Equal Rites: A Discworld Novel: 3

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Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983. In 1987, he turned to writing full time. And while it wasn't quite as funny to me as The Light Fantastic, there were more than a few laugh out loud moments and quotes that I highlighted for later. In Discworld, there are unwritten rules that govern magic. One of these is- guys are wizards and girls are witches. Wizards have staffs. Witches have pointy hats and work with nature.

Infused with the spirit of second-wave feminism (as told by a well-meaning white man), it tells the story of a young girl who is destined to become a wizard, much to the concern of both witches and wizards alike. But to me it also felt like a tale about the older generation coming to terms with and learning to embrace the desire for change promoted by the youth. Equal Rites is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the third novel in the Discworld series and the first in which the main character is not Rincewind. The title is wordplay on the phrase " Equal Rights". Now I have in the past read probably a dozen or so Discworld novels and have come across some of the major players in this epic series, Granny Weathwax included, who was the star of this book. Whilst I don't remember ever actually reading this book it was wonderful to get reacquainted with Granny W. Spending time with Granny Weatherwax (one of my all time favorite characters in literature) was a treasure but this time around I noticed what how much I liked Eskarina and I wonder if she was a template upon which Tiffany Aching was later drawn.

Everybody knows there's no such thing as a female wizard. So when the wizard Drum Billet accidentally passes on his staff of power to an eighth daughter of an eighth son, a girl called Eskarina (Esk, for short), the misogynistic world of wizardry wants nothing to do with her. A Morris Minor is a British car that non-Brits might be familiar with either through the video clip for Madness' song 'Driving in my car', or through the TV series Lovejoy. In that series, Lovejoy's car 'Miriam' is a Morris Minor. For the rest of you, and is descrbed as follows: In the Discworld, men are wizards and women are witches – at least that is how it has been up to the point when young Eskarina Smith sort of becomes – both. Pratchett spins a deliciously tangled web about the age-old contest between the men and the ladies. Thankfully Granny Weatherwax, the Discworld’s most famous witch, has plenty of experience ignoring the status quo. With Granny’s help, Esk sneaks her way into the magical Unseen University and befriends apprentice wizard Simon. Niña tonta, lo que pasa es que él creía que estaba diciendo la verdad. El mundo no es siempre como piensa la gente”.Pratchett skewers the chauvanistic University and the misogynistic attitudes of the wizards. He effectively points out how pointless it is to mindlessly cling to things just because “it's always been that way.” Just like in the Tiffany Aching books, he gives his characters relationship options, but he doesn't centre the action on that—he makes it obvious that male/female teams can make the most effective discoveries and decisions. But power is unpredictable, and these bright young students soon find themselves in a whole new dimension of trouble. Let the battle of the sexes begin.... Born Terence David John Pratchett, Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Don´t get me wrong, I instrumentalize anything to fit my agenda and continually misuse and wantonly misinterpret the code of objective reviewing, you should have already get used to it if this is not my first review drivel you read, but I at least don´t breed new prejudices. I am only saying, just like Pratchett, that all human problems are related to power hungry, already wealthy males that just can´t get enough.

For a long while, Esk would make no other appearances nor have mentions in any further novels until I Shall Wear Midnight, wherein she assists Tiffany Aching in hiding from the Cunning Man, and teaches her about his history. Qué ganas tenía de releer esta saga. Es una de mis favoritas de Pratchett (por el momento). Esta novela la encontré de casualidad en una tienda de segunda mano en Oviedo. En ese momento estaba leyendo la saga de la muerte. Otra saga que también recomiendo bastante y también pendiente de releer ( tengo más lista pendiente de relecturas que de nuevas lecturas pero en fin). Pratchett's Discworld is such a fantastic and surprising place, so different from structured reality, that it was really interesting to explore native prejudices and expectations among the inhabitants. Girls are witches and boys are wizards until Esk is born and turns those expectations on their head. Her struggles to find her place in the magical world and Granny's attempts to teach her are slightly reminiscent of The Once and Future King, but with a feminine twist.I liked how the issue of gender roles is portrayed in this book. Starting from the title which is a play on “Equal Rights”, to the characters to society's expectations, Sir Terry Pratchett has captured the real-world issues of gender discrimination in his magical world of Discworld. I know that the books get even funnier, wittier and just more and more involved with the wonderful world that Sir Terry created, but this was just a 5 star read, laugh out loud funny and world building from the RamTops to the Rimfall. In Equal Rites, the wizards of Unseen University (and also the conservative Granny Weatherwax) firmly believe in this ontological difference between the sexes, which is apparent in the way they find it natural that there be gender-specific forms of magic, forms more in tune with what they see as each sex’s defining attributes (the earthy, nurturing and psychological power of witchcraft for women; the logical, calculative, energy-based power of magic for men). It's a wonderful read with a journey across a good stretch of the Disc and many minor characters who colour the place and let you know what you're getting yourself in to. The bad points can be forgiven in retrospect: it was his third and the books that follow just get better and better. Re-reading is 1000% better than simply reading Discworld books. The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard; on the Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that are sometimes ascribed to seven in other mythologies. Billet wants to pass his wizard's staff on to his successor.