the Awesome Splendour of the Universe is much easier to deal with if you think of it as a series of small chunks

Of all the lessons I’ve taken from the fantastical world of Pratchett, this quote is my favourite. Not just because it’s true, but also because it is given in the context of shovelling horse dung. A young apprentice of Death (the “ANTHROPOMORPHIC PERSONIFICATION” that is), finds that his job is to be rather less glamorous than he’d hoped. Despite this, he perseveres, and tries to take some lesson from the crappy task.

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The quote is so particularly “Pratchett-y”. I know that’s an annoying description, but it just is. Even though I haven’t come close to reading the full 41 Discworld books (let alone Pratchett’s other fiction), his style is so distinctive, I would likely recognise it anywhere. Using the full range of the English language, he tinkers with pertinent social or abstract commentary and makes it completely ridiculous. Take the topic of dictatorship, for example. Most would shy from humour here, but Pratchett has room for a well-placed pun:

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[The Patrician] didn’t administer a reign of terror, just the occasional light shower. (Sourcery)

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Now, I won’t be writing about dictatorship (or at least it’s very unlikely). But, even if more metaphorical horse-dung than hard-hitting commentary, I’m looking forward to dealing with that bit of “universal splendour”, one chunk-post at a time. And if I can do it with a fraction of Terry’s humour, it’ll be a job well done.

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Sir Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) was an English author most famous for his Discworld series, a collection of fantasy novels full of witches, reluctant heroes, and magical objects. He also wrote Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman), which was recently adapted for the screen and is on Amazon prime. For those who don’t want to jump straight into reading, but want a feel of Pratchett’s humour, I recommend giving it a watch – it may not quite have the magic of the books, but its leads David Tennant and Michael Sheen are always winners in my book!

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