Lady Wombat says:

I'm intrigued by several recent fantasy books that have been influenced by post-colonial theory -- think I might do a conference paper on them.

I enjoyed this coming-of-age story. It takes a hefty side-swipe at notions of civilisation, empire and religion while managing to explain some of the mysteries of life, such as why there is only ever one palm tree in all drawings of desert islands. ( )

A tidal wave wipes out the entire population of the island, leaving only two people: the native Mau, who was in a canoe at the time, and the English girl Daphne, who was on a ship that plowed into the island. What begins as tragedy turns into a story of hope and laughter. Refugees from neighboring islands trickle in, and slowly the Nation is reborn. Though this was not half as funny as the back cover promised, it was a fun read and brought up some interesting questions and religion and science. The epilogue, however, felt unnecessary. It did nothing for the story and made the ending seem somehow less satisfying. But otherwise it's a fine story. ( )

Mau thought he was paddling his dugout canoe home to his small island to be greeted by the elders eager to celebrate his “passage into manhood.” But a tidal wave ravages his island, located somewhere in the South Pacific, and Mau returns home only to find dead bodies, his entire family gone. But wait – he is caught off guard when ”trousergirl” Daphne (an English girl), whose ship was deposited on the island by the wave, suddenly appears before him. Then a pregnant woman, and next a woman with a baby. Still others make their way to the island, and Mau has to help, because if he doesn’t, who else will?

Imagine desperate Mau wrangling milk from a mother pig to feed a human baby. And “demon boy” Mau wrestling with the gods, and barely escaping a shark attack. The survivors reinvent civilization, exploring language, religion, and science as they struggle to survive. Deeply philosophical and laugh-out-loud funny, the inimitable Terry Pratchett has crafted an original, masterful tale, reminiscent of Robinson Crusoe and Lord of the Flies, and with all the nail-biting tension of The Hunger Games and Lost.