LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
Hugely entertaining, this is a fully envisaged fantasy adventure, which makes serious points about the importance of the past from the master storyteller and author of the hugely popular Discworld series. Survival! Mau’s world is bowled over and swept away by a towering Tsunami. His past life has vanished and he must build a new life with the scraps he has left. Luckily, someone else has survived too and soon Daphne, or Trouser-Man as Mau calls her, are creating a new Nation building on the bits of knowledge from the past which won’t die away.
The novel has been adapted for the stage – Olivier Theatre at The National Theatre in London - by the controversial playwright Mark Ravenhill. Nation will be the National’s family show opening in November 2009, following the success of previous family-friendly productions, His Dark Materials, Coram Boy and War Horse.
Described by National Theatre Artistic Director Nicholas Hytner as “a wonderful book and, I suspect, perfect for an Olivier adaptation”, Nation is set on a desert island following a tsunami which wiped out most of the population.
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About
Nation Synopsis
CILIP CARNEGIE Medal SHORTLIST 2010: Judges’ comments
A witty and wise story about Darwinism, the nature of nationhood, what it means to be a man, and much else. Rich in ideas and detail; terrific, believable characters, and some wonderful turns of phrase, it entertains whilst saying much that is important.
A parallel world, 1860. Two teenagers thrown together by a tsunami that has destroyed Mau’s village and left Daphne shipwrecked on his South Pacific island, thousands of miles from home. One wears next to nothing, the other a long white dress; neither speaks the other’s language; somehow they must learn to survive. As starving refugees gather, Daphne delivers a baby, milks a pig, brews beer and does battle with a mutineer. Mau fights cannibal Raiders, discovers the world is round and questions the reality of his tribe’s fiercely patriarchal gods. Together they come of age, overseen by a foul-mouthed parrot, as they discard old doctrine to forge a new Nation.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780061433030 |
| Publication date: |
22nd September 2009 |
| Author: |
Terry Pratchett |
| Publisher: |
HarperCollins |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
384 pages |
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Press Reviews
Terry Pratchett Press Reviews
Thought-provoking as well as fun, this is Pratchett at his most philosophical, with characters and situations sprung from ideas and games with language. And it celebrates the joy of the moment -- Nicolette Jones The Times
Nation has profound, subtle and original things to say about the interplay between tradition and knowledge, faith and questioning ... It's funny, exciting, lighthearted and, like all the best comedy, very serious -- Frank Cottrell Boyce Guardian
Pratchett's immensely entertaining new young adult novel, manages to be both thought-provoking and sweet ... At times Nation reads like Philip Pullman but with less anger and more jokes, and a bit more ambiguity ... It's a wonderful story, by turns harrowing and triumphant -- James Hynes The New York Times
Terry Pratchett is an indisputable one-off ... Nothing he writes is ever predictable - except that it will always be gloriously readable -- Nicholas Tucker Independent
An ebullient and entertaining novel of ideas Guardian
Author
About Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett (1948 - 2015) was born in 1948 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. He had his first story published when he was just thirteen, and after leaving school at seventeen to become a journalist he continued writing, publishing his first novel, The Carpet People, in 1971 and going on to produce the phenomenally successful Discworld and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad. His first Discworld novel for children, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal.
Terry Pratchett as well as numerous other books, winning many awards and becoming the UK’s bestselling author. He was appointed OBE in 1998.
He died in March 2015 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. You can find out more about his life and work at www.terrypratchettbooks.com
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