captaind's Full Review: Terry Pratchett - The Wee Free Men
The Wee Free Men is Terry Pratchett second children’s books set in Discworld (the first being “The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents”, which I haven’t read yet but will definitely have to) and is a Story of Discworld, but not a Novel of Discworld. Unlike his other books for children that I’ve reviewed, though, I love this one every bit as much as the best Discworld novels – it’s definitely more accessible for kids, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable for adults. The story is set on the Disc but on a part not visited in any of the Discworld novels – and the characters are all different, except a certain Granny, who makes a cameo appearance near the end of the book, and the eponymous little blue men (styled on the Picts [Scots], it seems) who are also called the Nac Mac Feegle. There did appear in the Discworld novel “Carpe Jugulum”, but in that I found them more annoying than funny.
The storyline goes thus: Tiffany Aching’s monster of a little brother, Wentworth (not a literal monster, you understand, just a little monster in the way that all little brothers are), has been kidnapped by the Queen of the Fairies - and Tiffany has to get her back. Before this quest starts she is visited by a Witch called Perspicacia Tick (meant to make her name sound like “Mystic”), who suspects that Tiffany may be a Witch but not know it yet. (“I see we’re going to get on like a house on fire. There may be no survivors.”)
As she sets off on her quest, she is unexpectedly aided by The Wee Free Men, who themselves lived in Fairyland – but were thrown out for being Drunk and Disorderly! They’re very small, fearsomely strong and quick, and virtually fearless – but not too smart. (“What are we good at, boys?” – “Fightin’!” – An’ drinkin’!” – “An’ thievin’!” – “And what else?” – “Er… fightin’ an’ drinkin’ an’ thievin’!!”) They also have a personal score to settle with the Queen of the Fairies – but due to her awesome powers, they are also the only person they are afraid of…
The Wee Free Men is an absolute delight to read. Although the language used is somewhat simpler than in the Discworld novels, it’s fantastically readable and the humour leaps out at you from every page – in fact, pretty much every sentence. The Wee Free men themselves are hysterical (both as a group and as individuals), and Tiffany’s pragmatic and unflustered approach to every problem makes the bizarre situations even funnier. (For instance, at the start of the book story a monster appears in the local stream – instead of being frightened, Tiffany uses Wentworth as bait for the monster and promptly whacks the monster on the head with a frying pan…) Despite her pragmatism, Tiffany is a very angaging and likeable character - and you've gotta love those Wee Free Men! Wentworth is a very funny character and the relationship Tiffany has with him is both funny, realistic, and occasionally touching. (“Why do you want to save him? You don’t even like him!” – “I know I don’t like him. But he’s my brother.”) The situations themselves are perhaps even more surreal than those in a Discworld novel, which is quite an achievement!
The storyline is extremely good for a children’s book. It borrows from practically every fairy tale ever written, but blends the elements into one very coherent storyline that as a whole owes nothing to these fairytales. The use of common ideas will no doubt help to make the experience of reading it more enjoyable for young children as it introduces things they already know about. There is no bad language used in the book (unless the word “crivens!” is a real word in some language – I think it was made up so that the Wee Free Men could use an expletive that wasn’t actually a swear word), and there is only some mild comic violence, so it’s completely kid-safe. (Unless of course the Witch aspect is something that you would not want your children to read – this is in fact a very small part of the story though.)
Anyone who’s read my book reviews for a while will know that the Discworld series is my all-time favourite series of novels. And while The Wee Free Men is not strictly speaking part of that series, I would rank it right up with the best of the Discworld novels – and believe me, that’s quite an accolade from me.
What Pratchett has done here is amazing. He has created a book that is definitely more accessible for children but which adults will absolutely love too. To me, his amazing writing is in sharper evidence here than ever – partly because I have not enjoyed his other children’s books half as much. It’s hilarious on a level that children and adults alike can appreciate, and it’s got a cracking storyline. I would recommend it to anyone who can read!
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