This is one of my favorite books of all time and the one that made me realize Terry Pratchett was a genius. I'd read other works by him including EQUAL RITES and THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, but WYRD SISTERS was the one that made me realize that here was the greatest satirist of modern times masquerading as a fantasy writer.
The plot is an out and out ripoff of Macbeth, but that's okay. Billy Shakespeare stole it from the very best sources and it is a plot that stands the test of time: ambitious fellow, egged on by an even more ambitious wife, kills the true king but then Fate itself steps in to humble the arrogant and put the true heir on the throne. In Shakespeare's hands, this becomes an epic tragedy that speaks to our humanity.
But Pratchett makes this a rollicking comedy that speaks to our human need to tell ourselves stories. This is a favorite theme of his that echoes in many of his later books: MASQUERADE, HOGFATHER, TRUTH and SMALL GODS. Shakespeare likens the world to a stage; Pratchett warns us that the stories we tell ourselves are important because they make us who we are. In WYRD SISTERS, he takes the same elements that Shakespeare uses and shows us how the fake crown of the stage can trump the golden crown of kings.
That's merely what the book is about. Here Granny Weatherwax steps to the fore as a mistress of headology. It's more than just magic. All three of the witches are funny, but Granny is also heroic. What is most admirable is how Pratchett makes his witches into real people: Magrat with her youthful insecurity balanced by Nanny Ogg with her knowing ways and numerous progeny and the wrathful and determined Granny Weatherwax who will find a way to run the clocks forward 15 years rather than pay taxes or suffer disrespect from the usurper.
Pratchett's characters are capable of being both hilarious and sad: The Fool here is one of his best. The biggest mistake one can make about this fantasy is to think that because it uses stock elements, it's only ordinary. Pratchett puts a twist on everything so nothing is as it seems.
The opening paragraph gives due warning of this. One has the blasted heath, the thunderstorm, the eldritch screech of "When shall we three meet again?"
Pause. "Well, I can do next Tuesday."
This book is recommended for drama queens, drama majors, and every student who has just had to read Macbeth. Break a leg getting to the bookstore if you have to, but read this book. If it makes you laugh, it will also make you think.Get more detail about Wyrd Sisters: The Play (Discworld Series).
No comments:
Post a Comment