對啦這又是一個有關會說話的老鼠的故事，但是跟之前的那本Rats of NIMH十分不同。
這本書的作者Terry Pratchett是十分著名的奇幻小說作家，他的成名作Discworld系列以各種玩弄跟吐槽奇幻小說老梗為名，這本書當然也不例外。有聽過pied piper魔笛手的故事嗎？吹笛手吹出音樂，神奇地把一大群老鼠從小鎮帶走的那個童話可以說是家喻戶曉。
但是如果你手上有一堆有智慧，會說話的老鼠呢？Maurice跟你講，這是商機啊喂！
結果Maurice跟一個看起來笨笨的吹笛手找來了這群老鼠，便開始自編自導自演了這個童話故事，就這樣騙回來不少錢。可是老鼠們開始抱怨這樣的做法很不道德，Maurice只好硬著頭皮應承只騙多這麼一次，之後大家分好錢就各散東西。眾人來到了一個小鎮裡面，老鼠們倒發現了一個奇怪的事情：小鎮似乎抱受鼠患困擾，到處都是抓鼠用的工具，但是居然一隻老鼠也找不到。鎮上的老鼠到底跑到哪去了？
這裡的設定跟Rats of NIMH不一樣，後者所有動物都會說話，但是前者只有Maurice（他其實是隻貓）跟這一群老鼠才有這個能力。也許是因為這樣吧，這本書對人性跟獸性的討論明顯比NIMH還要多。會說話，會思考的老鼠自覺跟普通吱吱叫的同類有所分別，但是他們又是不是真的能夠丟棄作為老鼠的天性呢？他們的人性會不會比想像中脆弱？
說到這個，這本書對角色性格的描寫也比較深入。NIMH的角色性格鮮明討好不是壞事，但是始終是比較童話式的故事所以說不上特別立體。但是Terry筆下的角色也有軟弱的時候跟成長的空間，Hamnpork作為年老的領袖要面對自己突然擁有的思考能力跟群中權力的流動，Maurice這種現實主義（倒不如說自私）的貓又會為自己對這群老鼠的迷之同情而感覺錯愕，這些都突顯出他們是多麼的有血有肉。
雖然這本書是改編至童話，但是內容一點也不童話，倒不如說是一種對人性，社會的刻劃跟反思
至於Discworld系列嘛？雖然這系列不是童書不過也是很值得推薦，安利文之後才寫吧！
Sure this is yet another children’s book with talking rats, but this is a much different book compared to Rats of NIMH.
The author of this book, Terry Pratchett, is a world-famous fantasy novel author. His iconic creation, the Discworld series, is known for its satire of the genre, and this book is no exception. Remember the story of the pied piper? The tale of the piper who led a plague of rats away using a magic pipe is well-beloved by kids all over the world.
But what would you do with a bunch of intelligent rats that could talk? According to Maurice, it means getting rich quick.
Maurice, together with a stupid-looking piper and said talking rats decided to hatch a scheme. By recreating the pied piper story themselves, they cheated money out of towns here and there. However, the rats soon figured out that this is rather dishonest, and managed to convince Maurice to make this show their last one and split their earnings afterwards for good.
Arriving at a town, the rats noticed something off: Even though the town appeared to have a rat problem judging from the sheer amount of traps and poison, they couldn’t find any local rats (or “keekees") at all. Where have they gone?
Unlike Rats of NIMH where most animals can talk, here only Maurice and the Clan of rats can do so. This might be the reason why the book spends more time discussing the nature of humans and animals compared to NIMH. Those intelligent rats are aware that they are not like other rats, but can they throw away their ratty instincts? Is their humanity a lot more fragile than they’ve thought?
Speaking of which, the characterizations in this book is also a lot deeper. NIMH’s characters are certainly colourful and likable, but being a more fairy-tale-esque story they aren’t exactly 3-dimensional. Here, Terry’s characters have their struggles, moments of weakness and chances to grow. Hamnpork, the old leader of the Clan, needs to get used to his new-found thoughts while dealing with power-shiftings within the group; Maurice, a pragmatic (or rather selfish) cat, also tries to figure out why he’s actually caring about those rats. It’s those struggles that show how “human" those characters are.
Even though this book is based on a fairy-tale, the story itself is clearly more than that. In fact, it’s a reflection of both humanity and society as a whole.
As for the Discworld series? Although it’s not exactly written for children, the series is definitely worth recommending. Expect an introduction to it in the future!
Quill's Book Corner 