Flipping Through Pages #21 - Wyrd Sisters (A Book Review)

“Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of time we need wages.”

I was never much into Shakespeare during my school life. Memory and me had never been the best of friends (still have a fractious relationship at best), and all those long soliloquies strained my cerebral diction – thus I avoided them like the plague. But I loved the worlds that were created, and the English haunted me. For what magic there is in a world of ghosts, witches, kings and cauldrons.

Pratchett brings all that in here and more, in this wonderfully meta satire on Macbeth and Shakespearean tropes. It conjures up better memories of the bard within the school boy lost to time – and with that, I came across this book in fond nostalgia and wonder.

Cause if the Colour of Magic introduced me to Terry Pratchett, I think this is the book that sees him becoming a writer who manages to balance emotions and actions in a wonderful fashion – and the first step of evolution in the realms of Discworld. It doesn’t hurt that this features the return of an intriguing character who proved to be resilient to the status quo earlier.

Yes. Granny Weatherwax is back.

This time it’s the old shtick. A king has been murdered, the heir has been saved even as the killers plot to take over the throne. I don’t think I have ever loved murder so much in this series as any other, as it brings the wonderfully dross Death into play again.

One theme that has been visible across Discworld has been the concept of fate and destiny. How status quo determines for us the roles we play. This is the book that truly takes that and plays with it in wonderful meta fashion. The position of witches in this world is the first casualty of this – as the Duke serves to make them weak first through force, and then with some wise words, through words.

And words are really powerful, as Granny knows far too well.

And so, begins the battle between the three witches, each at a different stage of how they view witchology and the Duke and Duchess, who seek to destroy the concept all together. The three witches each are crafted out beautifully – Granny is the one with the status quo, Nanny is the best of both worlds while Magrat is the rebel. Margret especially shines because she strives to be a witch all the while questioning what it really means. The conversations between the coven are the highlight of this book.

Now coming to kingly affairs, the heir is wonderful in the theme of destiny. Placed in a performing act, he has found his place – and not among coins and loyal subjects, but in the face paint and wooden backdrops. Yes, instead of a king, he has become an actor.

You might think this means the story takes place over decades, but in curious fashion (especially when witches are involved), it does and does not. For Granny does something very out of turn and it leads to the final chapter where Duke Felmet has ensured that the heir, Tomjon, does a play which shows him in good light and the witches as horrible creatures. Things though do not go his way – and at the end all is well with the world.

And this is where the Fool comes in. I feel he is the most important character in this book – becoming a vehicle of reason that launches the Duke’s proper attack on the witches, and reverberates with the theme of forced destiny vs self want and finally he becomes the salvation of the kingdom of Lancre by revealing that he is Tomjon’s half-brother and has a claim to the throne. The subplot of his on off romance with Magrat is never concluded but maybe that’s for the best – witches and kings do not seem to make proper bedfellows.

A lot of fairy tale tropes with witches are thrown in for good measure, such as the apple seller trick (worked on Snow white so who knows), what Granny does and how it’s big compared to turning a pumpkin into a carriage (smells, but not like Cinderella had options) and finally Shakespeare himself is the big focus. Cause the play that seems to have been done is Macbeth and Hamlet two-in-one.

All in all, a beautiful piece of satire on a world I had a very peculiar relationship with. And obviously, the love for the power of words – well ask any bibliophile and they will nod in agreement.

It’s truly magic.

So, I give it 9.5 out of 10.

+Wonderful new characters
+Clever plotting with brilliant themes

+The play-in-play was ingenious

+Granny was brilliant

+Amazing blend of humour and drama

-The love story angle was half baked