Terry Pratchett - A Life With Footnotes

 Terry Pratchett – A Life with Footnotes by Rob Wilkins (2022 Doubleday paperback 438pp)

 

Upfront I have to say that I have never been a massive Terry Pratchett fan – not that I dislike his writing or anything. I just have never gone down the rabbit hole of fandom like so many of his avid readers seem to have. The first I heard of him as an author was in a review of The Colour of Magic published in the now long-defunct Space Voyagers magazine back in the early 1980s. The reviewer thought this was, at last, the fantasy answer to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and predicted big things ahead for the author. I must have read that magazine cover to cover several times as I normally did with overseas magazines in those days – there was still something rare and exotic in finding a publication that reflected your interests. So, Pratchett became ingrained in my mind but it was some time before I actually read his fiction – I think I found his two pre-Discworld novels in the local library, read them without getting too excited and moved on. It was probably close to twenty years later that I actually start reading the series he was most famous for, and then I stopped a few books in as other shiny objects came my way. Some people, as I mentioned above, have become absolute fanatics about the Discworld series and the world(s) Pratchett created. By all accounts he was a thoroughly decent human being and that has factored into the popularity leading to sales in the millions.

Rob Wilkins spent 15 years as Pratchett’s personal assistant and eventually close friend and the mighty task to write “The Official Biography” has fallen upon his shoulders. Notes previous written or dictated by Pratchett form the framework of this very workman-like effort.

Roughly the first half of the book tells the story of a life from childhood through to becoming a full-time writer. School days, friends and nay-saying teachers are vividly recalled. Its fascinating to learn of his path from teenage SF fan (and published writer at age 15) through journalism and then the PR industry (promoting nuclear power of all things). Good relationships in the publishing industry and a lot of luck lead to growing success once he dives head-first into creating Discworld.

Wilkins writes all this with a lot of warmth and affection towards his subject and this continues in the second half of the book which mainly chronicles the years they worked closely together. The origin of most of his work (he often had ideas for multiple stories in his head and in randomly-saved computer files, cherry-picking from them all as he wrote), book tours and fan conventions get covered and it all seems to be snowballing into a massive enterprise beyond the personal control Pratchett preferred.

Wilkins paints a picture of fun-filled work days as the pair mucked around as much as they created. Pratchett’s family and friends get recurring walk-on roles but its mainly the man himself at the centre of focus.

When Pratchett’s health began to fail (he developed a fairly rare form of Alzheimer’s disease), things become a bit more serious. The final chapters are quite moving and I felt an odd deep sadness for a man I never knew personally.

Pratchett was it seems a thoroughly admirable man. He raged against injustice and used that rage to fuel social satire in his novels. When he became wealthy, he used his money to help others. He always engaged with his fans and stood up for them against snobs who would dismiss them with a snide remark. If he actually had a dark side, we don’t learn much about it in this volume. I won’t call it a hagiography but it is clear Wilkins still thinks extremely highly of the man (who died in 2015) and any blot on the record was a momentary lapse, easily excused.

If you’re a fan you’ll most likely already own this book and probably don’t need me to recommend it. I enjoyed dipping in and out of this book over a couple weeks of reading. The detailed discussion of some of the individual books makes me want to go read them and explore the fruits of Pratchett’s mind further.

 

 

Just As Well I'm Leaving

Just As Well I’m Leaving by Michael Booth (2005 Jonathan Cape paperback 359pp)

 

I was intending to write a long, detailed synopsis and review of this book but for a number of reasons I’ve left it close to a month since finishing it and the initial impact has faded a little.

After discovering his work about 6 years ago I’ve subsequently read every book Michael Booth has written and enjoyed them all. Specialising in tales of travel and/or food he has a wonderful way with words often mixing humour with insightful observations of the locations he finds himself in.

 “Just As Well I’m Leaving” was his first published book, released in 2005 and sees him in more of a straight journalistic mode with very little food involved.

 After relocating to live in Denmark when his wife secures a job there, Booth finds himself a close observer of the modern Danes and their lifestyle. There are so many quirks and foibles to an outsider but one thing that seems to unite them is their veneration of the 19^th century writer Hans Christian Andersen. He has become a figure of national pride and the Danes have totally romanticised his life and works. Few of you reading this will be totally unfamiliar with Andersen’s output – he has become part of the Western canon with stories like The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea and many many others. He rose from poverty in a small Danish town to become one of the most famous figures in Europe, a friend to kings and peasants alike.

As Booth discovers, beyond the whitewashed official biographies lies another story. Andersen, based on his own diaries and the impressions of those who knew him, was a neurotic, insecure and tragic figure who swung between near-genius writing and persistent self-sabotage. He clawed his way up the social ladder by throwing himself upon the rich and famous of the day asking for patronage. He failed in his efforts more often than he succeeded and his unusual physical appearance often made him a figure of fun in public places.

Booth uncovers a lesser-known work from Andersen, 1840’s A Poet’s Bazaar, an account of a journey across Europe to the exotic Orient then back again through Eastern Europe. Fascinated by the writing and the insights it gives to Andersen’s character, Booth decides to follow in the writer’s footsteps and retrace the Journey in the 21^st Century.

 The rest of the book basically follows both Andersen’s and Booth’s experiences in France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Greece and Turkey and back westward along the Danube River. Booth tries but often fails to visit the exact same towns and use the same travel methods as one would in the mid-19^th century. We find a lot has changed in most places while some things remain eternal. The longer the book goes on and the more we learn about Andersen, the more of an oddball he becomes in our minds. His sexuality is a matter for modern debate – the Danes tried to rubbish speculation in the past. It seems clear he was either gay or more likely bisexual, his own fawning letters to both young men and women alike add heavily to the evidence of the latter. He was also a massive hypochondriac, often thinking he was on the edge of death from every imaginable condition as he travelled onward.

Booth’s own modern travel travails are amusing enough and he writes in an entertaining style but its really Andersen and Andersen’s manic behaviour in the past which has become the memorable part of this book for me – In the end Booth is really just there to pull all the strands of research together and present a coherent narrative out of it all, you know like a good journalist should.

Worth a read if you like history, travel and literature. The modern (well, early 2000s) parts have faded fast but what remains is quite fascinating.

 

The Tea Master and the Detective

 The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard (2018 JABberwocky paperback 116pp) 

Last year (2022) Aliette de Bodard’s novel The Red Scholar’s Wake generated a lot of positive reviews, ended up on many a best of the year list and won several awards. Naturally I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I discovered that the French-Vietnamese de Bodard had written many earlier short stories and several novellas in the same Xuya science fiction universe. Set at some time in the distant future, all the stories involve a space empire dominated by the Vietnamese and Chinese culture. Spaceships, space habitats, mentions of recent uprisings and wars are all overlaid by a rigid traditional hierarchical political system, or so it seems...

The Tea Master and the Detective is a short (87 pages in this slim paperback edition) novella which won the prestigious Nebula award in 2018.

The Shadow’s Child is an artificially intelligent ‘mindship’, the controlling presence of a starship who has recently been traumatised in an incident which saw her lose all her crew. Still recovering, she ekes out an existence creating ‘blends’, personalised tea-like beverages that help humans survive space travel into ‘deep places’. She also carries out the occasional transport flight to generate enough money to pay her rent.

One day self-proclaimed ‘consulting detective’ Long Chau arrives in The Shadow’s Child’s office at first wanting a blend then offering to hire the ship for a mission into the dark places to recover a corpse from one of the many wrecked vessels there.

Fighting her fears, the AI carries out Long Chau’s request. A body is recovered and the pair goes its separate way. The Shadow’s Child becomes obsessed with finding out Long Chau’s history and consults a network of other ships and contacts.

Long Chau returns with the news that the recovered corpse has irregularities – it is a young girl who didn’t die in a space accident instead it suggests a cruel form of torture or coercive control

The pair then rapidly dive into an adventure to uncover what really happened and both of them must face their traumatic pasts to help bring about justice.

Much has been made about this story being somehow based on Sherlock Holmes. I didn’t really see it myself; the resemblance is mainly superficial. There are so many things hinted at and unexplained in this novella, it really does feel like just a tiny part of a much bigger world that the author has been building for years. I can’t fault the writing, it is economical and packs a lot into its short length.

If you like space opera with a slightly different edge this could be a novella and perhaps a whole new universe for you.

 

From There to Here

From There to Here by Joe Bennett (2023 HarperCollins paperback 280pp)

 

Joe Bennett (real name Julian as this book reveals) first appeared in the local media spotlight about 30 years ago when he often took on the role of outspoken educator in the news and from there, he went to be a frequent guest on radio and television chat shows (back when we used to actually have local television in Christchurch). Soon he was a national figure writing books and as seems to be the fate of everybody in that period, he was writing regular opinion columns in newspapers and magazines. I pretty much wrote him off as serious voice at that point – most columnists seemed to go out of their way to be controversial and reactionary and I mentally grouped him alongside the rest. However, over the last decade several of his non-fiction books were turned into radio programmes and I found those often funny and illuminating. The one that sticks in my mind was where Bennett bought a multi-pack of cheap underpants from a local store and traced them all the way back to their origins in mainland China. So, when I saw he had a new memoir out I took a chance and bought a copy.

“From There to Here” recounts Bennett’s life from early childhood up to his early 30s. His life in a small town in South East England is full of school friends, Cricket and fishing adventures. He has a good memory of school, his teachers and friends with many hair-raising stories of bullies and cruelties dished out by children and teachers alike. Early on we are introduced to his troubled older brother Nigel who seemed distant and estranged from his parents and whose life ultimately has an unhappy ending.

As Bennett grows older, he becomes more aloof and self-involved. A frequent theme of this book is his shame and guilt about how badly he treated his friends and family during this period. He takes menial jobs to get by and drifts aimlessly for a while. He’s troubled by his sexuality, his attraction to what he considers beautiful young men confuses him and leads to what seems to be lifetime of unrequited love. Before reading this book, I had no idea he was gay and recall him deflecting questions about relationships in the past, often answering with a quip about having dogs instead. Now in this book he’s very honest about his attractions and where it eventually leads him – often to long term friendships and but few romantic connections.

Taking jobs as an English language teacher in Spain and France starts him on what will be the twin tracks of his future – teaching and travel. I think this book is at its best when he writes his hitchhiker’s impressions of Europe and North America and about his seeming inability to extract himself from what he sees as the looming doom of a teaching career.

Well-written and heart-felt, this book was a pleasure to read. It manages to mix laugh out loud humour and sombre reflection. My only disappointment is we don’t learn much about his impressions of life here in New Zealand where a teaching job brought him in the late 1980s. Around four pages after he arrives the book ends abruptly with him buying a house in the harbour town of Lyttleton. The rest I guess is history.