Mod 3 Nation

Pratchett, Terry. Nation. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2008. ISBN 9780061433030.

Summary:

In Terry Pratchett’s Nation, Mau is a child returning from a month’s stay on the island of the boys. He is returning to his village in a canoe that he made on the island. Everyone in the village would be waiting at the shore to welcome him back, have a feast, and make him a man. However, his canoe is caught by a huge wave-a tsunami-that wipes out the whole village, and everyone waiting at the beach.

Daphne is an English girl on her way to meet her father, the mayor of The Rogation Sunday Islands. Only 138 people need to die for her father to become king. However, the tsunami takes her ship, Sweet Judy, into the middle of Mau’s island. Mau and Daphne must overcome language and cultural differences in order to survive the onslaught of survivors from other islands, cannibals, and the lack of leadership.

Excerpt:

"The young man stared at Mau. 'You are the chief? But you are just a boy!'

'Not just. Not even. Not only. Who knows?' said Mau. 'The wave came. These are new days. Who knows what we are? We survived, that's all.' He paused and thought: And we become what we have to be..."

Analysis:

Nation is a survival tale mixed with humor and religion. From Daphne’s (aka Ermintrude) grandmother that “prepared her granddaughter for royal life by seeing to it, wherever possible, that Ermintrude was not taught anything that could possibly be of any practical use whatsoever,” to the parrot who shows up at just the right time to shout “Show us yer drawers!” humor is used to develop the characters and provide relief from the sometimes overwhelming situations. Hornbook says “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.” Mau is a likeable character who develops and matures as he steps up into a leadership role that is thrust upon him, uses new knowledge to develop new skills, and questions his own beliefs of the gods and traditions he was raised on until he comes to his own conclusions.

Reviews:

Booklist 2008

Quirky wit and broad vision make this a fascinating survival story on many levels.

Kirkus 2008

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.

School Library Journal 2008

The main characters are engaging and interesting, and are the perfect medium for the author's sly humor.

Awards:

Michael L. Printz Honor Book
Boston-Globe/Horn Book Award
Los Angeles Times Prize for Young Adult Literature

Connections:

For information about the author visit http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/

For information about tsunamis visit http://www.tsunami.noaa.gov/

Have students evaluate the reliability of websites by researching the tree-climbing octopus mentioned in the book, Octopus arbori at http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/media.html

If you liked this book, you might enjoy:

Jumper by Steven Gould

The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson

Elske: A Novel of the Kingdom

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Cover photo:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780061433030&imId=44084024