Title: Nation
Author: Terry Pratchett
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Summary: A tsunami wave washes away an entire island nation, except one boy named Mau. But when much is taken, something is returned. Mau soon discovers he’s not alone on the island.

Review: Confession: This is the first book by Terry Pratchett that I’ve ever read. I know, I know. How can I call myself a YA-nnabe? (By the way, if you have a Pratchett fave, please let me know so I can add it to my to-read list!)

I love me some post-apocalyptic fiction. So I liked this book. It is extremely well-written. Actually, maybe it’s a little too well-written because I felt Mau’s desperation so vividly that every time I got a few minutes to read, I hesitated picking the book up. I didn’t always feel like being completely and utterly transported to that world.

But I think what always kept me coming back is the humor. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but a-quiet-chuckle-and-sometimes-a-groan funny.

Here, some survivors from another island are trying to explain horses to Mau, who’s never seen them before:

“…And the horses! Oh, everyone should see the horses!”

“What are horses?” [said Mau.]

“Well, they’re…well, you know hogs?” said Pilu.

“Better than you can imagine.”

“…Well, they are not like hogs. But if you took a hog and made it bigger and longer, with a longer nose and a tail, that’s a horse. Oh, and much more handsome. And much longer legs.”

“So a horse is not really like a pig at all?”

“Well, yes, I suppose so. But it’s got the same number of legs.”

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