Clara’s Verdict
Hogfather is the twentieth Discworld novel, and it has become, quite rightly, a fixture of many a midwinter. Or rather Hogswatch, the Disc’s festival at the turning of the year, whose jolly gift-giver has gone mysteriously missing. In his absence Death himself takes up the sack and the red suit, gamely attempting a Ho ho ho down the nation’s chimneys, because if children stop believing before morning, there may be no morning at all.
Underneath the tinsel this is one of Pratchett’s most philosophical books, a genuinely thoughtful meditation on belief, on why we need our small myths in order to reach the big truths. It is also very funny, and threaded with a creeping menace that gives the whole thing an edge. Death, cast as the reluctant gift-giver, has rarely been put to stranger or better use.
It is a busy novel, and its ideas run deep enough that a first-time listener may occasionally scramble to keep up. But it rewards the effort, and as a seasonal listen it is close to perfect.
About the Audiobook
The twentieth Discworld novel and the fourth in the Death sequence, Hogfather unfolds on the night before Hogswatch. The stockings are hung, the sherry and pies are waiting by the fireplace, and yet the jolly fat man with his sack is nowhere to be seen. Instead it is Death who is creeping down the chimneys, doing his level best to say Ho ho ho, because somebody has to bring the children their presents, or else they might stop believing.
And belief, on the Disc, is no small matter, least of all on the last night of the year when time itself is turning. If the real man in the red suit is not found by morning, there will not be a morning, ever again. What begins as a festive comedy of Death in an unlikely role deepens into something stranger and darker, a story about the necessity of the small lies we tell in order to believe the large truths, with the fate of the morning itself hanging on the outcome.
The Narration
Sian Clifford narrates, and over ten hours and eighteen minutes she is once again perfectly attuned to the double register of a Death novel. Hogfather swings between festive warmth, sharp comedy and a genuine chill, and Clifford handles the tonal shifts with real finesse, keeping the humour light on its feet while letting the darker passages carry weight. Bill Nighy again reads the footnotes and Peter Serafinowicz voices Death, and the ensemble touches suit this most Death-driven of stories.
It is a reading of real intelligence and warmth. Clifford understands that the book’s philosophy and its comedy are the same gesture, and she never sacrifices one for the other. For a midwinter listen, hers is exactly the voice you want by the fire.
What Readers Say
Rated 4.6 from 8 reviews, Hogfather is held in clear affection. Cyborg vole calls it a fantastically written, spellbinding story of magic and wonder, and a beautiful one that everybody should read. Carper, revisiting it as an annual Christmas tradition, praises how much insight it offers into the very soul of humanity, its heights and foibles and depths, so that you laugh along and sometimes cry at the folly and the wisdom together.
The honest notes are here too, and welcome. Jwh Fitzherbert, in a four-star review, calls it completely nuts and chaotic, rambling all over the place while still delivering very funny set pieces, and suggests that you either fall in step with Pratchett and the Disc or the whole thing rather passes you by. Others keep it brief, a great book with wonderful imagery and humour, a nice gift, a thoroughly enjoyable read. The overall verdict is warm: clever, chaotic, funny and, for many, a seasonal essential.
Who Should Listen?
This is for listeners who like their comedy with a philosophical streak, for anyone in search of a midwinter story with more bite than sentiment, and for readers who love a book that hides real ideas inside a festive romp. It rewards a little familiarity with the Disc, though its central questions about belief need no introduction at all.
If a witty, thoughtful and gently eerie festive tale sounds like your idea of a good evening, this is a marvellous one to reach for. Listen to Hogfather on Audible
