Nation - Terry Prachett

I am writing my last few reviews for 2009 in reverse order, as they are freshest in my mind that way!

Read for: 2009 YA Challenge, Herding Cats II

This is the tale of a wave, one that wipes out every living person in the Nation, a small island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The only survivor of that Nation is Mau, a boy returning home from the challenges of leaving boyhood to accept a new status as man. Trapped at sea in his canoe when the wave hit, Mau returns home to devastation and lost somewhere between being a boy and becoming a man (and thus with no soul), and tries to make sense of what has happened.

However, Mau is not alone. Mau is joined by Daphne, a high class Victorian girl, the only survivor of the ship Sweet Judy, that lies wrecked and broken on the island. Daphne is what Mau refers to as a trouserman, and with the vast language and cultural barriers that divide them, the two survivors attempt to communicate, while of course adhering to Victorian protocol. Soon, the pair are joined by other survivors and with Mau as their (soulless!) Chief, this sad and broken rabble attempt to make a life for themselves.

Nation is a book of questions. Throughout Mau questions everything around him. The reasons for his surviving the wave, Daphne and her strange trouserman ways, the history of his people and ultimately the existance (or not) of their gods. Although imbued with much of the humour one would expect from Pratchett (tree-climbing octopus!), this is quite a serious book, due predominantly to the terrible events caused by the wave, and the spiritual questions posed by our protagonist. I also particularly liked the nods to science and the discoveries and scientists of the era.

The progression of the story after the wave felt slow, and I did not warm immediately to it or to Mau. However, by the time I was in the latter third of the book, it occurred to me that I liked it, a lot more than I thought I would, though perhaps not as much as I had hoped, given the reviews and recommendations. Mau is a delight and his questions are what drive the book and, I am sure, the reader's enjoyment of it. Daphne too comes into her own, transforming from a confused Victorian castaway, to a clever, scientific-minded woman of power, and it is she who uncovers much of the secrets of the Nation. Indeed, the other survivors are so individual in character and voice that it is almost possible to visualise them, and I found myself particularly taken with the unknown woman. My feelings towards latter events in the book are still somewhat conflicted, but as promised (by many bloggers!), the final chapter was truly wonderful. I have a feeling that this tale may haunt me for a while.

One particular passage that stood out for me midway through the book:

"It was a sacred place, and not because of some god or other. It was just...sacred, because it existed, because pain and blood and joy and death had echoed in time and made it so."

I will certainly recommend Nation, especially to fans of Pratchett, though I am aware that it is somewhat different to his other books. And that is perhaps why I will not be rushing out to read much of his other work. I have never loved Pratchett (the measley handful of books I have read that is!) and doubt I ever will, but I appreciate the following he has and hope that, in light of his illness, this very popular and prolific author can continue to entertain the masses for a long while to come. However, if another book appears in a similar vein of storytelling and characterisation as Nation, I might well consider it.

Other blog reviews:
Becky's book reviews
Book Gazing
Books and other thoughts
Medieval Bookworm
Stuff as dreams are made on
Things mean a lot
Valentina's room
The Written World