Making Money (by Terry Pratchett)

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In my gradual re-read of Terry Pratchett’s long Discworld series, I reached ‘Making Money’, which is apparently the 36th book by publication date.  I first read it towards the end of 2007, shortly after it was published but have not re-read it since. So I had pretty much forgotten the storyline.

Unlike the majority of the Discworld series, this book is divided into chapters, and mainly follows the activities of just one individual: the ingenious, intelligent former criminal Moist von Lipwig. While this book stands alone, as all the books in the series do, it’s definitely best read after ‘Going Postal’. That's the book where Mr Lipwig was introduced: saved from the hangman’s noose, he went on to revitalise the Ankh Morpork Post Office.

However, Moist is becoming somewhat bored. He’s an innovator rather than a maintainer. Everything is going smoothly, and his girlfriend is away trying to rescue some golems… so he starts taking risks, seeing if he can still break into places not because he wants to steal anything, but to see if he can. Moist is a very clever creation: a conman and crook at heart, yet also fair-minded and something of a pacifist. He never commits physical violence, and he only cheats people who are trying to cheat him… 

The Ankh Morpork bank is struggling, in the hands of the greedy and snooty Lavish family. The head of the family, and chairman of the board, is an elderly lady who meets Moist and immediately likes him. Lord Vetinari offers Moist the opportunity to take over the bank, but Moist refuses… until circumstances force him to take a hand. 

I have very little financial understanding, but it’s not essential to enjoy this book - and I did like it, rather more than I did first time around. Rather than having lots of classical allusions, this book deals more in similarities with financial institutions and - although I had not taken it in while reading - subtle references to the game of Monopoly. 

So Mr Lipwig invents the idea of a paper note rather than relying on coins and gold bullion, and persuades people to deposit their money, however small an amount, with the promise of interest. He rather shocks Mr Bent, the very uptight and slightly weird chief cashier of the bank whose affinity with numbers is astounding, as he does complex mental arithmetic without flaws in just a few seconds. Mr Bent clearly has some kind of secret but I had entirely forgotten what it was, and had not guessed. 

There’s also a sideline about golems, the people of clay who have featured in several of the other Discworld books. Moist’s girlfriend works for the Golem Trust, ensuring golems can be freed. She travels the Disc finding abandoned or buried golems, and ensuring their release. However she’s not prepared for Gladys, a golem working for Moist, who insists on wearing a dress and reading books on etiquette for young ladies.

It’s a very readable book, although it took me ten days to finish. This is possibly because I didn’t care sufficiently about the main plot to want to keep reading at every moment. But I did like it, and may well read it again in another ten or twelve years. 

Recommended as part of the Discworld series, or as a sequel to ‘Going Postal’. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews