Muse reviewed Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #3)
Review of 'Equal Rites' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
(Muse reads Discworld in release order: Episode 3)
In my review of The Light Fantastic, I talked a bit about how I was starting to see the edges of Discworld becoming something in its own right rather than just a vehicle to make Conan the Barbarian jokes, and Equal Rites is a giant step in that direction. It takes the bits of the magic system that were either established or hinted at in the last two books and starts to dive into how they really work, with a side order of critiquing academia and gender essentialism while it's at it.
Is the book a flawless feminist masterpiece? No, but what it does with Esk bumping her head against the equivalent of a magic glass ceiling is incredible. Granny Weatherwax simultaneously being part of the problem (insofar as upholding the gender stereotypes she was taught to accept as fact) while …
In my review of The Light Fantastic, I talked a bit about how I was starting to see the edges of Discworld becoming something in its own right rather than just a vehicle to make Conan the Barbarian jokes, and Equal Rites is a giant step in that direction. It takes the bits of the magic system that were either established or hinted at in the last two books and starts to dive into how they really work, with a side order of critiquing academia and gender essentialism while it's at it.
Is the book a flawless feminist masterpiece? No, but what it does with Esk bumping her head against the equivalent of a magic glass ceiling is incredible. Granny Weatherwax simultaneously being part of the problem (insofar as upholding the gender stereotypes she was taught to accept as fact) while also an absolute force of nature of a character and a delight to read takes a lot of the heavy edge off. Centering those critiques within humor and character work allows the book to avoid a lot of the pitfalls that a man writing about being a girl in a patriarchal society could potentially fall into. These themes are treated with the weight that they deserve, but not without laughter and compassion.
That last part was what I took away from the ending of The Light Fantastic as well - there's a thematic throughline emerging in these books about how we can do amazing things together so long as we remember to look past our own hangups and prejudices. My only complaint about this book is that the ending feels almost too fast, and yet it still comes with that thematic thoughtfulness to the point that I don't know how else it could've ended. Esk finds her power, someone who respects her for who she is, and kicks the equivalent to Cthulhu in the shins because they're jealous of the thing that makes us human and the worlds that allow us to be that way.
Overall though, I'm thrilled to see Discworld take its first wobbly steps out of parody as well as turn its humor towards systemic injustice. I suppose it's all up from here?
