Nation

by Terry Pratchett
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Washed up on the shores of a remote island, two kids from cultures half a world apart have to learn to get along and survive. Brilliantly funny novel from the master story-teller and creator of Discworld.

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Synopsis

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!

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Jul 20

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by Uncategorized on 20 July 2009

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The Random Blog is the official blog for Random House Australia's authors. Each month four of our authors get a week to blog about anything and everything! Random House Australia (RHA) is part of the Random House Group, one of the largest publishing houses in the world, owned by the German media company Bertelsmann AG. Carl Bertelsmann established his company in 1835, and early publications included...

Jun 3

Pratchett Wins Top U.S. Book Award

by Random House Australia on 3 June 2009

Pratchett Wins Top U.S. Book Award 0 comments

It has just been announced that NATION by Terry Pratchett has won one of America’s most prestigious book awards for Children – the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children’s Literature.    Learn more about this year's winners >   We are sure this award is the first of many (currently longlisted in the Guardian Children’s...

Editorial Reviews

"Thought-provoking as well as fun, this is Pratchett at his most philosophical, with characters and situations sprung from ideas and games with language. And it celebrates the joy of the moment." - Nicolette Jones, The Times

"Nation has profound, subtle and original things to say about the interplay between tradition and knowledge, faith and questioning...It's funny, exciting, lighthearted and, like all the best comedy, very serious." - Frank Cottrell Boyce, The Guardian

"Pratchett's immensely entertaining new young adult novel, manages to be both thought-provoking and sweet...At times Nation reads like Philip Pullman but with less anger and more jokes, and a bit more ambiguity... It's a wonderful story, by turns harrowing and triumphant." - James Hynes, New York Times

"Terry Pratchett is an indisputable one-off...Nothing he writes is ever predictable - except that it will always be gloriously readable." - Nicholas Tucker, The Independent

"An ebullient and entertaining novel of ideas." - The Guardian

"An enchanting novel... Terry Pratchett is one of the most interesting and critically under-rated novelists we have." - Amanda Craig, The Times

"In this first novel for young people set outside of Discworld, Pratchett again shows his humor and humanity... The main characters are engaging and interesting, and are the perfect medium for the author's sly humor. Daphne is a close literary cousin of Tiffany Aching in her common sense and keen intelligence wedded to courage. A rich and thought-provoking read." - Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City, School Library Journal, USA

"The unique pleasure of this story is that all the serious subjects and juicy ethical questions, such as the dilemma of the compassionate lie, are fully woven into action and character. Satirical portraits of upper-class twits, slapstick buffoonery, bad puns, and that particular brand of English wit buoy this story at every turn. Add a romance of gentle sweetness, encounters with ghosts, and lots of gunfire, and it is hard to imagine a reader who won't feel welcomed into this nation" - The Horn Book, USA

"This is no heavy-toned tale: Tears and rage there may be in plenty, but also a cast of marvelously wrought characters, humor that flies from mild to screamingly funny to out-and-out gross, incredible discoveries, profound insights into human nature and several subplots. A searching exploration of good and evil, fate and free will, both as broad and as deep as anything this brilliant and, happily, prolific author has produced so far." - Kirkus Reviews, USA

"It's witty and wise, but it leaves its young readers enough room for a newly formed opinion or two as they think about its themes of love, loss, loyalty, courage, religion and nationhood." - www.thebookbag.co.uk

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  1. T Baker0 stars

    16 April 2012 at 10:51pm

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    Awesome read, awesome author!

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