Review – Nation by Terry Pratchett

Today marks my stop on the Farewell Terry Pratchett blog tour which has been organised by the wonderful lovely Viv over on @Serendipity_Viv !

For my stop on the blog tour I am going to share my thoughts and post a review about Nation by Terry Pratchett!

When Viv was putting the blog tour together I asked her to pick me a book otherwise I would have been changing my mind every five minutes on which one to read!  Therefore I said to Viv I would have a lucky dip!  I was pleased that she picked Nation as it is one I have not read before but have heard a lot about!

I have read a lot of Terry Pratchett over the years more so when I was younger.  I loved immersing and losing myself in his fantastic worlds and creations, quite often devouring his books in a day.  I cannot wait to read every ones posts on this brilliant blog tour.  A truly fantastic celebration of a fantastic writer!

Check out the introduction to the tour here

A huge thank you to Viv for having me on this wonderful tour!

Also a huge thank you to Penguin Random House for surprising everyone on the tour and sending out this little thank you for taking part!  It was completely unexpected and so lovely!

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 which sails over and through the island rainforest.

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 . . .

Publisher – Corgi Childrens

Published – 8th October 2009

Pages – 432 pages

Format – Paperback and E-Book

Category – UK YA, YA Contemporary

Source – I purchased this book in e book form for my kindle *digs kindle out of the draw and blows dust*

** Please note Tales Of Yesterday Reviews are written as spoiler free as possible**

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book to be honest…I had not really heard of it before some one mentioned how good it was on twitter and with it being a stand alone I was intrigued as to what to expect!  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised!

And it had a map!!  A MAP!  And we all know I love maps in books!  And in this book it says and I quote….

“Every life should have a map”

Yes indeed!

I will try and put some of this book into words that may form a review, but as usual Pratchett’s writing and imagery were on point and so sharp and just picture perfect.  It draws you into this world like you are living in it yourself!

The book is set in a parallel universe from our world, with it’s own rules, hierarchy and it’s own views and religions. To me it was a kind of Adam and Eve story.  It begins with a story of how the world was created and the Gods.  It ten tells the story of a boy called Mau, who is returning to his Nation after leaving the boys island where he had been sent to become a man. Upon his return he finds that his Nation has been destroyed by a huge wave.  There is nothing left.  Nobody.  All his family and friends are gone.  Adapting to his new life is hard and then he meets a girl, who is stranded on the island too brought there by a big canoe.  Together they begin to survive and begin new lives.  Then other people wash up on the shores of the Nation!  What pursues is an action adventure story with a mix of romance and a dash of humour!  Oh and a parrot who is rather foul mouthed!

I admit I struggled with this book initially up until the point that Ermintrude (who later calls herself Daphne) is introduced into the story having being swept onto the Nation on a shipwreck called Sweet Jude.  I just loved how the worlds of a tribal boy, Mau, and a rich “trouserwoman”, Daphne, collided and how they learn from each other. Daphne with her etiquette and the tribal living ways of Mau.  It was a pleasure to watch this develop.

I loved how we received flashbacks of island life through Mau’s memories and could fully imagine the fully populated island of Nation in all it’s glory and all it’s inhabitants!

One of my favourite parts of the book was when Daphne teaches Mau how they can communicate as they do not understand each others languages.  Daphne draws in the sand and uses a bird picture book to teach Mau words….I just adored it so much!

I also have a favourite line from the book…it’s just beautiful ….

“It was as if the horizon was drinking the sea”

How gorgeous is that quote!

This book really did make me think which appears to have been Pratchett’s intention and I think that all readers will get something different from it.

I don’t want to reveal much more through fear of spoiling this beautiful book as I feel it is a book to go into without knowing much about and enjoying it’s beauty.

I’m so pleased Viv picked this book for me to read as part of the tour!  I may not have read it otherwise and then I would have not been able to experience the beautiful words that encaptured me from beginning to end!

I award this book 4 out of 5 Tales Of Yesterday Books

You can buy this book here

About Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of fifty bestselling books. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. Worldwide sales of his books now stand at 70 million, and they have been translated into thirty-seven languages.

Sir Terry Pratchett died on 12th March 2015

http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/

The Farewell Terry Pratchett Blog Tour

You can catch up on the tour or follow the rest of the tour below!

Have you read Nation? What did you think? Has this review made you want to go grab a copy? What would you do if you woke up one day and you were the only human in your world?! I would love to here from you! Why not leave a comment using the reply button at the top of this review or tweet me on twitter using @chelleytoy!

Rest In Peace Sir Terry Pratchett – you will be missed!