an actor.
I'm halfway through Hogfather. It's good so far, but there are a few things that bug me. On the whole, though, I feel like the filmmakers really love Pratchett's work and understand what makes them so amazing. It's a nice blend of satire and fantastical elements. Not enough Death of Rats, though. :(
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