Shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2009
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.
When a giant wave destroys his village, Mau is the only one left. Daphnea traveler from the other side of the globeis the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Separated by language and customs, the two are united by catastrophe. Slowly, they are joined by other refugees. And as they struggle to protect the small band, Mau and Daphne defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down.
'An enchanting novel... Terry Pratchett is one of the most interesting and critically under-rated novelists we have.' The Times
'Terry Pratchett is an indisputable one-off...Nothing he writes is ever predictable - except that it will always be gloriously readable.' The Independent
'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.' The 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
.jpg)
