The worłd according to Terry

This audio books starts off with the declaration that the Discworld books are probably the most annotated of all time, probably a correct statement.

In 'The folklore of the Discworld', Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld. 

Most of us grow up having always known to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly some of these things are now beginning to be forgotten.

Legends, myths, fairytales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got there. It is the same on the Discworld, except that beings which on Earth are creatures of the imagination - like vampires, trolls, witches and, possibly, gods - are real, alive and in some cases kicking.

Discworld folklore is a trivia test to identity the original idea, character, or how Terry has warped our commonplace into a Discworld setting. He also explains how Discworld traditions floating through the multi-verse helped inspire some of Shakespeare's works.

The Annotated Pratchett File now sadly out-dated, is an example of the breadth of  the many jokes, parodies, allusions and literary references that litter the pages. There are the bits of Shakespeare, pieces from the Bible and a whole lot of pop culture from the worlds of music, film, media...

Some of my favourites come from the sixteenth Discworld story - "Soul music", in fact I think "Pathway to paradise" says so much more than "Stairway to heaven", but I appreciate the whole music with rocks in it and the many references to Meatloaf's seminal "Bat out of hell", or the running gag with the main character "Imp y Celyn"  a Welsh transliteration of 'Bud of the Holly' who is a bit elvish. Just some more I couldn't resist: "'Cliff? Can't see anyone lasting long in this business with a name like Cliff'."and the University "Born to rune" and "Rebel without a pause".

The final section is a discussion on folklore between Terry and Dr Jacqueline Simpson (she is a long-standing member and office-holder on the Folklore Society's committee), where they quiz a young member of the audience about her knowledge of Shakespeare, and go off on a tangent to complement John Tams on his 'Sharpe' song lyrics "Over the hills and far away", etc. (Just found the John Tams version of the folksong on YouTube, have to love YouTube sometimes). All a very laid-back exchange with Terry breaking out into song ditties - the man has a phenomenal knowledge and must have undertaken research into many branches of  scholarship.

A must read for Pratchett fans.