I read the book Nation by Terry Pratchett. Pratchett says that the book is set in a parallel universe, although it is easy to believe that the book is set in the Pacific Ocean in the 1850s. The main character is a boy named Mau. He lives on an island called "Nation" to his people, or "Mothering Sunday Island" to the white people.
He is sent to leave his boy soul on a small island. While he is there, a tsunami wipes out the entire nation. When he returns, him and a white girl are the only ones on the island. Other people will come to live on the island, but this cannot make up for Mau's only family.
Mau is mad because he has no soul. This makes him distrust himself. He has no soul because he left his boy soul on the small island, and he never gained the soul of a man because there was no one to grant him his man soul. From this we can tell that Mau is probably a teenager. He describes himself as a hermit crab, scuttling from shell to shell, but there are no shells left to scuttle to.
Mau is constantly disturbed by the Grandfathers. The Grandfathers are all of the great hunters, warriors, and philosophers who lived on the island. They yell commands at Mau, and Mau obeys. No matter how many things Mau does, the Grandfathers are never content.
As a result of his sad experiences, Mau is never truly happy. Mau, being the chief of the island now, is continuously absorbed in worrisome thoughts, about pirates, food shortages, island laws, and the white girl. After all, Mau takes the whole of the nation on his back. The fate of the tribe is his responsibility alone.
Mau is brave. He duels First Mate Cox, who has a gun, while Mau uses a spear. Mau also enters the cave of The Granfathers to find out about his culture's past, not knowing what could be waiting for him inside.
Mau wants answers about life. Mau asks questions that are hard to answer about his own tribe's religious beliefs. He asks these questions to a priest, and still comes up with inferior answers. Then, at the back of the cave of The Grandfathers, Mau finds the gods. They are stone statues, made by men. Mau now thinks that his gods are a lie, made up by men, to make other men feel like there is an answer. Mau now has to find the truth on his own.
Mau is never happy, but he seldom gets sad or angry. This may be because of his belief that life happens because it is supposed to happen. When his friends die, he keeps a straight face. He will make new friends.
I think that Mau has been put in a position that is too tough for a boy his age. He is not ready to be chief of the Nation, but he is forced into it. But still, Mau tries his hardest to do what the Nation had done before the wave. And, most importantly, he succeds.
