Wyrd Sisters (Discworld 6)

[jazzfish]

I have definitely not read this book before, which means the Witches book I read in high school was Equal Rites, which explains why the opening sequence felt so familiar to me when I read it. This one I would have remembered. I'd read Macbeth in late elementary school and thought it was great fun, and I'd gotten involved in Shakespeare Troupe enough that I would have appreciated all the theatre bits. I also remember not being terribly fond of Granny Weatherwax, which makes more sense when it attaches to Equal Rites (and also coming from teenaged Tucker).

So. Wyrd Sisters, aka "what if Macbeth, but Discworld, with bits of Hamlet thrown in for good measure?"

The best part of this is obviously the theatrical troupe. From the playwright who gets hit with all the inspiration at once, to the young actor who brings everyone else into his scenes with him and uses this to get out of situations like being mugged or run out of town, to the way the witches respond to art imitating life imitating art, to Death's cameo appearance... I have sufficient theatre background to adore it all, and I'm pretty sure it's still good even without that.

The witches themselves take a close second place. Granny is Granny, fully developed here from her appearance in Equal Rites: dead certain she's right, wrong often enough that it's bearable, and with a general streak of ... not really affection but maybe protectiveness towards humanity. Or just a general dislike of those who take it for granted. Nanny Ogg's perhaps the most, I dunno, human of them. Her ties to her family and the occasional drunken snatches of "The Hedgehog Cannot Be Buggered At All" make her ... a figure of fun? Not really a target of the humour, just a source of it.

And Magrat. O Magrat. She reminds me of nothing so much as standing in Crown Books in the early nineties, with Megan H-- pointing at the shelf of Silver Ravenwolf and hissing "THIS is why I tell people I'm an agnostic!" Good to see that the neopagan tradition was alive, well, and mockable in the late eighties.

The plot itself hangs together well enough that I don't really feel like there's anything to say about it. Clockwork, intricate bits meshing together towards a denouement both anticipated and deeply, fundamentally satisfying. (Except the jester. I'm not sure how I feel about him.)

It seems like the coven has split up as of the end of the book. Curious as to whether they'll come back together later.

Next: Pyramids.

Comments

[jessie_c]

This one is where Pterry started hitting his stride. The pop culture references pick up in this book and become a part of his style.

[jazzfish]

I mean, pop-culture references have always been there (TCoM is one long chain of them), but I take your point. This one is certainly one of my faves so far.