Scan barcode
ramblingravioli's review
3.5
I enjoyed the links to the Phantom of the Opera but there was a lot of fatphobia and ableism in this book. Which seems very unlike Terry!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
sylvatica's review
I really disliked the fatphobia and ableism against Agnes, Henry, and Walter. And then I hit the end of the time from the library, so I returned it and read the synopsis.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
venidasdemarzo's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
I wish the climax of this book was Perdita blowing up the opera house, everybody there deserved it except the sidequest tenor and the Witches
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, and Car accident
theaceofpages's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“Opera happens because a large number of things amazingly fail to go wrong, Mr. Bucket. It works because of hatred and love and nerves. All the time. This isn’t cheese. This is opera. If you wanted a quiet retirement, Mr. Bucket, you shouldn’t have bought the Opera House. You should have done something peaceful, like alligator dentistry.”
When Agnes Nitt joins the opera, she hopes for fame and fortune. Instead she finds drama that extends well beyond the stage. Despite the fatphobia this Phantom of the Opera esque story is probably my favourite of the witches stories so far. I apparently forgot to review this one when I read it a few months back but I remember loving the clever puns and references. As much as she can be frustrating at times (mostly through other characters though) I hope we get to see more of Agnes in the future!
When Agnes Nitt joins the opera, she hopes for fame and fortune. Instead she finds drama that extends well beyond the stage. Despite the fatphobia this Phantom of the Opera esque story is probably my favourite of the witches stories so far. I apparently forgot to review this one when I read it a few months back but I remember loving the clever puns and references. As much as she can be frustrating at times (mostly through other characters though) I hope we get to see more of Agnes in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism and Murder
achingallover's review
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
questingnotcoasting's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The Witches are my favourite Discworld series but I thought this was the weakest one so far. However I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Indira Varma with Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz and I definitely enjoyed the story more because of that. The plot was pretty entertaining but I missed some references because I'm not really familiar with the story of The Phantom Of The Opera. Also I didn't feel like Agnes was dealt with particularly sympathetically as a fat character which did affect my enjoyment a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism and Death
takeachance's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
Moderate: Death and Murder
bookgraham's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Eating disorder and Classism
bluejayreads's review against another edition
3.75
Granny Weatherwax is a pretty neat character idea, but she’s also my biggest frustration with the Witches subseries. She’s mean, passive-aggressive, won’t admit she’s wrong, and determined to make people do what she thinks is best for them regardless of their opinions on the matter. Luckily for my enjoyment of this book, Granny is slowly starting to get a little bit better, and Agnes, the third protagonist along with Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, is even more fed up with Granny than I am.
Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have decided that Agnes should become their third witch now that Magret has escaped from under Granny’s thumb. Agnes, though, hates the very idea, and instead takes her spectacular vocal talent to Ankh-Morpork to become an opera singer. Granny and Nanny come up with an excuse to follow her there and interfere. Also the plot of Phantom of the Opera is going on, complete witha mysterious black-suited mask-wearing opera house “ghost,” murders, and a gorgeous lead singer named Christine (although this Christine can’t actually sing).
Agnes is prodigiously fat, and though this doesn’t bother her in the slightest, there is a lot of fatphobia from others and some of the humor is based around fatphobic jokes. Although there is quite a bit of actual humor, as well. It’s definitely not as funny as some of the other Discworld books, but I think it’s the funniest of the Witches books so far.
There’s not really anything here that I would call a main plot. There’s the whole Phantom of the Opera thing, which mainly becomes a whodunit mystery trying to figure out who is the opera house ghost so they can stop him from murdering people, Agnes trying to find where she fits into the world of opera, Granny doing her best to meddle in everything (with Nanny cheerfully along for the ride), and a very bizarre subplot about an Ankh-Morpork-born opera singer pretending to be a foreigner and really hating how everyone goes out of their way to feed him foreign food that he doesn’t like but requesting the Ankh-Morpork food he does like would blow his cover. No, I’m not sure what the point is supposed to be either.
Though I can’t say I’m a particular fan of how things worked out for Agnes in the end, overall this was a solid book. It kept me interesting, it made me laugh, I liked Agnes a lot, and Granny Weatherwax’s more enraging aspects were toned down. It’s not my favorite Discworld book, but it’s definitely not my least favorite, and it may be my favorite of the Witches books so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism and Body shaming
Minor: Blood
chemicalcain's review against another edition
2.0
Lots of ableism and fatphobia in this one. By that I mean fatness is one of the primary jokes. One of my least favorite Pratchett books so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, and Violence