The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching, #1) by Terry PratchettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
My first Terry Pratchett experience. I really didn't know what I was in for, but I knew it would be good.
I listened to this book on audio, read by Stephen Briggs. The voices, I thought, were wonderful -- our hero Tiffany's west-country farmer's accent, the toad's flat, snide tone, Granny Aching's indisputable words of wisdom, and of course the wee free men's over-the-top Scottish lilt.
Andy listened to five minutes of it and was offended by the 'fake' Scottish brogue. For me, the fact that it was 6-inch tall, blue tattooed, red-haired wee men in kilts doing the talking meant that I didn't think it sounded fake at all.
No, I found them hilarious. It's hard not to be charmed by these wee fightin' and drinkin' men and their exploits.
Fanciful as this story is -- magical wee men, witches, stolen babies, fairy worlds -- it was the very human side of the tale that resonated most. Tiffany's awakening into her powers as a budding witch leads her to explore the limits of her imagination and her fears.
Mostly, it's a test of loyalty and conscience. Doing the right thing. Knowing who your friends are and what they would do for you and you for them. Love.
What I most wanted to be when I was eight was a witch. So you can imagine how excited I was for Tiffany when she discovers that she is becoming one. What being a witch seems to consist of in her world is seeing things as they really are, using your head when all around you are losing theirs, and not falling for tricks.
Tiffany gets plenty of opportunities to try out her skills. It got a bit 'woo-woo' there towards the end (dreams within dreams within dreams) and there seemed to be a lot of trying to escape with no avail.
However, I loved getting to know Tiffany a bit in this book, and there's no question I'll be following her story into the next book. I am always up for a bit of vicarious witchery.
The problem with audio versions is that it's hard to note favorite passages. I did take a note of one sentence I especially liked (but there were many more I missed).
"It didn't stop being magic just because you found out how it was done."
View all my reviews
