Rights of women... wizards!

Welcome to Discworld. It's a large, flat, wheel of a world, resting on the shoulders of four giant elephants, which in turn stand on the magnificently large shell of a turtle called Great A'Tuin. Such a world exists in the imagination and works of one great man — Terry Pratchett. It is he who has created such a fantastical world in which magic is most prominent. This land is featured in one of his best novels, Equal Rites.

It tells the story of the first ever female wizard. It all starts on a stormy night (as all good stories do). A dying wizard by the name of Drum Billet looks to pass on his great wizardry to the newly born eighth son of an eighth son (eight being a magic number in Discworld).

However the minute he passes on his magic, he realises that the eighth son isn't really a son at all... it's a daughter. Eskarina. A female wizard. You might as well start believing that male witches exist, too.

Granny Weatherwax, the village witch, begins to teach 'Esk' to use her magic as a witch. However, Esk's wizardry turns out to be far superior and uncontrollable. Accepting the fact that she can't teach her the magic meant for witches, Granny takes Esk to Ankh-Morpork, where she intends to enrol Esk at the Unseen University as the first ever female wizard. What ensues is a typical (yet hilarious) tale of growing up and the challenges that a woman faces in a wizard's world.

Equal Rites is the third novel in the Discworld series — but the series isn't interconnected, so it doesn't matter which novel you read first. It is the first book to introduce the character of Granny Weatherwax, one of Pratchett's finest characters. The story might narrate Esk's journey, but it's Granny's take on it all that makes the novel such a delight.

Pratchett's usual play on words and the puns that he uses are clever and amusing, even if the story is predictable. Overall, it's a light, interesting read, which will definitely steer you towards wanting more of Discworld.

Author of the week: Terence Pratchett

Background

Terence David John Pratchett was born in Buckinghamshire, England, on April 28, 1948. He is an English novelist, who primarily writes fantasy novels with a signature comic style. He is best known for writing the Discworld series.

Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet Purple, was released in 1971. His first Discworld novel — The Colour of Magic — was published in 1983.

In the 1990s, Pratchett was the bestselling author in the UK. However, he has since been dethroned by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. As of December 2007, he has sold more than 55 million books worldwide. In 2001, he won the Carnegie Medal for his novel The Amazin Maurice and his Educated Rodents.

In 1998, Pratchett was given the status of an Officer of the Order of the British Empire "for services to literature". In 2003, he became the second author with five books featured in the BBC's Big Read 'Top 100', along with Charles Dickens.

In December 2007, Pratchett announced that he is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He currently lives in Salisbury, Wiltshire, with his wife, Lyn.

— The writer is a communications studies student at
Mount Carmel College, India.