#Carpe Jugulum

[brontesauruses]

"People as things, that's where it starts."

Carpe Jugulum (Discworld #23) - Terry Pratchett

Going Postal (Discworld #32) - Terry Pratchett

[the-grey-hunt]

[cessreads]

I want to be granny weatherwax when I grow up!

[cosmicrhetoric]

carpe jugulum / small gods / lords and ladies / night watch

HERE AND NOW! HAPPY GLORIOUS 25TH!

[cdyssey]

love how so much of the first half of carpe jugulum is about how much granny weatherwax is so fucking loved, even if she doesn't think that it's so.

her absence in lancre is unthinkable—an aching presence in the story. magrat has named her child after her and wants her to be the baby's godmother. she, nanny, and agnes drop everything to go and find her. they're constantly asking themselves, "what would granny do in this situation?" and then answering the question just as seamlessly because they know granny. they know her iron will and her unbending resilience, the way she fights against the darkness every single day.

she haunts the narrative because she is so deeply interwoven into the DNA of lancre and its people.

she is lancre, really, the unshakeable rock that the community organizes itself around.

and even when she's not there, her legacy is still deeply felt, living and thriving in all the people she has ever touched.

[krowbby]

Vlad looked imploringly at Agnes, and reached out to her.

'You wouldn't let them kill me, would you? You wouldn't let them do this to me? We could have... we might... you wouldn't, would you?'

The crowd hesitated. This sounded like an important plea. A hundred pairs of eyes stared at Agnes.

She took his hand. I suppose we could work on him, said Perdita. But Agnes thought about Escrow, and the queues, and the children playing while they waited, and how evil might come animal sharp in the night, or greyly by day on a list...

'Vlad,' she said gently, looking deep into his eyes, 'I'd even hold their coats.'

granny weatherwax was such a buzzkill for not letting her tear him apart <\3

[fourdiagnosesinatrenchcoat]

She would hate this phrasing but my faith in the Church of Granny Weatherwax is being revived by this latest reread of the witches books. Her exchanges with Mightily Oats are so vital.

[wizardlyghost]

five bucks says that these are comments people gave pterry after reading small gods lol

[mywingsareonwheels]

“And sin, young man, is when you treat people like things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that –”

“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.”

“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes –”

“But they starts with thinking about people as things…”

(Granny Weatherwax, to Pastor Mightily Oats, Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett.)

[libraryspectre]

[pratchettquotes]

"Why don't you just crawl back into your coffin and die, you slimy little maggot," Agnes said. It wasn't that good, but impromptu insults are seldom well crafted.

Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum

[asparklethatisblue]

I love how much Nanny Ogg bullies Agnes about being a boring virgin, while also being glad she’s The Maiden to round up the little group.

[endemonidia-the-crone]

Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett

"end it in hemp"

fuck, when Pratchett gets dark, he gets real Dark

[therodentqueen]

CASSANUNDA THE DWARF

NOT Cassanova

Cassanunda

Not Cassan-OVER

But Cassan-UNDER

Cuz he's a DWARF

[wykart]

Perdita: I could fix him

Agnes: no the fuck you couldn’t

[sithbelle]

You know, one of my least favorite plot tropes is a narrative driven by a misunderstanding. And for the first several pages of Carpe Jugulum, I thought that's what I was dealing with.

Instead, we got a battle of wits involving the most clever witch at her lowest and a...ahem..."vampyre" family trying to be sensible and not superstitious. It's also neat to see Agnes and Perdita develop into their own distinct personalities. And Nanny Ogg is, well, Nanny Ogg (aka just the best). The Scottish pixies were also a delightful treat, as was the witchy return of Magrat.

I can't say this book was my favorite in the witches arc, but I still really enjoyed it.

Next up, we're dealing with The Fifth Elephant!