He lobbied both the last Labour government and the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition about the issue. He lobbied the authorities about the issue and compared the lack of resources for research into dementia to the significantly larger amounts given to cancer research in Britain. He started campaigning to raise more money for research, and also campaigned for the right to end life early by assisted suicide. He noted that very little money went into research into Alzeihmer’s, and gave a lot of his own money to researchers. Rather than accept his illness, he spoke out about it. He faced a steady decline and found it increasingly difficult to write. This affects language, memory and thought amongst other things. Pratchett was more than an author who wrote with wit and wisdom.Įight years ago he was diagnosed with a form of Alzheimer’s disease, or dementia, which damages the brain’s cognitive functions. They told my colleagues that it was the way he captured the essence of human existence that attracted them to his work. As readers of our Facebook page will know, they came to the embassy and left a small tribute to him. I wasn’t aware of Pratchett’s popularity around the world, until I heard that some Belarusians wanted to express their condolences. His novels included a character called Death, who was indeed the bringer of death to other characters. His novels cover many aspects of our lives and the strangeness of our existence. I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it.Įven though I’m not interested in “fantasy”, I appreciate his comment that “ stories of imagination tend to upset those without one”. The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. I have enjoyed finding quotations from his life and work, such as: He interacted extensively with his readers and fans, attended lots of conventions devoted to his work, and responded to the many letters and messages that he received.Īfter reading about his work, I realise that humour played a large part in his success, and he parodies all sorts of writers, and narratives. And all the time he developed the complexity of Discworld, so that the novels remained fresh and full of new detail. He also wrote at a remarkable pace, often publishing two books a year in his early career. He sold over two million books a year in Britain, and his worldwide sales were over 80 million (and still growing, I guess). He was the best selling author in Britain in the 1990s, until J K Rowling’s series of books about Harry Potter. That’s well beyond the scope of my imagination. And the seas perpetually pour over the sides of the disc. He wrote 40 novels about an imaginary place called “Discworld” which was, apparently, a “ flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle” which swims through the cosmos. So I’ve not read any novels by Sir Terry Pratchett, the author who died two weeks ago. I don’t read fantasy books – they’re just not my taste. Sir Terry Pratchett, the witty creator of Discworld
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