Book review
I think the first thing I should say, upon re-reading The Wee Free Men, is that the nostalgia goggles are in full effect here. I still remember exactly where I was the first time I picked this book up. I couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven, and I was staying the night with my auntie – she let me borrow it to read at bedtime. In fact, the hardcover version of the story I finished reading today is the very same one from all those years ago. Then, as now, I absolutely adored every second of it. It wasn’t the first Terry Pratchett book I had read at that point, but it was the one that cemented Pratchett as one of my favourite authors.
So what is it about this book I love so much? It’s a few things actually. There’s the obvious element – the Nac Mac Feegle themselves. As well as being the first (and perhaps last) representation of Scottish folk in fiction that I have been able to tolerate, the infamous Feegles are absolutely hilarious. Sure, maybe their culture and behaviours are an exaggerated caricature of Scottish stereotypes, but it’s clearly being played for laughs here. Combined with Pratchett’s near perfect understanding of the accent (which, by the way, has never been written better anywhere that I’ve ever read), and what you end up with is something funny and enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, Pratchett’s depiction would still be unacceptable for the purpose of describing Scottish characters in anything approaching a realistic setting – but for a made-up race of fairytale folk in a land as fantastical as the Discworld? It works and it works well.
The other main reason this book (and in fact the whole Tiffany Aching series) so quickly became one of my favourites is a bit harder to explain. Put as simply as I can make it, it’s because the writing is so wise. Tiffany, as the main character, is put across as a very straightforward, thoughtful, independent, clever and resourceful kind of girl. She thinks about how she thinks, constantly challenges her own assumptions and prejudices, takes responsibility for her own thoughts and actions, and ultimately takes an attitude of ‘just get on with it’. All things I found (and continue to find) admirable in a main character. But it’s more than that. Pratchett has a way of taking something simple, and making his readers think about it in a different light. For example:
‘That was how it worked. No magic at all. But that time it had been magic. And it didn’t stop being magic just because you found out how it was done…’
I mean… wow. Such a simple idea, but so profound at the same time.
There are other, more practical examples. Like when the old Kelda was explaining to Tiffany why it would be bad for Wentworth to stay in Fairyland and get exactly what he wanted all the time. Sometimes what you want isn’t necessarily what you need. Again, a simple concept, maybe even one that wouldn’t come as a particular surprise to an adult, but reading this for the first time as a child, I remember the idea blowing me away.
The Wee Free Men is an excellent start to an excellent series. It’s the kind of book that has hidden depths, and I feel like a lot of who I’ve become today is linked to lessons learned from books like this one. Absolutely everyone should give this book a try, but especially young people – there’s a lot of value for children and teenagers in a book that actively encourages them to challenge the way they think.
- Goodreads rating – 4.28
- SUMMARY – Amber-Leigh