Review: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
Enjoyment: 5 / Prose: 5 / Characters: 4 / Plot: 5
pros: deconstruction of religion ftw!!! also grumpy turtle! humans being bros!
cons: -
Honestly what is there to say about Small Gods that hasn't been said? God named Om gets turned into a turtle, only believer is a meek dude named Brutha, creepy guy Vorbis tries to take power. Seems simple (and the plot is) but gods, is every section of this book filled with equal parts humor and compassion. Pratchett's sense of comedy seems perfectly made just for me, and I don't run into that often. The characters here were difficult for me to connect with at first, compared to Samuel Vines or Death (who does get an appearance!!), but eventually Om and Brutha grew on me. Brutha teaches Om some pretty human things (forgiveness, mercy). Pratchett's understanding of human behavior is unmatched.
Some favorite bits:
*"There were twenty-three other novies in Brutha's dormitory, on the principle that sleeping alone promoted sin. This always puzzled the novices themselves, since a moment's reflection would suggest there were whole ranges of sins only available in company. But that was because a moment's reflection was the biggest sin of all."
*""What have I always believed? That on the whole, and by and large, if a man lived properly, not according to what any priests said, but according to what seemed decent and honest inside, then it would, at the end, more or less, turn out all right".
*"'Nothing is impossible for the strong in faith,' said Vorbis. 'Try striking a match on jelly, mister.'"
