Synopsis

Terry Pratchett has earned a place in the hearts of readers the world over with his bestselling Discworld series – but in recent years he has become equally well-known and respected as an outspoken campaigner for causes including Alzheimer’s research and animal rights. A Slip of the Keyboard brings together for the first time the finest examples of Pratchett’s non fiction writing, both serious and surreal: from musings on mushrooms to what it means to be a writer (and why banana daiquiris are so important); from memories of Granny Pratchett to speculation about Gandalf’s love life, and passionate defences of the causes dear to him.

With all the humour and humanity that have made his novels so enduringly popular, this collection brings Pratchett out from behind the scenes of the Discworld to speak for himself – man and boy, bibliophile and computer geek, champion of hats, orang-utans and Dignity in Dying.

My thoughts

What can I say about this book, funny, touching and at times heart-breaking, this book collects some of Sir Terry Pratchett’s speeches, book introductions and magazine articles into this volume.

All the essays are funny even the saddest ones dealing with his Alzheimer’s have moments of his unique humour in them.  I will admit that this took me longer than normal to read, normally I gobble up anything by Pratchett, but as I progressed throughout the book I found it hard to read, know that there would be no more wonderful stories from this man, and reading the final section when he talks about his illness and assisted dying was extremely sad to read.

The world not only lost a great writer when he passed but also a great human being, no one will ever be able to replace what he was to his many fans and I wonder if anyone will ever be as funny as he was in that dry English way. I doubt it but am always hopeful.

A must read

4/5 (too sad for 5)