Nehaveigur

So much universe, and so little time.

Terry Pratchett

As a kid, I read all of Terry Pratchett‘s books that I could get my hands on, including those that aren’t part of the Discworld universe and those resulting from collaborations with Neil Gaiman and Stephen Baxter.

An aunt gave me my first Discworld novel when I was around 14. I had never read anything that had made me laugh as much. Around the same time, I also tried Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, but they couldn’t compare. Pratchett’s books aren’t straight fantasy novels and even satirize the genre, but they go beyond that and build stories and characters that I was able to identify with. They relate to things that are recognizable and the novels feel more rooted in the real world and less like escapism than the rest of the genre. What makes Pratchett stand out among the funny writers is that he’s also warm and sympathetic towards humanity even when he satirizes parts of it.

When I was in grad school in Cambridge, Pratchett came to give a talk and I went to see him. It was after he’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which he talked about freely. I don’t remember anything about his talk, but I remember feeling sad knowing that he wouldn’t be around much longer. He died in 2015.

Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom.