Another interesting read. A boy is the only survivor from his island after a tidal wave demolishes it, and a girl is the only survivor from a shipwreck on the same island (unless you count the parrot). The book explains how they get on, and what happens when more and more people keep showing up. Also very well written and throughly enjoyable. ( )

El día que el mundo se acaba, Mau está volviendo a casa desde la isla de los Muchachos, habiendo superado el ritual de paso de la adolescencia a la edad adulta. Pero entonces llega la ola, una ola gigantesca que lo destruye todo y trae consigo una goleta, la Sweet Judy, que navegará por la isla y atravesará su jungla. Cuando el barco se estrella, sólo se salva un alma, una chica calzones lejanamente emparentada con la familia real de un lejano país en otro continente. La aldea ha desaparecido, la Nación y todo cuanto Mau conoce y ama ha desaparecido. Ahora sólo quedan él, la chica calzones y una gran cantidad de malentendidos. Juntos deben crear una nueva Nación a partir de los restos.

Sometime in the mid-19th century, a ship crashes on a tiny island when a tidal wave strikes. The only survivor from the ship is a fiesty young blue blooded 13-year-old girl, Ermintrude (Daphne); and the only survivor from the island is young Mau, who misses out on manhood because his village is wiped out just before his manhood ceremony.
Slowly, other survivors from other nearby islands begin to show up on the island. Mau, though not a man, is chief, because he is the last of the original inhabitants. Daphne is simultaneously teaching these people much from what she knows, and learning a great deal from them about what they know.
Though the story is fun, interesting, and sometimes comical; there is a great deal of theology and philosophy worked in as well; so the book can be appreciated on multiple levels.
Highly recommended ( )

This is not a book about colonialism so much as it's actually concerned about existenialism for nations. :) ( )

I read somewhere, probably in A Stroke of the Keyboard, that Terry Pratchett considered this his best book, so it’s been on my to-read list for a while. The audiobook is read by the excellent Stephen Briggs, who captures Pratchett’s tone and humor perfectly.
I adored the Daphne and Mao, especially when they’re first trying to communicate, despite barriers of culture and language. There are inevitable misunderstandings (some of which made me laugh out loud), but these are trivial compared to the characters’ drive to form a connection and help each other survive.
Pratchett tackles imperialism, crises of faith, grief, coming of age and building community in this novel, accenting it all with his trademark humor and wordplay.
The result is fabulous, a must-read for fans and a good stand-alone for folks who want to try out his work.
( )