In my gradual re-reading of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, I reached a point at which - chronologically - it was time to diverge slightly from the main books and into those written for younger readers. So I picked up ‘The Wee Free Men’ a few days ago, and have just finished reading it. I had only read it once before, nearly two decades ago, when I read it aloud to my teenage sons. I had a general recollection of the plot, but had entirely forgotten the details.
This book is set in the ‘Chalk’, an area I don’t recall from earlier books in the series. And the reason it’s intended for children rather than adults is that the heroine is nine-year-old Tiffany Aching. She is a hard-working girl who lives on a farm. She is full of integrity and also some self-righteous judgementalism. She’s very bright, and likes learning the meanings of long words. Every so often, teachers come to town and her parents encourage her to go and get a bit more education, paid for in farm produce.
Tiffany’s main expertise is in making butter and cheese, but she has also helped with lambing, and has many daily chores. One of them is watching her small brother Wentworth who must be about two-and-a-half. At the start of the book, is fixated on either sweeties or going to the toilet. Tiffany feels a sense of duty, and some loyalty, but on the whole she finds her brother annoying. So when danger threatens, she decides quite cold-bloodedly to use him as ‘bait’.
We learn early in the book that Tiffany is probably a Discworld witch. She is observant, and blessed with what the author describes as ‘first sight’, and ‘second thoughts’. The latter is the ability to observe herself thinking and analyse her thoughts. And she’s a highly analytical person. She’s not entirely sure what being a witch involves, but it appears that her late grandmother was probably the local witch when she was alive, although most of her life was taken up with delivering or rescuing lambs.
Danger threatens the Disc, and Tiffany appears to be the only person who can do anything to avert it - particularly when her small brother is stolen by a Queen of another world. Her parents are distraught, and she knows she must fetch him back. In this aim she is aided (mostly) by the ‘Wee Free Men’ - the Nac-MacFeegles, who are small ‘pictsies’ with blue skin, kilts and strong Scottish accents. They are very courageous, and love nothing better than fighting or drinking. They’re also convinced they are dead…
It’s an enjoyable story, free of some of the ‘adult’ innuendoes that tend to pop into some of the main Discworld books. There are not so many literary references, either, although there’s more than a nod to some classic children’s fantasy: Two of the Narnia books, for instance, came to mind in scenes involving snow and dreams coming true. I was also forcibly reminded of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ more than once. There are plenty of references to classic fairytales too, as the book progresses; Tiffany wonders if witches must live in gingerbread houses, or if they’re in danger of being thrown into their own ovens. She feels that they often get a bad rap in the stories.
The writing is classic Pratchett, and the storyline as complex as I have come to expect in his writing; Tiffany is never entirely certain when she’s dreaming or what the nature of reality is. And she’s a strong, likeable heroine who is quite confident, even when terrified. She’s perhaps rather mature for a nine-year-old, but that doesn’t matter; children of that age and older seem to enjoy the book, but it’s entirely appropriate to be read by adults as part of the entire series.
Recommended as an introduction to the Discworld series for anyone aged about eight or over, or as part of the series.
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