Name: Sarah Sammis's review of Nation by Terry Pratchett
Item: Nation
Rating: 5
Author: Sarah Sammis

Terry Pratchett

After a devastating tsunami destroys all that they have ever known, Mau, an island boy, and Daphne, an aristocratic English girl, together with a small band of refugees, set about rebuilding their community and all the things that are important in their lives.

Nation

Eugenia Andino

Sarah Sammis

I heard about Nation by Terry Pratchett when I was doing one of my runs of reading through his Discworld series. At first, assuming it was yet another from the series I wasn't interested. I love the series but I'm over whelmed by it. It wasn't until I started reading the many enthusiastic reviews on my favorite book blogs that I realized it is a stand alone novel.

I bought my copy at the start of 2009 but life got in the way and before I knew it, the year was almost over by the time I read it. I wish I had read it sooner because I loved it. I haven't felt this strong a connection with a Pratchett novel since I read Colour of Magic on board the Rotterdam off the coast of Alaska.

Mau and the other boys have gone to nearby island to learn how to be men. They never get a chance. The volcano blows its top and nearly everyone is killed by the resulting tsunami. Normally they would be smart enough to run to high ground but they had been waiting for the boys to return.

It's not just a survival tale of Mau who believes he is the last of his kind. It's also a meeting of cultures. Daphne was aboard ship when the tsunami hit. Now she's washed ashore with Mau and the sole survivor of her ship. She and Mau have to learn to live together, communicate with each other if they are to survive.

Nation is a short book compared to some of his Discworld novels but it's just as complex and just as magical. Daphne's story and Mau's story together paint an alternate history of Earth.

Although Nation is not set on our Earth and place names are different, a basic understanding of historical events in the South Pacific will enrich the reading experience.

Widely thought of as the best book Terry Pratchett ever wrote, this is a story of a Nation, a story of a friendship, a story of growing up and the truths we must learn. It is epic in every sense . . . Prepare for the world to be turned upside down . . . For Mau, halfway between boy and man, it happens when a great wave destroys his entire village. For Daphne, it’s when the same wave crashes her ship into the island that was once Mau’s home. Everything they once had is now so far away, lost to distance and time. But when Daphne stops trying to shoot Mau (she did apologise for it), and instead uses a salvaged invitation card to invite him to tea, they discover a new home can be theirs. And then people start arriving on the island – some very good, some very bad. And it’s soon clear that Daphne and Mau must fight for their Nation. Then a discovery is made that will change the entire world forever . . .

Minilena

One of the very best books I have ever read. The opening chapter is a bit too vague, but as soon as the story proper gets going I am hooked every time. I keep lending it out to people because everyone should definitely read it :) 

Finding himself alone on a desert island when everything and everyone he knows and loved has been washed away in a huge storm, Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He's also completely alone - or so he thinks until he finds the ghost girl. She has no toes, wears strange lacy trousers like the grandfather bird and gives him a stick which can make fire.Daphne, sole survivor of the wreck of the Sweet Judy, almost immediately regrets trying to shoot the native boy. Thank goodness the powder was wet and the gun only produced a spark. She's certain her father, distant cousin of the Royal family, will come and rescue her but it seems, for now, all she has for company is the boy and the foul-mouthed ship's parrot.As it happens, they are not alone for long. Other survivors start to arrive to take refuge on the island they all call the Nation and then raiders accompanied by murderous mutineers from the Sweet Judy. Together, Mau and Daphne discover some remarkable things - including how to milk a pig and why spitting in beer is a good thing - and start to forge a new Nation.As can be expected from Terry Pratchett, the master story-teller, this new children's novel is both witty and wise, encompassing themes of death and nationhood, while being extremely funny. Mau's ancestors have something to teach us all. Mau just wishes they would shut up about it and let him get on with saving everyone's lives!

Mihai Nueleanu

A global pandemic, a fictitious ocean, a big wave, a boy and a girl, a fictitious island, ancient civilisations, the architecture of belief, cannibals and an obscene parrot. All sprinkled with the classic style and humour of Terry Pratchett. 

Eugenia Andino &
Nation by Terry Pratchett

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Eugenia Andino &
Nation by Terry Pratchett