Book Review: Terry Pratchett - A Life With Footnotes by Rob Wilkins
By @edent
· Book Review discworld · 4 comments · 200 words
Like a million fans, I have a precious memory of (briefly) meeting Terry Pratchett and getting him to sign something amusing. I hold on to it dearly.
This is half-way between a biography and autobiography. Parts were clearly dictated and recorded prehumously and are interspersed with observations from others. Terry's voice shines through although, as forevermore, I was left longing for just-one-more quote.
In among all the amusing asides0, perhaps what I found funniest was just how bitchy the man could be! A world-class grumping machine with built-in catty-power fuelled by snark and rage. He took grouchiness into an elevated art-form.
Rob Wilkins has the tricky job of making Terry accessible. He weaves his own life into Terry's (although he never oversteps) and acts as the perfect avatar for the reader.
For some reason, the eBook places all the photos in a gallery at the end. Understandable in a paper volume, but it would have been nice to intersperse them with the text.
But it is marvellous to spend a little bit more time in Pratchett's brain. Wandering around that glorious cathedral and weeping as it slowly falls into ruins.
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And, obviously, footnotes. ↩︎
| Verdict |
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- Buy the eBook on Amazon Kindle
- Get the paper book from Hive
- Author's homepage
- Publisher's details
- Borrow from your local library
- ISBN: 9781473568945
@blog Yes, Rob Wilkins biography of Terry #Pratchett is a must read for any fan. It adds a lot of context, if not to the stories themselves, then to the man behind them and how he lived and wrote. #discworld
@Edent I have this sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I am terrible at reading books but this may spur me on to getting it done!
Fantastic stuff. It's already on my "to read" pile; now I'm doubly looking-forward to it.
@Edent Yes, Mr Grumpy was a slight surprise. A good read, although probably less repeat value than the novels.
Also my UK large paperback edition has the photos in two batches, about 1/3 and 2/3 through.
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