2008 book 116

Terry Pratchett's Nation
I can't believe how many really, really good books I managed to pick up at ALA. This was another one--it's about the aftermath of I believe a tsunami that wipes out entire villages on several small islands. A young man, the only survivor of his village, encounters a young British girl who is the only survivor of a shipwreck. For a minute I was worried that things were going to go all Blue Lagoon (I don't know why--Pratchett is a reliably good author), but instead various strangers make their way to the island and they all try to rebuild civilization together. It's not as flat-out funny as most of Prachett's novels, but there are some nice tongue-in-cheek moments. Either way, it's a really compelling story. Things do take a slightly unreal turn toward the end, but I liked it. The back of the book claims that Pratchett is coming to seven cities (including Raleigh, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh) but I don't know if that's still the case due to his Alzheimer's diagnosis. Anyway, A.