2022 Free Range Reading
A book chosen for fun, not part of any project, plan, or list. Part of my new appreciation of Discworld and Terry Pratchett. This is a new thing for me, begun this year.
This book is our first encounter with Granny Weatherwax, whom I knew from the Tiffany Aching books (my intro to Discworld). I was surprised to realize that this was only the third installment in the series as a whole (having previously been defeated by book 1, which really didn't grab me). By the end of the series, Granny has progressed, but she started out strong!
Pratchett wrote really good female characters. The trick, I think, is that he treats them just like his male characters, giving them clear, understandable motivations and not giving the impression that their aspirations are ridiculous. In this book, the Wizarding world doesn't know what hit it. Like so many institutions in our world (law, medicine, universities, clubs, etc.), membership has traditionally been men only. Eskarina Smith shakes things up, when she is accidentally the recipient of a great wizard's staff and legacy when he mistakenly assumes she is a boy. She comes into impressive power, but she needs to learn control. The Unseen University, however, has never admitted a female student. Granny Weatherwax does what she can for the young woman, but Eskarina does the heavy lifting, always asking, “Where is it written?”
Pratchett skewers the chauvanistic University and the misogynistic attitudes of the wizards. He effectively points out how pointless it is to mindlessly cling to things just because “it's always been that way.” Just like in the Tiffany Aching books, he gives his characters relationship options, but he doesn't centre the action on that—he makes it obvious that male/female teams can make the most effective discoveries and decisions.
Thank you, Sir Terry, for your clear eyed view of the world and your gentle way of tweaking us about it.
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