4.5
“-Gytha Ogg, ¿qué estás haciendo?
- Comer algo
- ¿Es que no puedes dormir?
-No cojo el sueño, Esme- se quejó Tata Ogg-. No entiendo el porqué.
-¡Oye, estás comiendo una salchicha de ajo! ¡Comparto la cama con alguien que está comiendo salchichas de ajo!
-¡Eh que es mía! ¡Devuélvemela! (…) Creía que te gustaba el ajo, Esme- Dijo la voz resentida de Tata Ogg.
-Las salchichas de ajo están muy bien en su lugar, y su lugar no es la cama. No quiero oír una palabra más. Y échate a un lado, que te estás quedando con todo el duvit”.

Este es el tercer libro que compone la saga de las brujas. Sinceramente, yo no pretendía leer este libro hasta más adelante. Sin embargo, dada una serie de circunstancias especiales me vi en la necesidad de releer esta tercera parte. Tenía miedo de que no me gustase tanto sin darme un descanso. Menos mal que no fue así. Me animó incluso más.

“Los pintores y escritores siempre han tenido un concepto un tanto exagerado de lo que sucede en un aquelarre de brujas. Eso les sucede por pasar tanto tiempo en habitaciones pequeñas, con las cortinas corridas, en vez de salir a tomar el aire fresco que es más sano”.

Esta entrega cuenta con las mismas protagonistas: las tres doñas, las tres brujas o el trío monstruoso (como me gustaría llamarlas).

“-No tenéis más que miraros a vosotras tres-dijo-. Rebosantes de buenas intenciones que no sirven para nada. La doncella, la madre y la arpía.
- ¿A quién estas llamando doncella? - se enfureció Tata Ogg.
- ¿A quién estás llamando madre? – se enfureció Magrat.
Yaya Ceravieja se sonrojó un instante, como alguien que acaba de descubrir que solo queda una pajita y todos los demás han sacado una larga.”

Sin embargo, esta novela tiene un tinte bastante diferente a su anterior entrega. En ella el autor quiere mostrarnos la importancia de los cuentos y el folclore popular y el poder que tienen en nosotros. Todos conocemos las historias de Caperucita, Rapunzel, los tres cerditos, entre otros. No hay una sola versión, algunas más oscuras que otras (debido a la época, ahora no están sino más edulcorados), pero siempre siguen el mismo patrón.

“Por eso, en el Mundodisco la gente se toma las cosas muy en serio.
Como los cuentos.
Porque los cuentos son importantes,
La gente cree que son las personas las que dan forma a los cuentos. En realidad, es justo al revés.
Los cuentos existen con independencia de los que participan en ellos. Si uno sabe eso, el conocimiento es poder.”

No puedo comparar esta novela con la anterior, como he dicho antes, tiene un tinte diferente y sería como comparar el agua con el aceite. Me he reído mucho más que la primera vez. Cualquiera que vea mi libro verá que está más relleno de post-it que de páginas. No me arrepiento. Por otro lado, tiene un toque más filosófico que el anterior y te hace reflexionar a la vez que te hace reír. Este es uno de los toques majestuosos de este autor. Por eso lo amo tanto y no me cansaré de leerle.

“Atiende, los finales felices están muy bien siempre que resulten felices por si mismos- dijo Yaya, mirando hacia el cielo-. Pero no los puedes fabricar para los demás. Es como pensar que la única manera de garantizar un matrimonio feliz es cortar la cabeza a los novios en cuanto dicen “Si quiero”. No se puede fabricar la felicidad”.

(Relectura Mundodisco #12)

Razones para darle 5 estrellas: Tata, Yaya, Greebo, vudú, cuentos y reflexiones sobre la bondad y la maldad. Sin duda la saga de las brujas es la que más puntos está ganando en la relectura.

Listening to the audiobook again, this time with my daughter.

More fun with Granny Weatherwax & friends as they travel to foreign parts to stop a fairy godmother from making people have happily ever afters, whether it’s wanted or not. Loved it.

As much as I love the Discworld series, I have to admit that there are several sub-standard entries early in its life (and by "early" I mean "the first 10 years") and I often think that the series might not have survived the publishing world today. Dare I say, new books might have come out too frequently, with two per year for most of the series' lifespan. Witches Abroad is one of those entries that would have benefitted from another revision pass or two before publication.

The main characters (Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick) are as great as ever and carry the book. They do not undergo any significant development, but it is always a joy to read their interactions with each other and with hapless outsiders. Other characters are only there as fodder for them to act against.

The plot progress and pacing is choppy in the latter half of the book, and this is where the book as a whole breaks down, although not as badly as in Sourcery which is the most egregious example of this intermittent problem in the series. Any Discworld fan knows not to expect anything as mundane as "chapters", but this book might have benefitted from having clearer separation between the main sections of the book. The setup involves re-establishing the status of the witches in their home region of the Ramtop mountains and setting the plot into motion with the death of witch/fairy godmother Desiderata, who passes along her wand and charge. The next part sees our trio of witches traveling to "furrin places" and we enjoy seeing them react to these new environments, or more accurately how they enforce themselves in new places.

The final section, beginning with their arrival in their final destination of Genua, is where it largely falls apart. At this point the plot ceases flowing naturally; the supposed plot payoffs were not adequately set up; new elements (the swamp, Mr. Samedi, Mrs. Gogol, most of the enemy players) were inadequately built up. The whole theme of stories fell flat. One intended major character revelation was spoiled a long time earlier to anyone with a passing knowledge of French.

In total, the attempt to use the witches as a framework for a Discworld take on fairy tales, like was done with Shakespeare in Wyrd Sisters, was well-intentioned, approached success at one point, but ultimately didn't pan out. I wish that Pratchett had spent a little more time with this story, smoothing it out and adding the additional pages it needed to work. It's forgivable, and I still love reading the witches stories, with another coming up just two books later (Lords and Ladies) in publication order.

FINAL WORD: Nanny Ogg's tomcat Greebo has a feature role in this book. I am extremely uncomfortable with the description of him as "rapey" with the intent of humour. If he were merely threatening to all creatures he comes across and an ardent mater with female cats, that would be sufficient, but the text specifically describes him as a rapist of animals, not necessarily restricted to his own species.

DNF at 50%

This book is just childish and nonsensical. It's about three witches who travel 'abroad' and run into various fairy tale stories along the way like Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Wizard of Oz, etc. The witches are ridiculous and more than a little stupid, the plot is lazy, the writing is hard to follow. I wanted to finish but honestly it's not worth my time.

"Защото Вселената била изпълнена с невежество, а ученият я пресявал като златотърсач, надвесен над планински поток, за да отдели златото на знанието от чакъла на глупостта, пясъка на несигурността и малките осмокраки мустакати плаващи твари на суеверието."

"Но бедата била там, че невежеството ставало все по-интересно, особено онова очарователно невежество за големи и важни неща като материя и сътворение. А хората преставали да градят търпеливо своите малки къщи от късчета разум в хаоса на Вселената и започвали да се интересуват от самия хаос — отчасти защото било доста по-лесно да си експерт по хаоса..."

Предполагам, че ако направя класация топ 20 на любимите ми цитати от книги, вероятно поне 15 от тях ще са на Тери Пратчет. Все си мислех, че Пратчет няма с какво вече да ме изненада, но като отмине малко време винаги започват да ми липсват книжлетата със страхотните илюстрирани корици (дело на покойния гений Джош Кърби) и щур хумор по малките странички.

"Вещици в чужбина" е от може би най-плодородния период на Пратчет, а и по правило всяка негова книга си има своя чар. Тук отново се събираме с триото вещици баба Есма Вихронрав, леля Гита Ог и Маграт Чеснова в ново гротесково приключение, в което трябва да спасят една бъдеща принцеса от.... това да се омъжи за приказен принц! Трите вещици са на практика представители на три различни поколения: консервативната и неподлежаща на промени баба Вихронрав, либерално настроената и обичащата да похапва леля Ог, както и младата бунтарка Макграт. Въпреки различните им възгледи те трябва да заминат на юг към красивия "чужбински" град Генуа, където властва Лилит, галантната сестра на баба Вихронрав. Лилит се вживява като добрата вещица, която превръща града в приказно място и сбъдва мечтите на принцесата (макар и против волята ѝ). Но точно тези, които най-упорито твърдят, че вършат добро за общото благо, по традиция са същите властници, които искат да дърпат конците и еднолично да управляват. Или както казва баба Вихронрав: "Злото и доброто са измамни неща, значение има само гледната точка." И добавя: "Не бива да превръщаш реалния свят в приказка. Не бива да се отнасяш с хората, сякаш са приказни герои, сякаш са пионки."

На пръв поглед "Вещици в чужбина" може да изглежда само като пародия на популярни приказки като "Пепеляшка" и "Сн��жанка", но знаете го Пратчет. Дори да напише рецепта за пай с картофи, в нея пак ще има повече мъдрост от цял камион философска литература, а и пък ще ви накара да се насер... да се скъсате от смях, исках да кажа. :Р

Започнах с цитат, така и ще завърша:

"Какво беше бог? Фокусирана вяра. Ако хората вярват, богът започва да расте. Отначало слабо, но ако блатото учеше на нещо, то бе търпение. Всичко би могло да стане обект на вяра. Шепа пера, вързани с червена панделка, шапка и палто върху няколко пръчки… всичко. Защото когато всичко, което хората притежават, в действителност е нищо, тогава каквото и да е би могло да бъде почти всичко."

Pues... uno más de las brujas. Creía que me gustaría más porque según reseñas, es de los mejores de la saga de estas peculiares señoras, pero... me gustó más el anterior (brujerías).

**Alerta Spoiler!!!

1.-La historia. El trío de brujas formado por Yaya, Tata y Magrat, se ve envuelto en el complot de un hada madrina y un cuento que busca su final feliz . Y claro, nada es lo que parece, y todo resulta de lo más disparatado.

2.-Los personajes. El trío, un hada mala, y una reina del vudú. Y bueno, personajes de cuentos, enanos, lobos, animalillos, el barón Sábado y el gato de Tata XD
Me gustaron la evolución de Yaya, las locuras de Tata y ya. Magrat no destaca mucho en esta historia.

3.-La pluma, la trama y demás. Todo de tirón, sin capítulos y con saltos de una escena a otra. Típico de Pratchett. Los guiños a los cuentos de toda la vida son gracioso y divertidos. Mola que no sea lo que parece y el hilo de la historia no está mal. Pero esperaba algo más absurdo todavía y más adictivo.

4.-El final. Bien. Sin más.

En fin, 2 estrellas sobre 5 porque parece que me estoy atascando con el Mundodisco, ya que cada libro que leo, me parece menos divertido.

**Popsugar 2022 categoría 16. Un libro sobre brujas.

“İnsanlar için daha iyi bir dünya inşa etmekle falan uğraşamazsın. Yalnızca insanlar kendileri için daha iyi bir dünya inşa edebilir. Aksi halde inşa ettiğin şey, yalnızca bir kafes olur. Dahası, daha iyi bir dünya yaratmanın yolunun, kelle uçurmak ya da düzgün kızları kurbağalarla evlendirmek olduğunu hiç sanmıyorum. “


Diskdünya’nın en fantastik cadı üçlüsü; Havamumu Nine, Ogg Ana ve Magrat Sarımsak yeniden sahneye çıkıyor. Bu sefer hedeflerinde “mutlu son”lar var. Kurbağalar, prensler, zombiler, cüceler, yılanlar, aynalar, kız kardeşler, uyuyan güzeller ve istemeyeceğiniz kadar bal kabağı ile “istenmemiş” mutlu sonları önlemenin peşindeler. Peri masallarına, özellikle de kız çocuklarına dayatılan masalların hicvini, tersine bir masalla okuyorsunuz. Yine hayatla bağınızı sağlamlaştıran bir eğlencenin içinde, çok daha derinlere inen, düşündüren ya da ortak dertlerinizi açıkça ortaya saçan paragraflar gizli. Her zamanki gibi disk yine absürd, fantastik dünyadan çok daha fazlasını barındırıyor içinde. Havamumu ninenin aksiliğinin, kafalojisinin, bir de Ogg Ana’nın dinmez yaşam aşkının hastasıyım.

“Bence bu, yakışıklı prensin halletmesi gereken bir işti.”
“Hah!” dedi, önden giden Nine. “Peki bu ne işe yarayacaktı? Adamın iyi bir koca olacağını, dikenli çalıları biçip geçmesine bakarak mı anlayacaksın? Tipik peri anne düşünüşü işte! Ortalıklarda dolaşıp insanların isteyip istemediğine aldırmadan mutlu sonlar dağıtmak!”

“Mutlu sonlarda yanlış bir şey yok,” dedi Magrat hararetle.

“İyi dinle,” dedi Nine, Magrat’a dik dik bakarak, “sonu gerçekten mutlu olduğu sürece mutlu sonların bir sorunu yok. Ve yine de bunu sen başkaları adına yapamazsın. Mutlu bir evlilik yapmanın tek yolu, ‘kabul ediyorum’ der demez onların kafasını kesmek gibi mi olacak yani? Tam en mutlu oldukları anda, zirvede bırakmak mı? Mutluluğu imal edemezsin...”

Uzaktaki şehre baktı.
“Yapabileceğin tek şey,” dedi, “sadece bir tür sondur.”

Not my favorite among Pratchett’s books but it’s an OK novel.
The old godmother Desiderata dies and leaves her wand and instructions to the youngest of the local witches, Magrat. According to Desiderata’s will, Magrat must travel to Genua to stop a young girl from marrying a prince. Of course, the two older witches, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, tag along.
This tale is divided into two distinct parts. The first part is studded with empty chatter and surface humor. The witches visit ‘foreign parts’, speak foreign languages (Nanny Ogg thinks she does anyhow), and endure foreign food. They travel, but not much is going on in regards to the plot. I found the first half of the book slightly tedious, although the author’s ever-present mockery of every preconception and bias relieves the tedium somewhat. The witches fly their brooms, and the speed of their chosen transportation is rather breathtaking, but the story stands still. Some irreverent verbal gems to be found in this part of the book are worth quoting:

n  
It’s a strange thing about determined seekers-after-wisdom that, no matter where they happen to be, they’ll always seek that wisdom which is a long way off. Wisdom is one of the few things that looks bigger the further away it is.n

The second part of the tale starts, when the witches arrive in Genua. The story finally begins rolling, despite the protagonists, who have stopped moving. Perhaps their stationary position spurs the action.
The witches investigate the situation, discover the villain, and deal with the conundrum in their inimitable fashion. In this part of the book, the author makes fun of stories and the inevitable typecast of all the known plots twists. Why must every poor girl marry a prince? Why must there be a ‘happily-ever-after’? Why must a godmother help her protégé with magic?
Such questions put doubts into the readers’ heads. Do we take the stories we read for granted? Do we ever doubt their wisdom? Do we disregard their casual cruelty?
One of the protagonists, a powerful witch Granny Weatherwax, serves as the author’s voice on the issue, a warning to any who think that tyranny might be a good idea:

n  “You can’t go around building a better world for people. Only people can build a better world for people. Otherwise it’s just a cage. Besides, you don’t build a better world by chopping heads off and giving decent girls away to frogs.”
“But the progress--” Magrat began.
“Don’t you talk to me about progress. Progress just means bad things happen faster…”n

Later, Granny explains her position even more explicitly:

n  “You can’t make things right with magic. You can only stop making them wrong.”n

On the whole, this novel is heavy on philosophy and satire but doesn’t showcase an intriguing story line, and its characters are a bit formulaic, not as much living persons as icons, representing various points of view. The book captivates the readers’ brains and tickles their laughing buds, but their emotions remain unengaged.
Recommended to intelligent readers.

Pratchett jak zwykle nieskończenie cytowalny, i abstrakcyjnie zabawny. Żeby nie być gołosłownym, przytoczę kilka przykładów:

- "Szczęśliwe zakończenia są świetne, jeśli okażą się szczęśliwe" (s.110);
- "Nikt nie cierpiał głodu, jeśli miał choć trochę chleba krasnoludów do uniknięcia" (s.111);
- "Wszystkie opowieści pragnął szczęśliwych zakończeń. I wcale nie dbają o to, dla kogo będą szczęśliwe" (s.259)

Sir Terry tym razem bierze na warsztat baśnie (w szczególności Kopciuszka), dodaje do nich szczyptę voodoo i "bananananowe daikiri" oraz nieprzebrane ilości dyni pod każdą postacią. Wychodzi jak zawsze świetnie, chociaż "Trzy wiedźmy" są odrobinę lepsze.

DEnglish version below

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Da Terry Pratchetts Hexen bei Weitem nicht meine Lieblingscharaktere auf der Scheibenwelt sind und ich auch kein besonders großer Märchenfan bin, gehört dieser Scheibenweltroman nicht zu meinen Favoriten.

Oma Wetterwachs, Mrs. Ogg und Magrat reisen in ein weit entferntes Königreich, um sich dort als gute Feen zu betätigen, nicht ohne in zahlreiche Märchen involviert zu werden.

War nicht so ganz meins, daher nur 3 Sterne.

-----------------------------

As Terry Pratchett's witches are by no means my favourite characters on the Discworld and I'm not a particularly big fairy tale fan, this Discworld novel is not one of my favourites.

Granny Weatherwax, Mrs Ogg and Magrat travel to a distant kingdom to act as fairy godmothers, not without getting involved in numerous fairy tales.

Not really my cup of tea, so only 3 stars.