Book Review: Snuff by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #39)

“I know that I am a small, weak man, but I have amassed a large library; I dream of dangerous places.”

- Terry Pratchett, Snuff

All good things (must) come to an end, including the fantastic Discworld novels. Snuff is the 39^th installment in Discworld series. Technically, it is not the “final” Discworld book, but it is the last book in the Ankh-Morpork City Watch sub-series. So is Snuff any good?

In my opinion, Snuff is a good book, but it does have some problems. However, I will say this; Snuff is a memorable book, it has a very moving story and I am very fond of it. I think Snuff is a very difficult book to review, but I shall try my best. Let me begin, by providing a synopsis for the book.

Synopsis:

Commander Samuel Vimes has served diligently at Ankh-Morpork for decades. It is time for him to take a break from the busy work of policing. He is going to have a holiday with his family. The goal, is travel to their estate at the country side and have a relaxing break.

A relaxing break? In Vime's dreams.

After Vimes arrived at the seemingly innocent country side, he walked into a pub and observed the head of a goblin hanging on the wall as a hunting trophy. To an experienced copper like Vimes, this translates to: something doesn't smell right in the air. It smells like... crime..... As Vimes dived into investigations, he uncovered more and more dead bodies. Soon, he realized the country side is masking a terrible crime more sinister than any murder case.

Vimes is out of his jurisdiction, but a crime is a crime and it needs solving. Jurisdictions or not, Vimes is determined to prod some serious buttocks and see some justice done.

My thoughts on this book:

When Snuff was published, Terry Pratchett was already suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. While the illness did not impair his ability to write, but (in my opinion) when comparing Snuff to the earlier Discworld novels, this book took a slight dip in terms of the quality of writings. And I think this is probably caused by Terry Pratchett's declining health. In Snuff, the writings are not always concise. There are several places in this book where Terry Pratchett used overly long paragraphs to expound one point. This sort of things never occurred in the earlier Discworld novels. Having said this, even with Alzheimer's disease, Terry Pratchett still wrote more beautifully and powerfully than a mere mortal such as myself can ever dream of writing.

I also noticed Snuff differs from the earlier Discworld novels, in that this book is very upfront about its themes. The main themes in this book, are racial discrimination and slavery, both are very sensitive subjects. While some people may feel Terry Pratchett is being overly preachy in this book, but I actually think the story in this book, while being upfront, is also raw, brutally honest, and masterfully conceived.

In my opinion, Snuff stands out from other fantasy novels, because in this book Terry Pratchett cast goblins as victims of racial discrimination and slavery, which I consider to be a genius plot device. Allow me to explain my thoughts.

The conventional fantasy literature popularized the notion, that goblins are either: 1) totally depraved and wicked creatures (see Tolkienesque and C.S Lewis books), or 2) pet-like creatures whose best function is to be pets for humans. Additionally, goblins are usually depicted as having physical appearances considered both foreign and ugly by the human standard. In other words, goblins are usually portrayed as having little or no humanoid aspects, creatures whose natural position is either the enemies of humans, or sub-ordinates to humans. Furthermore, conventional fantasy literature tends to weigh up the redemptive qualities of goblins, by measuring “how much they can become like humans”.

In Snuff, Terry Pratchett turned the table up-side-down. In this book, goblins are treated as vermin on Discworld. They are not protected by the law like other, more “humanoid” races are (such as dwarfs and trolls), which means goblins have no right, and thus treated as cattle and merchandize. However, as readers journey with Samuel Vimes, through his eyes, we gradually set aside goblins' physical appearances and the differing culture, then come to understand them, on their own terms. In the process discovering goblins and humans actually have in a lot in common. From here, readers' compassion takes over, as we begin to comprehend the wrongness and the horror about the way goblins were treated on Discworld. In this story, Snuff hits readers with a profound truth:

We shouldn't accept other people on the condition that they become more like us. No, that's arrogant self-centredness. Instead, the first step to embrace other people is to understand them, on their own terms.

In fact, the most powerful moment in Snuff struck me, when I read an exchange between Vimes and Mrs. Beedle, who helped the goblins by teaching them “human manners”. During this exchange, Vimes asked if Mrs. Beedle was teaching goblins to be “better citizens”. As Vimes blurted his question, Mrs. Beedle slapped him on the face, then proceeded to tell Vimes about the vastness of the goblin culture, and that she was teaching human manners to goblins, so they could communicate with humans who thought goblins were stupid. To be honest, when I read this part of the book, I could almost feel Mrs. Beedle's slapping palm burning into my own face. Mrs. Beedle rightfully rebuked the arrogant attitude where acceptance is only granted to other people if they become more like us. It is in this arrogant attitude, where discrimination and prejudice of all sorts and kinds spawned. I am just as guilty as Vimes (and many others) for this pride and arrogance. Thanks to Mrs. Beedle and her raw honesty, she did me a great service when she slapped me out of my ivory tower.

Snuff wrapped up the City Watch sub-series fittingly. I had such a fun time reading these stories. While I waved good bye to Samuel Vimes and other beloved characters in Ankh-Morpork City Watch, I slowly came to realize the lessons I learned from reading these books. They broadened my horizon, guiding me to look at the world from a different light. A light that shines on a desert road leading to an oasis. If you have not read Discworld novels, then my question is: What are you waiting for?

Until the next time. Happy reading!