Read-Along: Part 3 of A Hat Full of Sky

This read-along is of chapters 6-9 of Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky, again hosted by Dab of Darkness and Little Red Reviewer.  It looks like the second half of the Tiffany Aching series may be read as a group this fall, so there's plenty of time to catch up. Also, have a Happy Easter this weekend!

This read-along will have spoilers of the Tiffany Aching series through chapter 9 of A Hat Full of Sky.

I got a chuckle out of Tiffany's visit to ZakZak's shop, especially the bit about the different styles of witch hats. What kind of witchy goodies would YOU buy there?

It all seemed a bit too kitchsy for me. If I were a witch, I think I would probably just shop at ordinary clothing stores, and maybe get a nice pentagram necklace or something, to signify 'witch'.  As for the hat, I'd go for something sensible and small, so I wouldn't have to cut triangles in my doorframes.  When I think more about it, though, capes are pretty awesome.  I would love to buy a nice, heavy, black cape from Zakzak's for winter.  Why aren't those in fashion now? I want a cape!

Inside Tiffany's head might be the strangest place the Feegle have ever been. What did you think of Pratchett's imagery of her mind, and of her safe place?

It makes a lot of sense.  After all, she tells the land what it is, and the land tells her who she is.  I liked that she was the land, in her mind.  She wasn't hiding in her safe place.  She was her safe place!  

Poor Miss Level. Do you think she'll ever recover from what happened to her? How is this going to change her relationship with Tiffany? 

I am really surprised that Tiffany killed someone.  I know it was the hiver, but it was the hiver being Tiffany.  I think it will affect their relationship, because I don't know if Tiffany will be able to completely forgive herself for what she/the hiver did.  From Miss Level's side, it does look like she's moving toward healing, and I think she will be able to forgive Tiffany.  It's a bit clearer that Tiffany was not in control, when one is looking from the outside.  As sad as it is, Mistress Weatherwax may be right that this is the thing that finally gains Miss Level respect (two bodies is just odd, an invisible dead body is apparently witchy genius).  

In the discussion Tiffany has with Mistress Weatherwax at the end of chapter 9, Weatherwax gives Tiffany some very important information about how to be a witch. Who would you rather study with to become a witch? Weatherwax or Level?

That is a tough choice.  I found it rather sad that Miss Level was not highly regarded, with how dedicated she is to helping people.  I think I would personally prefer to be with Miss Level, because her personality seems much easier to work with on a daily basis.  Miss Weatherwax is clearly a great witch, but she can also be a bit sharp.

Any thoughts on how the story might end? Do you think the Hiver is gone for good?

I don't think the hiver is gone for good, but I'm wondering if it's gone for the rest of this book.  I can see this possibly turning into something Tiffany has to deal with later in her life, like the thing Ged summoned in Earthsea. I'm thinking that Annagramma might have a change of heart, after seeing Tiffany in violent action.  Whether that change of heart will cause her to avoid Tiffany forever, or just re-evaluate her beliefs about witchcraft, I don't know. 

Other Thoughts:

I'm again surprised by how quickly this book is moving.  We still have a pretty large number of pages left, and they've already kicked out the hiver.  I have no idea what's going to fill the next pages.  Perhaps a showdown with the local young witches club?  Maybe it will focus on the witch trials and Tiffany will be spectacular?  That seems a bit unnecessary now, though, there's no way Annagramma doesn't know Tiffany's powerful, after the ZaksZak's scene.

Review: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Published : HarperTorch(2000),Doubleday(2003)

Series : Discworld ; Book 1 of the Tiffany Aching Series

Awards Won: Locus YA Award

The Book :

“9-year-old Tiffany Aching has read her share of fairy tales, but she feels no kinship with the simpering princesses and their princely rescuers.  Instead, she wonders why the clever, resourceful witches always seem to get the short end of the stick.  Especially in Tiffany’s homeland of the Chalk, witches are treated very poorly indeed—and the working definition of a witch seems to be ‘female, old and eccentric’.

When monsters begin appearing in her homeland, Tiffany learns that a fairy queen is trying to attach her nightmarish fairyland to reality. The only one around that can stand in her way is Tiffany, as the witch of the Chalk.  When the queen kidnaps Tiffany’s little brother, she knows she must act.  She might have little idea what she’s getting into, but with her trusty frying pan, and the help of the ‘Pictsies’ that held her late grandmother in high regard, she’ll have to find the strength to protect her own.” ~Allie

This is the 5^th book I’ve read by Terry Pratchett, and it is one more reminder why I should return to Discworld more often.  This novel kicks off Pratchett’s YA series, and I think it would be especially enjoyed by younger readers, perhaps Tiffany’s age or slightly older.  There’s some alcohol and tobacco use in the story (not by Tiffany), but it’s only used for comedy.

My Thoughts:

The Wee Free Men is the humorous, exciting, and occasionally touching story of a 9-year-old witch, Tiffany Aching.  Tiffany is an impressive heroine, a young girl that is generally respectful of others, courageous, resourceful, and remarkably self-aware for her age.  She’s also very protective of her family and home, and works hard making cheese in their farm’s dairy.  Though she does have her flaws (such as a certain recklessness), she is a delightfully self-reliant and intelligent protagonist. I think that if I had children, they could do far worse than to emulate Tiffany.   As in any Discworld novel, there are plenty of other vivid and comical characters introduced throughout the story, but I think that Tiffany will continue to be an excellent central character for the series.

The basic structure of Tiffany’s adventure is pretty familiar.  A fairy queen threatens Tiffany’s homeland and kidnaps her little brother.  Despite her inexperience, Tiffany sets off to confront the queen and save her little brother, receiving help from various characters along the way.  As a kid who grew up loving Labyrinth, I was completely on board for this. The fairy queen’s world was an interesting take on the idea of fairyland—a world based more on perception and dreams than reality—and the creatures within it were imaginative and a little gruesome.  Tiffany’s ultimate success never seemed to be in question, but it was fun to see what tricks she would pull to get past each dangerous obstacle in her way.

As Pratchett is a writer of comedic fantasy, humor played a large part in the story.  I enjoyed Pratchett’s ridiculous comedy, though I felt that some of the jokes were a bit more targeted towards younger audiences.  For instance, there was a fair amount of slapstick humor, simple puns, and vocabulary-related jokes.  The Nac Mac Feegle (also known as the Wee Free Men or Pictsies) were one of the main comic elements of the novel. These ‘fairies’ were blue-tattooed, orange-haired tiny men who liked nothing more than drinkin’, fightin’ and stealin’, preferably all at the same time.  They spoke in a strong, phonetically rendered accent (“Nae King! Nae Quin! Nae Laird! Nae Master! We willnae be fooled again!”), and were generally way over-the-top.  I enjoyed seeing them awkwardly help Tiffany learn about the supernatural world.  Of course everyone’s reaction to humor will be different, but overall, I found The Wee Free Men to be charmingly silly.  

The more touching and serious segments of the book touched on dealing with the grief that accompanies the death of a loved one. Tiffany’s Granny Aching was a gruff, skilled, shepherdess (and possibly a witch) who loved Jolly Sailor tobacco.  She left an enduring mark on her community, and her character and relationship with Tiffany is explored through a series of poignant memories.  Through her memories and her interactions with the Nac Mac Feegle, who also knew and loved her grandmother, Tiffany slowly comes to a better understanding of her grandmother.  I appreciated how this thread wove through the story of Tiffany and the fairy queen, adding a deeper meaning to the lighter story.

My Rating: 4/5

The Wee Free Men is the first novel in Terry Pratchett’s YA series featuring the young witch Tiffany Aching, but it works as a standalone novel as well.  The story is a good mixture of adventure, humor and emotion, and it features an intelligent, resourceful heroine.  The basic structure of the story (Tiffany’s quest to rescue her little brother) was very familiar, but no less enjoyable for that. The humor was quite silly, and often featured puns or the antics of the rowdy Nac Mac Feegle.  I especially appreciated the way Tiffany’s process of coping with her grief for her grandmother’s death was combined with the adventure, through Tiffany’s memories and the lasting effects of her grandmother’s life on her community.  I think this is a novel that would be especially enjoyed by younger readers, but that has plenty to offer older readers as well.

Read-Along: Part 2 of A Hat Full of Sky

Another Wednesday, another read-along post! This week focuses on Chapters 4-6 of Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky, and the discussion questions are provided by Dab of Darkness. Next week, Little Red Reviewer will be again hosting.  The overall review of The Wee Free Men will be coming very soon, and it will be followed by my Women of Genre Fiction pick for this month, Joan D. Vinge's The Snow Queen. My blog activities have been slowed a bit lately for completely unrelated job reasons, but I feel like things are going to settle down any day now (I hope I haven't just jinxed myself)!  

This Read-Along has spoilers up through Chapter 6 of A Hat Full of Sky!

1) Awf'ly Wee Billy, the gonnagle, comes up with a plan, the PLN. First, do you like the basic idea? Second, what was your favorite part of the execution of the PLN? 

I think it is ridiculous that they actually thought the PLN would work!  The only reason it did was because they had an overabundance of gold just laying around to use.  My favorite part was definitely the carter's horse, and its dream coming true. What a fast, glorious run!

2) Miss Level has a philosophy of 'storing it in other people'. How do you like this philosophy and do you know any witchy people in life who might be secretly following it?

I think it makes sense, and I like the idea of always trying to put your excess to use for the good of others.  Taking the example from the book literally, I have had gardening relatives who stored their crops in friends and acquaintances.  They really had to, or the food would just rot. In a less literal sense, all charity kind of follows the same pattern.  Those of us who have been incredibly lucky in life really should 'store' our abundance in those who are not so lucky.

3) We finally get to meet some other witchlings, such as Petulia and Annagramma. What do you make of Tiffany's first meeting with them?

Petulia seems like a nice kid, and I'm sure she'll eventually grow out of her hesitance and fear of confrontation (once she gets away from Annagramma).  I am trying very hard not to go off on a rant about Annagramma!  If I were Tiffany, I wouldn't hang out with them again.   If I were Hiver-Tiffany, I would definitely give Annagramma a piece of my mind.

I think that Pratchett has portrayed a highly believable group of 10-11 year old kids, despite the fact that they're all young witches in Discworld.  I think a lot of children that age will identify very strongly with Tiffany's humiliation, since children really come into their cruelty around that age.  I think it might be because they don't really understand the consequences of their words and actions for other people.  They just see how fun it is to control their peers.  Tiffany herself even falls into a bit of this kind of behavior, with her treatment of Roland.  She doesn't really register his discomfort, just that it's fun to make him stammer and blush.

4) The Hiver has finally found Tiffany and Miss Level has finally met the Feegle. How do you think Tiffany will fair against the Hiver and how much damage do you think will be done (either by the Hiver or the Feegle)?

I am hoping the hiver verbally shreds Annagramma, but I'm betting she's going to turn on the whole 'sabbat' team. She was already really horrible to Petulia, though I'm sure Petulia will forgive her later.  I think its a very good sign that Tiffany was able to stop the hiver from beating the goats, so I think she'll be able to keep it from doing anything really horrific.  The Feegle probably won't destroy too much, they're here to help! Right? ;)

  

Other Notes:

I'm betting the reason Tiffany is having such a hard time with magic is simply because she isn't on the Chalk.  We've heard that witches draw power from their land, and Miss Tick had a hard time with magic in Tiffany's homeland.  I have been wondering why the hiver can do so much more magic with Tiffany's body.  I thought it was nothing but hunger, and that it thrived on the power of others.  Is Hiver-Tiffany's power coming from somewhere or something else?