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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
This was the book that got me back into Diskworld after I had fallen away from it for a while, and for that I will always love it. But even without that nostalgia it is a tremendous piece on the nature of fiction and identity, theater and the arts, and personal choices and inner selves. All while sending up both Opera and Phantom. Fun!
Working my way through Pratchett again in no particular order. The typical Pratchett-ian take on modern society, specifically opera and modern musical theater. Lovely from beginning to end. Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are delightful in any setting.
Reread to prepare for reading aloud - that's going to be a challenge - and it bumped a step higher in my estimation. God could he write and reinvent the reader's brain every time.
Read-aloud book. Worked better than I feared and there's new meanings every time you read through. Great book for anyone who loves theater and musicals.
Reread to prepare for reading aloud - that's going to be a challenge - and it bumped a step higher in my estimation. God could he write and reinvent the reader's brain every time.
Read-aloud book. Worked better than I feared and there's new meanings every time you read through. Great book for anyone who loves theater and musicals.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pratchett’s humour is as strong as ever, and Weatherwax and Ogg are a joy to read about: but that’s true for all of the Witches books. Where the other books had some great character development, some interesting philosophical musings or some humour that really stands-out, Maskerade feels solidly mediocre throughout. Of course, a mediocre Pratchett is still great fun, but Maskerade feels like a watered drown Pratchett. A fun read, but not very memorable.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall one of Discworld's weaker outings, this one. Gains a star for the wonderful Weatherwax and Ogg, and then loses it again for the fat jokes, which I'm sure TP would have remodelled a bit in more recent years. (Agnes being fat is also relevant to parts of the plot, but it's not handled at all sensitively when played for laughs.)
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
After this being my second read of the Discworld series, I think 'Maskerade' is my new favorite Pratchett's book. So brilliantly funny!
'A couple of ballet dancers fainted, but carefully, so as not to get their clothes dirty.'
'Of course, Granny Weatherwax made a great play of her independence and self-reliance. But the point about that kind of stuff was that you needed someone around to be proudly independent and self-reliant at. People who didn’t need people needed people around to know that they were the kind of people who didn’t need people.'
'A couple of ballet dancers fainted, but carefully, so as not to get their clothes dirty.'
'Of course, Granny Weatherwax made a great play of her independence and self-reliance. But the point about that kind of stuff was that you needed someone around to be proudly independent and self-reliant at. People who didn’t need people needed people around to know that they were the kind of people who didn’t need people.'
I wasn't too taken with Maskerade at first, but it gradually gathers pace to become a thoughtful romp. Pratchett's style seems to work best when taken in large chunks. The lack of chapters and oscillating POVs can make short sharp burst of reading feel bitty and trite. Much better to attack it in longer sittings, where the cinematic sweep of Pratchett's storytelling is able to show itself unabated.