Book Review: Nation

A terrible disaster brings together on a tiny island of the pacific a native boy and a British girl.

This is a story from Terry Pratchett, author of the famous, and very witty, Discworld saga and so it should be a simple fun book and while it is indeed fun and the basic structure is simple this is also a serious and dramatic story.

The novel main theme is identity as in “what makes us what we are and what happens if we carry it away?” There are no easy answers to that and I don’t think that the ending will suit everyone tastes but the core of the novel is a delicious comedy of misunderstandings.

On the other side it takes a while for the author to find his path and so the novel at the beginning doesn’t quite click. It is indeed quite difficult to find the right tone while describing the cataclysmic events that start the plot.

This is recommended reading for all the fans of the Discworld saga, the whole plot could easily be transplanted to that setting without losing a beat and while I agree with the author that the different setting makes it more poignant the tone of the novel is pure Discworld.

For everybody else expect a very unusual novel that will make you laugh and cry at the same time.