History YMMV / Nation

* {{Squick}}: Pig. Milk. Specifically, what Mau had to do to ''get'' the pig's milk, namely [[spoiler:cover himself in stinking mud, wriggle close to a sow (which he'd gotten drunk with beer-laced vegetables), and then ''put his mouth to the sow's muddy, stinking belly and suck out mouthfuls of milk'', because pigs don't have udders you can milk by hand]].

* CriticalResearchFailure: Mocking Charles the Second's use of the word "bigness" in the charter of the Royal Society. "Bigness" was a perfectly acceptable word not just in the 17th century (which would have made this a research failure in-universe) but up until the end of the 19th, so the protagonists should have found nothing odd about it.

** Doubles as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for Mau, because [[spoiler: he was perfectly aware all the time just how ''disgusting'' the act was... and he ''still did it,'' because the alternative was having an innocent baby starve to death. And then, knowing exactly what it was like, he did it ''again''.]]

** Mau's response to finding out everyone on the island died in the wave, leaving him as the only survivor. He starts preparing their bodies in HeroicSafeMode for Locaha, and pulling Daphne from drowning while in this mode.
** Especially Daphne and the coffin memories (which are somehow edited by Mrs. Gurgle to make them better and reunite the baby with his mother).
** The scene where [[spoiler:Daphne and Mau have to say goodbye. They had both agreed that getting together was impractical due to being children. Yet, they both feel sad that after months of bonding and rebuilding Mau's people, she has to go and be a princess. The children hearing the story feel this in-universe and protest that surely the two reunited, at least in death]].

* TheWoobie: Mau. He starts off with his whole tribe dying in a tidal wave, after which he goes BSOD while preparing the bodies for dolphinhood. He almost drowns himself. He almost drowns himself again while saving Daphne. After this, his catchphrase/{{Survival Mantra}} becomes "Does Not Happen", and he proceeds to become the badass leader of the emerging tribe. It is stated by other characters that he works himself too hard and doesn't eat or sleep (which nearly kills him), because he's that goddamn traumatised.
** At night he guards the Nation by standing on the beach with a spear. Who is he expecting? The freaking [[GrimReaper god of death.]] [[spoiler:Whom he meets. [[OnlyMostlyDead Temporarily]].]] Also qualifies as an IronWoobie. "Does Not Happen!"
** StoicWoobie: Daphne's father, who lost his wife and baby son tragically, and must put up with his tyrannical mother running both his and his daughter's lives as well. He works all day and half the night as a distraction from his own pain, and takes a job halfway around the world in search of a place where he can find some peace. Then his daughter disappears in a tidal wave. And 137 of his relatives die of plague (and one, of lions).

* HarsherInHindsight: The Plague, and specifically characters' means of dealing with it (the entire society isolating themselves indoors, people swathed in masks, hosing disinfectant on absolutely everything), may be this to anyone who is experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic. (Although in-universe the plague is pretty harsh already, but having to take the same measures in our times makes it harsher still.)

* HarsherInHindsight: The Plague, and specifically characters' means of dealing with it (the entire society isolating themselves indoors, people swathed in masks, hosing disinfectant on absolutely everything), may be this to anyone who is experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic.

* TearJerker: Lots. Especially Daphne and the coffin memories (which are somehow edited by Mrs. Gurgle to make them better and reunite the baby with his mother).

** Doubles as a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Mau, because [[spoiler: he was perfectly aware all the time just how ''disgusting'' the act was... and he ''still did it,'' because the alternative was having an innocent baby starve to death. And then, knowing exactly what it was like, he did it ''again''.]]

** StoicWoobie: Daphne's father, who lost his wife and baby son tragically, and must put up with his tyrannical mother running both his and his daughter's lives as well. He works all day and half the night as a distraction from his own pain, and takes a job halfway around the world in search of a place where he can find some peace. Then his daughter disappears in a tidal wave. And 137 of his relatives die of plague (and one, of lions).

* CompleteMonster: [[{{Sadist}} First Mate Cox]] is described as a man who lives to hurt others. Frequently shooting things just to kill something, Cox murders an old man in a canoe just because he can, later attempting a mutiny to wipe out any crew not loyal to him. Later taking over a cannibal tribe by killing its king, Cox attempts to massacre the other people on Nation before facing young [[TheDeterminator Mau]] in a DuelToTheDeath, trying to feed him to the nearby sharks.

* CompleteMonster: [[{{Sadist}} First Mate Cox]] is described as a man who lives to hurt others. Frequently shooting things just to kill something, Cox murders an old man in a canoe just because he can, later attempting a mutiny to wipe out any crew not loyal to him. Later taking over a cannibal tribe by killing its king, Cox attempts to massacre the other people on Nation before facing young [[TheProtagonist Mau]] in a DuelToTheDeath, trying to feed him to the nearby sharks.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad First Mate Cox]] is described as a man who lives to hurt others. Frequently shooting things just to kill something, Cox murders an old man in a canoe just because he can, later attempting a mutiny to wipe out any crew not loyal to him. Later taking over a cannibal tribe by killing its king, Cox attempts to massacre the other people on Nation before facing young [[TheProtagonist Mau]] in a DuelToTheDeath, trying to feed him to the nearby sharks.

* CompleteMonster: [BigBad First Mate Cox]] is described as a man who lives to hurt others. Frequently shooting things just to kill something, Cox murders an old man in a canoe just because he can, later attempting a mutiny to wipe out any crew not loyal to him. Later taking over a cannibal tribe by killing its king, Cox attempts to massacre the other people on Nation before facing young [[TheProtagonist Mau]] in a DuelToTheDeath, trying to feed him to the nearby sharks.

* TearJerker: Lots. Especially Daphne and the coffin memories (which are somehow edited by Mrs. Gurgle).

** Doubles as a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Mau, because [[spoiler: he was perfectly aware all the time just how ''disgusting'' the act was... and he ''still did it,'' because the alternative was having an innocent baby starve to death.]]

** StoicWoobie: Daphne's father, who lost his wife and baby son tragically, and must put up with his tyrannical mother running both his and his daughter's lives as well. He works all day and half the night as a distraction from his own pain, and takes a job halfway around the world in search of a place where he can find some peace. Then his daughter disappears in a tidal wave, and 138 of his relatives die of plague.

** StoicWoobie: Daphne's father, who lost his wife and baby son tragically, and must put up with his tyrannical mother running both his and his daughter's lives as well. He works all day and half the night as a distraction from his own pain, and takes a job halfway around the world in search of a place where he can find some peace. Then his daughter disappears in a tidal wave.

* {{Squick}}: [[TwoWords Pig. Milk.]] Specifically, what Mau had to do to ''get'' the pig's milk, namely [[spoiler:cover himself in stinking mud, wriggle close to a sow (which he'd gotten drunk with beer-laced vegetables), and then ''put his mouth to the sow's muddy, stinking belly and suck out mouthfuls of milk'', because pigs don't have udders you can milk by hand]].

* TheWoobie: Mau. He starts off with his whole tribe dying in a tidal wave, after which he goes BSOD while preparing the bodies for dolphinhood. He almost drowns himself. He almost drowns himself again while saving Daphne. After this, his catchphrase/{{Survival Mantra}} becomes "Does Not Happen", and he proceeds to become the {{Badass}} leader of the emerging tribe. It is stated by other characters that he works himself too hard and doesn't eat or sleep (which nearly kills him), because he's that goddamn traumatised.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Found [[{{Awesome/Literature}} here]].

** At night he guards the Nation by standing on the beach with a spear. Who is he expecting? The freaking [[GrimReaper god of death.]] [[spoiler:Whom he meets. [[OnlyMostlyDead Temporarily]].]]
** If ''anybody ever in the history of ever'' is an IronWoobie, it is Mau. "Does Not Happen!"

** At night he guards the Nation by standing on the beach with a spear. Who is he expecting? The freaking [[GrimReaper god of death.]] [[spoiler:Whom he meets. [[OnlyMostlyDead Temporarily]].]]

** At night he guards the Nation by standing on the beach with a spear. Who is he expecting? The freaking [[GrimReaper god of death.]]

* FridgeBrilliance: Locaha is portrayed as more callous than Pterry's usual depictions of Death (by whatever name). This is a double case of brilliance, as A) Mau, if he's only imagining Locaha, has lost everyone he's ever known and is unlikely to imagine Death as anything ''but'' callous, and B) if Locaha is for real, then as this Verse's Death, he's just recently been ''very very busy'' dealing with the consequences of both a massive pandemic and a devastating tsunami, so probably isn't inclined to be sociable just now even if he's normally nicer.

* CompleteMonster: First Mate Cox, perhaps Pratchett's best example of this trope

* ContinuityPorn: Daphne explaining Nation's history to her dad at the end.

* TrueNeutral: Locaha is either this or GoodIsNotNice, depending on how charitable you are about his motives. He's depicted as basically good, but untrustworthy, in the myth at the start of the book. During the story, most of what he does is taunt Mau by telling him how close he or other people are to death and encouraging him to let that happen.

* TheWoobie: Mau. He starts off with his whole tribe dying in a tidal wave, after which he goes BSOD while preparing the bodies for dolphinhood. He almost drowns himself. He almost drowns himself again while saving Daphne. After this, his catchphrase/{{Survival Mantra}} becomes "Does Not Happen", and he proceeds to become the {{Badass}} leader of the emerging tribe. It is stated by other characters that he works himself too hard and doesn't eat or sleep, because he's that goddamn traumatised.