I’m not sure what was going on at this time in Britain but I have a feeling maybe things were racially charged. I also would say that this is one of those Discworld books that’s intentionally not that funny and more serious. However, it’s clear what the message is here – fuck racists. The insults used against the Klatchians are those used against Middle Easterners in real life and that can make this a difficult read, I would expect more-so if you’re Islamic or from that area of the world. This book is very, very on the nose as it were. Vimes has to explain and try to make up for the citizens but it’s difficult when people are calling them “towel heads”. There are delegates sent from Klatch and their reception in Ankh was less than polite. So, an island forms right in the middle between Klatch and Ankh-Morpork and there’s an argument that turns into a war over who gets to keep this island. I was worried going into this one, but honestly I think it aged well all things considered. Now, these books are old and sometimes Pratchett can date himself with the jokes he makes. Klatch is a stand-in for the middle east much like the counterweight continent is a stand-in for Asia. This book focuses on racism and nationalism which are hot topics right now in the USA and have been for a while. I think when I was first reading through this series it didn’t hit me in the way that it does now. This is one of those books in the series that I don’t revisit as often as I should.
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