Small Gods, by Terry PratchettAccurate But Misleading Plot Summary: A layabout with an unsettling reptile fixation disrupts life in a religious community.
One of Pratchett's earliest works and one of my favorites. Small Gods is the story of a thick young monastic with a phenomenal memory who meets a tortoise that may or may not be his god.
It's full of humor, as are all of Pratchett's DiscWorld books, but I find something special in this one that makes me turn to it again and again. It takes place in a world where Gods are not merely real, but also quite intrusive (atheists tend to find themselves attracting a lot of lightning), and it asks some huge questions about what Gods require of us, and what we in turn require of them. It's about belief and religion, about God and His followers, and most of all it's about people trying to figure out where they belong in the spectrum between the godless and the devout.
Oh, and there's a penguin.
Ulysses Rating: 5 - I'll read this again and again.
1 comment:
Many thanks, Rohit.
I'm a huge fan of Pratchett, and highly recommend any of his books.
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