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TheSite.org Book Club: Discussion on March's Book - 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited January 2023 in General Chat
Hi folks!

Just a reminder, we will be having a Live Chat on this book on Wednesday 11th April at 7pm :).

So, how did we find Snuff?

For me, having only read a couple of Discworld books (and a LONG time ago), this was a bit of a departure from my usual reads (what can I say, I like my reading to be dark and gloomy!). But I loved it! It took me a while to really get into it and I thought it dragged on a little at the start, but once the story got going I raced through.

My favourite character by far was Young Sam, and I loved the little touches Pratchett put into his character - the hand-holding thing, for example, really made me smile, and the development of his poo fascination was awesome.

I think this is one of those kind of books that really makes you think - a very serious message under a (rather thin at times, admittedly!) veil of silliness and fantasy. I also liked the way Pratchett managed to explain things that were obviously parts of previous novels without retelling the whole story (I'm looking at YOU, Patricia Cornwell) - it's really made me want to go and read all of the Discworld novels from start to finish and understand more of the past stories.

Anyway, since this was Slarti's nomination I will leave it at that and let him have his say now :).

Hope to see plenty of you at chat, and have a think about what you might want to nominate for next month's read so you can pimp it - I'll post the nominations thread straight after chat has finished :)
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've read pretty much all of the Discworld series, with the exception of the young children's version, and they never fail to entertain. Pratchett has this ability to take a sideways look at the world we inhabit and provide a social commentary through his creation of a parallel world. Whether he's writing about war, football, cinema, death, theatre or crime he manages to inject humour through his wry observations whilst also making you think about the absurdity of our own lives.

    After 30-odd books in a series it would be easy for him to rest on his laurels and just churn out any old crap because it'll sell. Yet he doesn't take the easy option, his characters continue to grow (Sam Vimes is a prime example of this) and yet they never seem to act in a way which is unexpected - and that is, for me, the mark of a true writer.

    It's for this reason that I would recommend the series to anyone - yes you can read each book independantly because they will all stand alone. However, if you read them in order then you see the progression both in Pratchett's style and skill but also see how his world and it's characters develop over the year. The relationship between Vimes and Sybil is a great insight into a marriage, and has developed over the years.

    This is another fine example of that, going to places he's never visited before but with strong characters previously developed. Another great read.
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