In the second part of\u00c2\u00a0Carpe Jugulum<\/i>, WHAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S HAPPENING IN THIS BOOK. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nanny Ogg truly knows how to work a party. While I was reading the opening scene of this part, I remembered how lucky I was to be able to attend an afterparty for a premiere while working at Buzznet in Hollywood. I say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153lucky\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll ever get to have that kind of experience again, nor am I sure I\u00c2\u00a0want\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>to. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to feel isolated and lonely in that kind of space, and the further down the social hierarchy you are, the worse that sensation is. I was already pretty antsy because I had to wear a suit to the screening\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0the party, and if you know me, you know I\u00c2\u00a0hate<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0dressing up. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so uncomfortable!<\/p>\n
Anyway, the point I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m trying to make: there is so much fancy food at these parties. It is\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>the\u00c2\u00a0only<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0thing that makes it all worth it. Not only did I get to try tons of stuff I otherwise wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have, but\u00c2\u00a0no one else eats at these things.\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>THE PEOPLE SERVING FOOD WERE SO HAPPY THAT I WAS EATING, EVERYTHING ABOUT IT WAS PERFECT. So, free advice: go to fancy parties because there might be food. (And free alcohol, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re inclined to drink such things.) You, too, can have a grand time like Nanny Ogg!<\/p>\n
Well, at least until she finds out that an Omnian priest is going to be heading up the Naming ceremony. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of a few reveals here that shoves the action forward, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m SO IMPRESSED at the pacing of this book. Granted, that might be because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m coming off\u00c2\u00a0The Last Continent<\/i>, where I felt like the pacing petered off too early. BUT THIS IS SO EXCITING, ISN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T IT? We get to meet a new character, the Reverend Mightily Oats, the man responsible for the Naming ceremony, as well as get a hint of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to come in this book. Now, Reverend Oat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s section didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel as dire and grim as Granny Weatherwax\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, but I still got a sense that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to appreciate how complicated he is. He finishes a religious ceremony without anyone in attendance; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one the fence\u00e2\u20ac\u009d about his Church\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s view on mirrors (AND THAT HAS TO BE IMPORTANT, PRATCHETT DOESN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T INCLUDE DETAILS LIKE THAT FOR NOTHING); he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s genuine and sincere, yet he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t shy away from honesty. His internal monologue about Lancre pulls no punches, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. So, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in Lancre to do his duty, but he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00c2\u00a0like<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0the place.<\/p>\n
Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s section is also about duty, but JESUS, I was not ready. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gone back over it to see if the text clears up my confusion about identities and cows and life and death, and it\u00c2\u00a0sort<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0of does? I think I got real confused because of the mention of the cow kicking at the start, and I assumed that it was an\u00c2\u00a0actual<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0cow in the barn. LOOK, IT HAPPENS, I GET THINGS CONFUSED ALL THE TIME.<\/p>\n
The story that unfolds here is of choices. (Which resonates a lot with what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen of Agnes and Reverend Oats, actually\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s this repeated motif of them trying to live in two worlds, or living on the edge, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really cool! Intentional or not, I LOVE IT.) It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something Granny has\u00c2\u00a0always<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0concerned herself with. What are the ramifications of her actions? How important are her decisions to other people? In this context, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s taken to see Florence Ivy, who has had a complicated childbirth, and Granny sees the problem before her: only one of the people will survive. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s either the mother or the son. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why she kicks out Mrs. Patternoster, though she makes it clear that the father is\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0a part of the decision.<\/p>\n
That struck me as strange; why couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he make the choice? Perhaps Granny didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to subject him to that reality, didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want him to have to suffer, didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want him to be haunted by regret or guilt. Pratchett is ambiguous about the logic Granny uses, but if I had to hazard a guess, this is the line that reveals what we need to know:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Of course, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult for a man working these steep lands alone,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Granny went on, washing her hands.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So when Death takes the soul away and we learn that the child died, it seems that Granny did not want to leave Mr. Ivy alone with a child. She chose for him, which is fucked up in its own way, but perhaps there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a kindness in making that choice for him.<\/p>\n
AND THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S WHAT THIS BOOK\u00c2\u00a0OPENS<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0WITH, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. It is a relentlessly heavy sequence, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m curious why Pratchett chose this. Of all things, why\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i>?<\/p>\n
It must have to do with what the vampires of the Magpyr family have planned. Are they going to take advantage of what just happened? Is Granny in a vulnerable enough place to\u00c2\u00a0be<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0taken advantage of? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine that this is the first time she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had to make such a heartbreaking decision, but\u00c2\u00a0still<\/i>. The final sequence at the end of this section more or less confirmed my thoughts; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d helped many people pass on from this life, and a newly born child is just one of too many to count.<\/p>\n
Yet I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore the sneaking suspicion that this is going to play into the Magpyr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans. THE MISTS OF UBERWALD. COME ON.<\/p>\n
Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m super into this book already, LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GO.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1kTyVl4ITuI<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the second part of\u00c2\u00a0Carpe Jugulum, WHAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S HAPPENING IN THIS BOOK. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[526,463,248],"class_list":["post-4090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-carpe-jugulum","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4090\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}