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kirill_reads_sff 's review for:
Monstrous Regiment
by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am (re)reading all Discworld novels: this is book #12 out of 41.
Somehow, Sir Terry Pratchett managed to write books which continue to be relevant even after a few decades. But maybe it speaks more about humanity itself than of Pratchett's prophetic abilities. Either way, Monstrous Regiment is a great novel mocking jingoism, ultranationalism, and, of course, misogyny.
Pratchett delves into the topic of war in his usual light-hearted tone, but he still manages to show us its horrors and tell us who the real losers are: ordinary people. Jingo touched on this before, but I found Monstrous Regiment to be doing a far better job of it.
Somehow, Sir Terry Pratchett managed to write books which continue to be relevant even after a few decades. But maybe it speaks more about humanity itself than of Pratchett's prophetic abilities. Either way, Monstrous Regiment is a great novel mocking jingoism, ultranationalism, and, of course, misogyny.
Pratchett delves into the topic of war in his usual light-hearted tone, but he still manages to show us its horrors and tell us who the real losers are: ordinary people. Jingo touched on this before, but I found Monstrous Regiment to be doing a far better job of it.
Well, I'm not buying into it. It's all trickery. They keep you down and when they piss off some other country, you have to fight for them! It's only your country when they want you to get killed!
Borogravia is an authoritarian state, with ridiculous proclamations called Abominations (which include, among other things, bans on garlic, cats, and the colour blue). This is a cartoonish and simplified depiction of propaganda, but it seemed accurate to me nonetheless.
Borogravia was a peace-loving country in the midst of treacherous, devious, warlike enemies. They had to be treacherous, devious and warlike, otherwise we wouldn't be fighting them, eh?
Misogyny and sexism are a huge part of the story, too. As a man, I cannot be the judge of how well Pratchett did this part, but it seemed to me he did a rather good job. Every conceivable stereotype of the women is in the story and each one of them is turned upside down. For me, the high point is when guards at Kneck Keep fall for a man disguised as a woman in the most stereotypical way possible, while they mistake women dressed as women for men. The story shows that women can do a much better job than men. But Pratchett's critical insight is that women must not be forced into confines of manhood when they do what historically was considered men's jobs: women should be themselves and do the jobs how they see fit. As the story shows, this brings in fresh new perspectives and everyone benefits.
I thought they'd be better at it than men. Trouble was, they were better than men at being like men. They do say the army can make a man of you, eh? So... whatever it is you are going to do next, do it as you.
Pratchett has advice for men, too. "Socks" are the source of trouble, so, men, let's not think with our socks?