Terry Pratchett: Guilty Of Literature

by Andrew M. Butler, Edward James (Editor), Farah Mendlesohn (Editor)

Terry Pratchett is a publishing phenomenon. Every new book becomes a best-seller, and every book gains him more fans. Despite this — or perhaps because of it — he has not been taken seriously by critics, even though some reviewers have, as he has said, "accused him of literature". This collection of studies covers the whole range of Pratchett's writings, from The Carpet People to The Fifth Elephant, and includes essays by critics such as John Clute and Andy Sawyer, and children's author Cherith Baldry. Introduction by David Langford.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Essays, Humor

343 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not deep, but sweet. More of a “what Pratchett was talking about”, less a hard look at what meaning was there. A labor of love. A nice distraction; don’t feel like I learned much. Validating, I suppose. That these scholars agree with me that these books are worth reading.

Pulls out one of my favorite quotes from the Hogfather, after Susan realizes that the sun would have risen the next day; it just would have been a big ball of flaming gas:

“All right,” said Susan. “I’m not stupid. You’re saying humans need . . . fantasies to make life bearable.”
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
“Tooth Fairies? Hogfathers? Little –“
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.”
“So we can believe the big ones?”
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.

And in the end, it’s death who saves us from extinction.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really deep, but still a good read for Pratchett fans. Enjoyed the essays about the Watch and the Witches in particular.

[Susan]

I am still just dipping into this occasionally, since I have lots of other books in my to-read pile. The 2 or 3 essays I've read so far have been somewhat turgid - sounded a bit like a student term paper trying to sound knowledgeable and patronizing at the same time.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of fantastic essays about Pratchett's Discworld novel, focusing on a lot of different aspects and critical theories relevant to his work.