Nation by Terry Pratchett

Magic is just a way of saying “I don’t know.”

​It took me too long to pick up this book. The teaser on Amazon does not do it justice. The description is lackluster for a volume so full of ideas, philosophy, humor, and emotion. If you haven't read it, get it today. Read on for why.

The setting is simple enough. A tsunami wipes out a village, leaving only a single surviving boy. It also drives aground an English ship, leaving only a single surviving Victorian-era girl. Together Mau and Daphne learn to communicate and to survive on the island. Gradually, the survivors of other islands trickle in. From the bits of many islands, they start to build a new nation.

What this misses (as does the teaser on Amazon) is the humor on every page, humor that not only delights but makes you rethink the things he makes fun of. It's easy to say that the game of cricket is silly, but to really puncture it you need to read the scene where an Englishman tries to teach the game to the islanders. Imperialism, religion, propriety, and more are all skewered in this way.

The two protagonists are on the edge of adulthood when their futures are ripped away. They initially want to find a way to regain their future. As they grow and face their challenges, they find that what they need to do is find a better future, and let go of their preconceptions of what that future should contain.

she’d wanted him to argue . . .  It’s hard to talk to someone who understands.

​In the end, this book is about belief. Not the belief that religion preaches. There are iconic representations of both western and island religions, that turn out to be insufficient to deal with the new world. Belief in themselves and in other people makes their new future worth living.

“Er . . . who’s Nawi? A new god?”
​“No. Better than a god. A good man.”