Product Description

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!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1842 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 300 pages

From the Inside Flap
On the day the world ends . . .
. . . Mau is on his way home from the Boys’ Island. Soon he will be a man.
And then the wave comes – a huge wave, dragging black night behind it and bringing a schooner, the Sweet Judy, which sails over and through the island rainforest. As the ship comes to a crashing halt, only one soul is left alive (or two, if you count parrots).
The village has gone. The Nation as it was has gone.Now there’s just Mau, who wears barely anything, a trouserman girl who wears far too much, and an awful lot of big misunderstandings.
And a lot of not-knowing-what-to-do. Or how to even say that.
Together they must forge a new Nation out of the broken pieces.Create a new history.
But . . .
WHO IS GUARDING THE NATION? WHERE IS OUR BEER?
. . . the old history isn’t going to just lie down and go away, at least not while the Grandfathers still have a voice. And Mau must look into the past before he can face the future.
Wise, witty and filled with Terry Pratchett's inimitable comic satire, this is a terrific adventure that– quite literally – turns the world upside down.

From the Back Cover
TERRY PRATCHETT
CARNEGIE MEDAL-WINNING AUTHOR
‘Brilliantly funny dialogue, high peaks of imagination’ The Times
‘Razor-sharp satire . . .

About the Author
Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998. He is the author of the phenomenally successful Discworld series. His first Discworld novel for children, THE AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RODENTS, was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal, while the second, THE WEE FREE MEN - the first about Tiffany and the Nac Mac Feegle - has been optioned by Sony Films to be made into a spectacular movie. Two of his Johnny Maxwell tales have been televised by the BBC as TV drama serials.

Customer Reviews

The Usual Pratchett Brilliance
So, first things first - this is not a Discworld book, which marks it as somewhat of a departure from the norm. Secondly, it's wonderful, made all the more wonderful by its separation from the usual Narrative Elements of a Terry Pratchett novel.

I received the book today and read it in a single sitting - bits of the book are tremendously sad, other bits are tremendously bitter - I do wonder how much of the book is a metaphor for TP's own deeply sad condition. There aren't many laughs in the book, but there is a very touching, emotionally resonant story that at its core is greatly optimistic.

I do hope that this isn't the last book we'll see from Terry Pratchett, who as an author has given me a greater Enjoyment to Hour ratio than any other writer. If this is to be his swan song though, he's carried it off marvellously.

Not An Elephant in Sight..
I've had this book on order for months - and I rushed home to rip open the package and get reading when it arrived from Amazon.
And there was no Discworld.. No turtle, no elephants, no witches, no dwarves - nothing - nothing but Terry and his beautiful, perceptive way of understanding and writing about human nature, life, the universe and everything..
I get the feeling that what he has gifted us with, this time, was too important to be hidden cunningly among the wonderful characters and humour of the discworld series. Although the Tiffany Aching books are pretty special, and give my favourite (Small Gods) a run for its money..

What Terry Pratchett doesn't know about people, quantum physics and spiritual philosophy isn't worth knowing.. And the way he engages us, and leads us through both his stories, and the breadth and depth of life and being human, in this place - and at this time - speaks of both love and poetry. This is a beautiful book - and it was worth going in to work half asleep - because I couldn't put it down and get myself off to bed until I'd finished it. Highly recommended.

A Classic in the truest sense
I want to add my review here of Nation but it's actually an extraordinarily difficult thing to do. The reason is that I don't want to appear to be `gushing' with praise for it. If ever I read such a review, it normally has the effect of turning me off the book completely, as it's obviously written by a fan who hasn't read a different author or genre since they left primary school. In view of this, here's what I genuinely thought of it:
I finished the book last night and my immediate thought was `Oh my gosh, this is a classic'. This is a book that will be discussed, debated and written about for years to come. It's a bit like being around when a new Dickens or Jane Austin novel came out.
The plot has been mentioned here already, so I won't repeat it again. I see that some reviewers have said that Nation is pitched at older children in their teens, but don't be fooled. This book has so much depth and can be read at so many levels, there's enough here to keep 10 year old Harry Potter fans to Academic Philosophers happy. The writing style is as clear and sparkling as cut crystal and while reading it, Pratchett takes your conscious mind out of this world and into his. You become each character, looking through their eyes, thinking their thoughts and feeling their every emotion. It is a fully immersive experience. The book also engages the brain by making you think about how societies and belief systems are created and our place in them. It is also a book to make you think about what makes you, you. If ever there was a book that could provide software upgrade for your brain, this is it.

Terry, I'll probably never meet you in person, but thank you for such a special gift.