:｡･:*:･ﾟ'☆

[yuuago]

One thing I love about Pratchett's work is that he has such a way with words, he's able to describe fictional settings in a way that makes them feel real, or if not real, then vivid in such a way that someone reading might instantly realize, "Oh, I know of a place like that". I love this kind of thing.

I came across this description of Ankh-Morpork while reading Mort, and it is just so - well, so Ankh-Morpork, really. It's nice. Especially since settings are so important to me. I find it hard to get invested in a place if I can't get a sense of it, if I can't feel like it's somewhere that could actually exist, even if it doesn't.

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Poets have tried to describe Ankh-Morpork. They have failed. Perhaps it's the sheer zestful vitality of the place, or maybe it's just that a city with a million inhabitants and no sewers is rather robust for poets, who prefer daffodils and no wonder. So let's just say that Ankh-Morpork is as full of life as an old cheese on a hot day, as loud as a curse in a cathedral, as bright as an oil slick, as colourful as a bruise and as full of activity, industry, bustle, and sheer exuberant busyness as a dead dog on a termite mound.

Comments

[yohjideranged]

Agree with you 100% on Pratchett's use of words and the way he described things. I remember when reading many of his books set in or around Ankh-Morpork that I could almost smell the place! :)

[yuuago]

Yesss <3

It's a toss-up between whether I prefer his descriptions of Ankh-Morpork, or of Lancre; Lancre feels more like places I've actually lived. (And people I've known... oyy)

[sarnath]

His descriptions are the best. I love them more than his footnotes, even!

I've been thinking about doing a reread myself, it's been a long time since I read the first ones. I just love immersing myself in his world. But it's also sad now that I know the story is ended, that there can be no more. Though I suppose I should be happy with the riches he left us, he did manage to write quite a lot!

[yuuago]

He wrote more than many people have, certainly!

And... even if there won't be more new novels (aside from Shepherd's Crown when it comes out), his books are so full of stuff that it's possible to come across something you never noticed before when reading something again, I think.

[dhampyresa]

I love how Ankh-Morpork is a character in its own right in these books.

[yuuago]

Yesssss. "City as character" is something that I just plain don't see often enough. Though... that might have something to do with my usual reading choices, I suppose.

[dhampyresa]

It's also very hard to do.