This delightful story has just recently been rewritten by the author, almost forty years after he first produced parts of it for a column in his local newspaper. After reading this, no one will be able to look down at the floor again, or at the carpet or rug covering it, without wondering what worlds might dwell beneath their very feet. Will the detritus and debris, that accumulates between the threads, alter their lifestyle or create danger for the inhabitants dwelling there? Written for children age eight and up, this is a charming little fairy tale, filled with strange little creatures and silly conversations. Children will adore the nonsense of it, but the lessons of citizenship, nationalism, morality and ethics, that they can glean from it, will be what really makes it a worthwhile read for them. The humor is subtle, tongue in cheek, and so an adult might be needed to help interpret it, at times. Reading it with a teacher, would be better yet, since then someone could guide them through the world of the “rug”, and the book would become a great tool for learning how to treat others and how to live well in a world worth living in for everyone.The author’s pen and ink line drawings are comical and will definitely amuse young readers. In the illustrations, the Munrungs look a little like cavemen, and other creatures appear to resemble horses. There are so many weird little creatures hidden in the pages of the book and the “hairs of the carpet”. Some are large, some are diminutive, some have glowing eyes, some are unseen, some may be monsters, some can see the future and the past, and some may simply be “the true human beings”, if there are such things.I think a reluctant reader might need adult guidance with the printed word and the cartoon like drawings, since even I had some issues with parts of the tale that seemed confusing, with too many strange names and places coupled with some pretty odd explanations, but all readers will learn about behavior, without even realizing they are doing so. The message will just quietly, and gently, seep into their minds. This little book can be a tool to teach children how to interact with others who may be different or who may be the same. They will learn how people try to get along and, on the other hand, how they often make unnecessary enemies for no good reason at all. They will learn that peace is preferable to war, mutual respect is a more worthy endeavor than rudeness and good is better than evil. The Carpet is like a parallel world to our own with different parts like the Hearth, the Edge and The Chairleg. It is inhabited by several people, who might be considered tribes, like the Dumiis, the Wights, the Deftmenes and the Munrungs, plus several other creatures, like the snargs, the mouls and the pones, some friendly, some not, some with glowing eyes and sharp teeth! Some are peace-loving, while some prefer conflict.After an attack by the legendary monster, called the Fray, which may or may not be a natural phenomenon, like a natural disaster, the Munrungs are forced to leave their land and resettle someplace else. On their way to safety, many exciting adventures await them. Who will win the battles as they face their adversaries? Who are their true enemies? Do they really have enemies, or is it possible for all of them to live together, side by side? These are wonderful questions to explore as the book is read.Humorously, the author has kind of reduced the creation theory, politics and human interaction, to the simplest of terms for the reader. The tale cleverly teaches a philosophy of life, of peace and tolerance, of the importance of education, of behaving without rash and impulsive thought. Kids will see how the world succeeds and/or might fail. The ultimate message for me was that the pursuit of peace, not war, is the ultimate goal with equality for all. This little book could probably teach some adults a thing or two, as well. War is not recreation, as some think, or treat it, in the modern world.***I won this book on Goodreads.
I was a bit trepidatious about this book, mostly because I read the Carpet People short stories in 'Crumbling Castle' and wasn't that wowed. (The second was better than the first but, overall, I wasn't really sure how the story would be sustained as a standalone novel.)I was heartened, then, when I read the intro and discovered that this was not the story as originally written but, rather, a revised edition... a sort of collaborative effort, as Sir Terry puts it, between his 17 year-old self and his 43 year-old self.All that said - it was much better than the short stories, and has glimmers of Pratchett as we know and love him, complete with his poignant penny-drops and biting satire delivered as only he can.As you might guess from the rating, it's not my favorite Pratchett work ever, but it's a decent read and a good addition to his rather large compendium. And it's also a fun read.It's interesting, having read the short stories beforehand, to see the sparks of those in this novel... and then to reread the first story (provided in the back of this edition as it was in the newpaper it was first published in), and to be reminded of how much has changed.I especially liked this version of Pismire - practicioner of headology and forward thinking that he was.
What do You think about The Carpet People (2013)?
In the beginning, there was nothing but endless flatness. Then came the Carpet . . . That’s the old story everyone knows and loves. But now the Carpet is home to many different tribes and peoples, and there’s a new story in the making. The story of Fray, sweeping a trail of destruction across the Carpet. The story of power-hungry mouls—and of two brothers who set out on an adventure to end all adventures when their village is flattened.It’s a story that will come to a terrible end—if someone doesn't do something about it. If everyone doesn’t do something about it . . . (Goodreads).So this was quite interesting. Terry Pratchett wrote The Carpet People in 1971, before he was all famous. It went out of print. Now, it was decided it was time for a new edition, but it wasn't just republished. Pratchett actually went back and reworked the book he wrote when he was 17. In the author's note Pratchett says, "It's not exactly the book I wrote at seventeen. It's not exactly the book I'd have written at forty-three." So of course I spent the whole book wondering what was different from the original. Could I get the original from the library so I could read and compare? I'm quite curious.It's an odd little book. It's middle grade, and middle grade kids can enjoy it as a nice little story about the silly people who live in the carpet. But there was actually a whole lot of philosophical musings going on. The meaning of war. The meaning of evil. The meaning of society. The meaning of memory. The power of knowledge. The importance of preserving the past. There was a lot going on!But it was also about people who lived in a carpet. A whole world of people! I liked that there were different kinds of people. There were the Mungrungs, who lived simple, nomadic lives and were hunters. There were the Dumii, who created the empire and all the rules and laws and lived in the city and weren't all that interesting. There were the Deftmene, half as tall as the Mungrungs and warlike. There were wights, who remember the future, and there were mouls, who tried to pray on and take over all the others.We understand that before the story really gets going, most these different kinds of peoples didn't spend much time together, didn't like each other, or weren't even aware of each other's existence. Deftmene and Dumii were enemies, because the Deftmene didn't want the empires protection or pay taxes. Wights didn't have much to do with anyone, and few had ever seen a moul. But everyone must figure out how to work out their difference if they're going to have any hope of overcoming the mouls and surviving Fray, whatever Fray is and no one knows. If they don't, no one is going to make it.I liked working out what the objects they found and used and refereed to really were. Like the disc they got metal from was a penny, and they got varnish from a chair. Sometimes it was obvious what they used, but not always. We never actually learn what Fray is. My guess was a vacuum cleaner, but that doesn't totally make sense. Why would it happen so far apart and only in certain areas? Maybe time is felt differently in the Carpet.The Carpet People comes out November 5, 2013.
—Wandering Librarians
I can take or leave this book. I was okay, that's all. I didnt't laugh once at the apparent humor everyone talks about, but I liked the story and its quirkiness. It was fun, and generally well written. However, as is often the case with Mr Pratchett, he does not develop his characters enough. When asked to recall them after I finished the book I couldn't even remember their names never mind what their point was in the story. Didn't like the ending. In typical Pratchett style he pulled a surprise solution to all the problems out of a hat, in a character who reminded me of Galadriel from Lord of the Rings, sorry but I don't like endings like that they leave me unsatisfied. The main characters should have ended the book; whoever they were?
—Heidi Whurr
Is one's cruelest editor oneself, given time? The Carpet People is supposedly Terry Pratchett's collaboration between his 43 year old and 17 year old self, with the benefits of not having to "give [his younger self:] half the royalties". Pratchett's introduction is witty - what we've come to expect from the writer of so many Discworld novels, but the book itself is not of the same calibre. The story takes place in the carpet. Different races and animals live between the fibres, relying on the threads for fruit and building materials, scavenging and extracting from grains of sugar, a penny, a table leg for other building materials. There is great political commentary (on the use of empire and kings) still, but no one character seems to stand out. Did make me think a little when I took step on the carpet - maybe I was changing the world for some Carpet People.
—Lana.
