I’d suggest we can even find hope in the very fact that this novel was written. Pratchett may think us fools – but he still likes us. The same is true of the rest of the book. But it’s also full of warmth and sympathy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of mind is surprise. Blink your eyes and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Wen considered the nature of time and understood the universe that is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Pratchett has an admirable ability to land home truths, be very silly and also very wise all in one go: The story is as complicated, daft, hilarious and satisfying as vintage PG Wodehouse: part kung fu epic, part philosophical novel, part mind-bending experiment with chaos theory (and a piss-take of those three things). There are other reasons to find hope in Thief of Time, chief among them that it’s a delight to read.

Humans have always got it wrong, but we’ve generally muddled through too.

And I find such thoughts comforting: there’s nothing new about folly. I imagine future generations will be seeing their own mistakes in this novel, just as clearly as I’ve seen our own. Pratchett understood human nature, for better or for worse. But even without my current political obsessions and fears, I’m certain that I’d find other kinds of solace in this wonderful novel.

Discworld thief of time