Jan 03, 2005 07:06 PM
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(Updated Jan 03, 2005 07:06 PM)
I have been meaning to write a review on one of Terry’s work for quite some time. My only dilemma was, to choose which book should I start with? He has written about 40 books and according to me, each one of them is a masterpiece. And also he is not as popular here in India as he ought to be. Therefore I have decided to write a general piece which reflects the character of his books and then a review on one of his books.
His writings, in my opinion are one of the most hilarious pieces I have ever read. His work ranges from absurd to hard hitting satire. But whatever he writes, he bases his stuff on the real world and one can easily draw parallels to the real world.
Almost all of his books’ plots happen on an imaginary place called Discworld. This world is flat, i.e. it is not a sphere like all our normal worlds but flat like a chapatti. One can actually fall off the edge of the world. This world is supported by 4 elephants , who in turn are on a great turtle O’Tuin, which roams around in space. As we can see the series is a fantasy one with more than a dollop of hilarity.
Because the world is imaginary and totally the author’s creation, he can do anything there. The laws of physics do not matter here. What Terry does in his books is that he picks up any ongoing or famous happenings, place etc from the real world, and plays out the happenings in his discworld. In the process he brings out the humor in the things we see normally everyday. It is not an easy job and it takes a great cynic to do that. Often the humor lies not in the plot, but in the way the character reacts in a particular situation. Often the reaction is an exaggerated form of the normal behavior one can expect from a person next door.
Last, but not the least. The funniest parts in his books are the footnotes. He often writes footnotes explaining something in the most bizarre manner. I will give an example which comes to my mind.
Of course, Ankh-Morpork's citizens had always claimed that the river water
was incredibly pure. Any water that had passed through so many kidneys,
they reasoned, had to be very pure indeed.
(Terry Pratchett, Sourcery)
One more
The shortest span of time known to man is the New York second, which is defined as the time elapsed between a traffic light turning green and the cabbie behind you honking.
And another
The gods of the Disc have never bothered much about judging the souls of the dead, and so people only go to hell if that's where they believe, in their deepest heart, that they deserve to go. Which they won't do if they don't know about it. This explains why it is so important to shoot missionaries on sight.
(Terry Pratchett, Eric)
and the last one
-- (Terry Pratchett, Eric)
On discworld there is a major city called Ankh Morpork. There are several continents which we can relate to the continents of our world. And of course the characters. Each and every one of them is as hilarious as any. He has done spoofs on Macbeth, China, Africa, Music, Christmas, Hollywood, Dr. Faust and many many more. I suppose he is the best humor writer I have ever read.
Now, its time for the book being reviewed.
Lords and Ladies is a book which takes on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Just like Macbeth there are 3 witches and there is a king. But after that the plot is turned upside down. The witches are the funniest witches one can encounter (and formidable too). They all reside in a village and the locals are both scared as well as in awe of the witches and they regularly help with (or meddle with) other people’s affairs.
Apart from this little blurb I will not supply the plot in detail as the beauty of the book lies not in the plot, but the characters and the situations and the dialogues.
In the book (or one of the others, I am not sure) one of the witches says, “I am scared, something will happen to us”. To this the other replies “ Nothing will happen to us, we happen to other people.”.
A must read.
I will end with another quote ( if allowed I can fill 10 reviews just with quotes).
''Meat pies! Hot sausages! Inna bun! So fresh the pig h'an't noticed they're gone!''
-- Genuine pig portion packages
(Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures)
Nikunj
