Mau is thirteen-years old, in the midst of the boyhood ritual that will transform him into a man, according to the beliefs of his island nation. All he has to do is cross the ocean in a canoe, return to his own island, and undergo the ritual and tattooing that will mark him as a man. He has already shed his boyhood soul and just needs to make it home to be granted the soul of a man. But just as he sets off, a vicious tsunami hits, wiping out the population of Mau’s home, called the Nation, and devastating the surrounding islands. While Mau is lucky enough to make it home, he soon finds that he is the sole survivor of his people. Well, just Mau and a girl, the daughter of a British governer, whose ship, the Sweet Judy, was shipwrecked on the island. Ermintrude, or Daphne, as she prefers to call herself, as she despises her given name, and Mau soon form an alliance and a friendship, realizing that they have only each other (and a foul-mouthed parrot) for both company and any hopes of survival. And as trickles of other shipwrecked seagoers and island-folk arrive at the island, bit by bit, seeking salavation, somehow the Nation, a new Nation, is born again.

My brother-in-law is perhaps the biggest Terry Pratchett fan (perhaps the biggest fan of any author) that I have ever met. He has been dogging me for years to try Pratchett out, and I am so, so grateful that I finally did. Nation was an absolute marvel, well-deserved of all the honors and awards that it garnered. What seems on the surface a story about re-populating an island and finding a community is enhanced by Pratchett’s exploration of some key life questions: what happens when two (or many) cultures collide? And what is the role of religion in our lives, especially in a world where the gods can warn the birds and beasts about an impending tsunami, but neglect to alert the human who worship them so ardently?

Mau is a fully developed protagonist, one who is absolutely open with the reader about his hopes, fears, doubts, and anxieties about the future. We see his trepidation and casual arrogance as he goes about the ritual to become a man. Then witness his absolute disassociation as he goes about the necessary business of weighing down the dead bodies on the Nation (dead bodies who could easily be his family or friends) with coral, so that they will sink into the ocean for their final rest. We see his gratitude when he finally meets Daphne, gratitude for having someone, something, to give him a reason to stay alive. And then, in perhaps the most powerful scenes of the book, we witness Mau questioning his faith. Why are the grandfathers, the revered spirits of his ancestors, nagging at him to restore the god stones? Why should he, if worshiping in this way before only brought death and destruction?

As Mau and Daphne also begin to navigate this new society they are building, with the “soulless” Mau as its chief, they also have to navigate the nature of gender roles. Daphne, born into a civilized family, with a grandmother with rules and standards for every possible occasion, is soon called upon to help birth a baby, learns to make beer, and eventually, in the heat of the island, sheds the layers of clothing that have been stifling her for her entire life. Mau has to venture into the “women’s place,” previously forbidden to him, as he knows this is necessary to save his new people.

But Nation does not just involve the exploration of these theological and philosophical issues. Pratchett seamlessly weaves in these themes through a fairly fast-moving plot that includes a mutinous crew, a murder, hastily re-patched cannons, scientific discoveries, and a character coming back from the dead.

Narrator Stephen Briggs, who has also narrated a number of Terry Pratchett’s other books, was an ideal choice for this production. His deep commanding voice perfectly agreed with the heavy themes of faith, gods, and survival that Nation covers, and, in fact, it often seemed like he was issuing an edict from on high. The tribal music interspersed between scenes and chapters also helped greatly in establishing atmosphere. In fact, this production of Nation won ALA’s 2009 Odyssey Honor Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production.

I will definitely be seeking out more books by Sir Terry Pratchett in the future.