Demented Kitty Misc

I discounted Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men when it first hit bookshelves. The reviews said it was aimed at teens. I may love almost all the novels based in The Disc World, but I didn't much feel like reading something that would likely make me feel patronized. Hat Full of Sky, the sequel, received the same treatment from me.

Then I saw mister Pratchett in person during his tour for the third Tiffany Aching book, Wintersmith. Forget that the coldest season is practically my deity. Leave aside that I cry when I see snow for the first time each year. I sat in an audience while a man with a frail, nervous body; big, brown hat; very little ego; and scalpel wit effortlessly made me laugh over and over again. He talked of the book, his process of writing, reached up the aisle, and liberally applied a flamethrower to my muse. She has been all but unstoppable since.

Wintersmith was such a joy that I read it four times in as many months. I read the other two books in the series. I ordered hardback copies.

I'm reading The Wee Free Men again this week. I can see that it really is meant for young readers. Yet, just because the book's setting is a fantasy world, most words are easily read, and the more complex phrases are explained doesn't mean that the book is simple. Not by a long shot.

She leaned down, and centuries bent with her.

"The secret is not to dream," she whispered. "The secret is to wake up. Waking up is harder. I have woken up and I am real. I know where I come from and I know where I'm going. You cannot fool me anymore. Or touch me. Or anything that is mine."

I'll never be like this again, she thought, as she saw the terror in the Queen's face. I'll never again feel as tall as the sky and as old as the hills and as strong as the sea. I've been given something for a while, and the price of it is that I have to give it back.

Those few paragraphs in particular ram a spear through my chest every time, and they are not alone in their potency. Each of the three books, especially Wintersmith, make me laugh very often and fight back tears at least once or twice per read. I find a few of mister Pratchett's books to be funnier. Many of his plots are less obvious. However, nothing of his that I have read is more powerful. I love this series.