A Book Review: Making Money by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #36)

 “How much money is this good/service worth?” Almost everyone has uttered this common question sometime in life. But I ask you a different question:

“What is money's worth?”

What a strange question, some may say. But this is an interesting question. When we get down to it, money by itself has no practical function at all. i.e. we cannot eat it, live in it, or wear it (perhaps you can burn it to gather warmth?). Instead, money's only function is to be spent. While money may not be food, shelter, clothes or other things we need in life, but in our society these things are only obtainable through the spending of money. I wonder if this means the worth of money is determined by the people. If so, then the monetary system is indeed a fascinating concept!

Either way, the truth is everyone needs money. $$$ makes the world go round. I have this personal motto: “Money can't buy you happiness, but without money you will be miserable.” If I have children one day I will make sure to pass this to them as well. In our world, it is almost impossible to live without money unless you become a hermit living in the wild (but pray you don't become sick). However, where do all this money come from? How do they make money, and why not just make more money so everyone can have it? I am pretty sure economists have a very good answer to this one. Nevertheless, money seems to be a concept that has values only because we give it values.

Does this have anything to do with the book I will be reviewing today? The answer is yes. In Making Money, the 36^th Discworld novel, Sir Terry Pratchett invited his readers to explore the heartland of Discworld's monetary system (and much more). Making Money is a thoughtful satire/comedy about the economic system and it will tickle your funny bone. Allow me to begin my review with a synopsis for the book.

Synopsis:

Ankh Morpork is having a problem. Its citizens no longer trust Ankh Morpork Royal Bank. Furthermore, following the success of the post office, people are beginning to use stamps as currency instead of coins. Lord Vetinari, the patrician of Ankh Morpork, weighs the gravity of the situation and is concerned about this unusual development. So he tried to persuade Moist Von Lipwig, the man who resurrected the post office, to take the job as the chairman of Royal Bank and reform Ankh Morpork's monetary system. However, Moist is content with his new life as the post master (although he is bored), so he turned down Vetinari's offer.

Our story doesn't end here, however. Moist was talked into visiting Ankh Morpork Royal Bank and Royal Mint. During his visit, Moist met an old lady called Topsy Lavish, who was the current chairwoman of Royal Bank. Lady Lavish was very fond of Moist. The night after Moist's visit, Death came and bore Lady Lavish away into the great beyond. She left behind a peculiar will where she gave 50% of shares in the bank to her dog, Mr Fusspot, who already possessed 1% of share in the bank. The combined share of 51% made Mr Fusspot the first canine chairman of Ankh Morpork Royal Bank. Furthermore, the second clause in Lady Lavish's will made Moist the owner of Mr. Fusspot. This effectively made Moist the “real” chairman of Royal Bank. Finally, to secure the deal, the 3^rd clause in Lady Lavish's will stated should anything unnatural happen to Mr. Fusspot, or if Moist does not do as her will commands, then Moist can expect a “visitation” from the Assassin's Guild.

Moist has no other option than fulfilling Lady Lavish's will. As Moist stepped into Ankh Morpork's banking world, he discovered this is a cloak and dagger business with enemies at every front. If he is not careful then his life may be shortened, prematurely. With this realization, there is only one thing for Moist to do, which is making money...

My thoughts about this book:

Making Money is the 2^nd novel to feature Moist Von Lipwig as the protagonist. This books also belongs to the “Industrial Revolution” series in Discworld and the story is once again, set in Ankh Morpork. I like Making Money, this is a good book that satirizes the economic system. However, I think Going Postal stands as a better novel than Making Money. The overall pacing and storytelling in Going Postal were smoother and more coherent than in Making Money. The narratives in Making Money seem a bit disjointed at a few places.

Having said this, Making Money is still a very good book. The story features a cast of interesting characters. Each character is comically depicted and will surely impress readers with their individual background stories. Moist Von Lipwig took the centre stage of the story. He remains a very likable character, and readers can see the events from Going Postal shaped Moist's personage and his new life. Moist also had an intriguing employer/employee relationship in this book with Lord Vetinari, who remains one of the most complex and dynamic characters in Discworld series. In Making Money, Terry Pratchett showed readers a bit more of Vetinari's motivation. This allowed readers to have a glimpse into Terry Pratchett's vision for future Discworld books.

What makes Making Money (or any Discworld novel) special is the distinct ethos and the moving pathos behind these stories. For me, Making Money glowed with brilliance where halfway into the story, a fake priest mumbled a pseudo religious teaching about “The first will become the last, and the last will become the first”. Then a kind woman sincerely asked the priest what will become of those people who are neither the first nor the last, but are just jogging along in the middle, doing their best? This particular moment was hilarious, but most importantly, it opened a can of worms in this discussion about class-based economic system. Here Terry Pratchett is caring about the people in the middle, who were taken advantage of and screwed over by large corporations, banks and bad governments. Here I really have to tip my hat to Terry Pratchett because he courageously tackled these problems and poked fun at them. Yet all the while, in his witty, humorous writing Terry Pratchett still showed this big-hearted attitude towards the things he made fun of. It is this humanness that made Making Money, and all of his Discworld novels such moving and compelling tales.

Making Money is a thoughtful book and a wonderful comedy about the class-based economic system. If you have already planted your foot in Discworld series but haven't read this one yet, make sure to check it out. If you have never read a Discworld novel then the question is, what are you waiting for?