I haven’t read the “Discworld” series by Sir Terry Pratchett, but I very much intend to ASAP. In a different post, I mentioned that I’d read his standalone novel, “Nation”, and absolutely loved it. After reading it a second time aloud to my husband—one of my favorite ways to re-enjoy a good book—I feel that I’ve wrapped my mind around what in particular was enjoyable about this novel. I will try not to include too much spoilage, because if you haven’t read this book yet, you need to.

I enjoyed “Nation” for its stark honesty. Its inability to answer the dozens of questions Pratchett raises in the course of the narrative only makes the story more compelling because you, as the reader, may draw your own conclusions without feeling lectured. These questions include:

Why do awful things happen?

If a natural disaster is going to happen, why didn’t God make people smart enough to sense it like animals do?

Why does one person survive a cataclysm and not another person?

What happens to someone when they die?

Where do people go in death, do they have a choice, and is that choice worth making?

Is a single life meaningful without connection to other people?

Is it admirable to just want to survive, or does a person need something more?

Why do people worship God/gods when all the evidence points to worship being pointless?

If the multiverse is real, what does it matter what a person chooses, seeing how there is another universe where they chose something else?

What is belief? What’s its purpose?

If someone told you there was a novel that dealt with these questions, you would probably expect it to be dry and didactic. You wouldn’t expect to find a riveting adventure story set on an alternate-world Polynesian island where the 16-year-old protagonist has to stave off attacks from ghostly Europeans, cannibals, sharks and Death himself. You wouldn’t expect vomiting grandfather birds or ironic humor or a pre-2020 reference to a pandemic.

It’s surprising how much ground Sir Terry Pratchett covered in a single novel. Besides the philosophy, the story itself was wonderful. Each character came to life, and I felt like I’d walked the island myself. If you’ve never read “Nation” you’re in for a treat. I just hope “Discworld” turns out to be just as fascinating.