{"id":4518,"date":"2018-04-18T05:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T12:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4518"},"modified":"2018-04-10T12:58:41","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T19:58:41","slug":"mark-reads-the-wee-free-men-chapter-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/04\/mark-reads-the-wee-free-men-chapter-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Wee Free Men’: Chapter 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fifth chapter of The Wee Free Men<\/i>, Tiffany journeys across her homeland with the Feegles and has another frightening encounter. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For a brief discussion of grief.<\/b><\/p>\n

So, I wrote about transitional states already, but the opening of this chapter is such a great example of why<\/i> stories about this period in a person\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life are so interesting. Tiffany sees her home from a new perspective, even if she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just inches off the ground. The titular \u00e2\u20ac\u0153green sea\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the deep, swaying grasses of the Chalk, and as she rushes over them, she reflects on the importance of where she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grown up. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a remarkably introspective moment, almost oddly placed at the beginning of her journey. Like, as I was reading it, I enjoyed it, but I kept wondering why<\/i> was it happening. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t until the chapter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flashback to Granny that I began to understand this as an attempt to examine history. It makes sense that Tiffany is concerned about her role in the Chalk when her Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life was so integral to how the Chalk functioned.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>The land itself is where she resides now, so why wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> Tiffany think about it as she went on to face the Queen? This line in particular seemed important to me:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were signs of people everywhere. The Chalk had been important<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Where does Tiffany see herself in such a grand lineage? She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s young; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inexperienced; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so new<\/i> to all of this. The flashback to Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death (AND THE SOUL-CRUSHING REVEAL THAT HER SHEEP DOGS WAITED UNTIL HER COTTAGE BURNED DOWN AND THEN LEFT THE CHALK, NEVER TO RETURN<\/i>) places Granny within this massive mythology, and now, Tiffany is being referred to as the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153spawn\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of the hag. What does that actually mean<\/i>? The Chalk might be a magic place, both literally and metaphorically, but can you imagine the pressure that Tiffany is under to feel like she belongs? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so immense, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and that<\/i> is why I think this chapter opens as it does. Pratchett grounds us in this history, and in doing so, we can appreciate where Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head is at. It seems like she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only person who can save the world! Couple that with her emotional response to being so close to Granny Aching, and this chapter is deeply powerful. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, that scene where she teared up while smelling the Jolly Sailor wrapper??? HELP ME, I GET IT SO MUCH. Seriously, just a few days ago, I had to walk out of a friend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apartment because Israel Kamakawiwo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ole\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cover of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Somewhere Over the Rainbow\u00e2\u20ac\u009d destroys me every time I hear it. (If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not seen me talk about it, it was the song that played at my father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s funeral, and it is so wholly associated with that memory that it triggers an intense sadness in me. And so I can see how that moment would make Tiffany feel isolated, you know?<\/p>\n

Well, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not truly alone, and as I said before, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s learning not to be shy about asking for assistance. But the Feegles warn her not to just rush into the Queens\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world, at least not without a plan! Do I know what that plan is? Oh, of course not. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the faintest idea! I also don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand much of how that world works<\/i>, though the final confrontation in chapter five gives me some sense of the logic. Like much of the Discworld<\/i>, belief plays a huge part in the physicality of these creatures. The grimhounds are only effective within their own universe, where all dreams (and nightmares) are real and true. Thus, Tiffany figures out that if she somehow tricks them into her<\/i> universe, then they \u00e2\u20ac\u0153die.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so brilliant! So, can she just believe<\/i> herself back into her own world? How does that work?<\/p>\n

And finally: HOW THE HELL ARE THE NAC MAC FEEGLE DEAD???<\/p>\n

vid<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"