Seeing as I'm currently struggling through my surgical rotation, I'm struggling to find the time to research and write really thorough STEM posts. But I still enjoy writing and so I figured I'd keep going with reviews of the books I'm churning through. I hope people enjoy these reviews and don't worry, I'll get back to writing about STEM soon enough!
I started reading the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels on my first day of Medical School, and I can honestly say the books have bee a lifesaver. For those who don't know the series or the author, the late Sir Terry Pratchett wrote literally dozens of Discworld books during his lifetime. The books are a satirical look at the life, the world we live in and how we interact... viewed through the fantasy land of Discworld. While there's no strong underlying plot that spans the series, each book has it's own theme. Terry's finest work, however, is how clearly he's able to highlight the foibles of humanity through his epicly flawed characters.
I think coming across Jingo was an amazingly timely coincidence. During a time where the US is throwing about its weight and North Korea is once-again re-entering a cycle of pretending to be pacified only to continue it's nuclear proliferation unabated. Jingo is a term that essentially means nationalism in the form of aggressive or pseudo-violent national policy. The book follows the clash between two neighboring cities/ nations our beloved Ankh Morpork and the filthy Klatch.
Throughout the novel, Pratchett uses the conflict between these nations to highlight the stupidity of war, the hypocrisy of racism and the short-sightedness of politics. I don't want to give away too much but I'm happy to say the following. Pratchett is really hitting his stride here. The early Discworld books felt very much like a testing ground for the author, but with Jingo I Pratchett has nailed every part his book. His plot is interesting and succinct, the characters are crazy but believable and his puns are on point.
When I write about books, movies or anime I usually start talking about character arcs and narrative voice and plot devices. But Terry doesn't need this. The Discworld novels are not about their stories. They're about their characters and their interaction with the world they live in. A world not unlike our, but with the revealing light of perhaps a bit more obvious juxtaposition.
I can't stress more how important these light-hearted but insightful books have been in helping me get through the sixteen hour days of medical school or the weeks of study leading to big exams. I'd rank Jingo amongst the best of the Discworld books I've read so far and can only deduct one point because in just ONE book I want to see Vimes break free of Vetinari's stranglehold!
Awesome book 9/10
As usual thanks for reading guys! I promise to get back to STEM soon, but in the meantime, I hope everyone takes the opportunity to read Terry!
-tfc
