The Chrysalids (Penguin Decades)
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Product Description
Review
Perfect timing, astringent humour . . . One of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence (Spectator )
Remains fresh and disturbing in an entirely unexpected way (Guardian ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Remains fresh and disturbing in an entirely unexpected way (Guardian ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
Perfect timing, astringent humour ... One of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence Spectator Remains fresh and disturbing in an entirely unexpected way Guardian
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
When I was quite small I would sometimes dream of a city - which was strange because it began before I even knew what a city was. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
When I was quite small I would sometimes dream of a city - which was strange because it began before I even knew what a city was. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Chrysalids tells the story of an isolated remnant of human civilisation struggling to rebuild in a world that was devastated (by thermonuclear war - although he never says this directly it is clear from the effects he describes).
The story works superbly by not providing too much detail - it invites the reader to fill in the blanks and is a much more intelligent take on the post apocalyptic genre. The 'how it happened' aspect of the story is secondary to dealing with the human issues.
In particular Wyndham's vision of a society that has reverted to an extreme paranoid interpretation of the bible is superb - the paranoia over checking for mutants amongst them has strong overtones of the Salem witch trials etc.
I am a relative newcomer to John Wyndham and read The Day of the Triffids before moving on to his other work. Having now read most of his novels I would rate The Chrysalids as his best.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was what Wyndham did best: he's created horrible futures for us. He was a dab-hand at the nightmare vision. Like 'The Day of the Triffids' and 'The Kraken Wakes', 'The Chrysalids' points to a grim, dystopian future where people struggle to survive and reconstruct lost order and security after a terrible disaster. But whereas the events that led up to the annihilation of most of the human population in The Triffids and The Kraken were explained in detail in those books, the devastation of huge areas of the planet that are described in The Chrysalids, occurred hundreds of years before the time this story begins. The people have not the vaguest memory and no documented reports of how it happened. It seems probable to the reader, from revelations about the after effects of the killer event, that what happened all that time ago was a nuclear holocaust. All the signs point to it, so it's ironic that the people of Waknuk in Labrador, where this tale is focused, have been struggling to re-establish their lives in the image of the much revered 'Old People' and the halcyon days when life was happy and untroubled by the horrors of what they call 'tribulation'. Even though they believe the Old People brought down the wrath of God upon themselves and their descendents, they know nothing of nuclear war. So they're working to redeem themselves in the eyes of God. One way they try to do this is by ensuring the destruction of mutants. Humans must conform to the image of God, as they believe God intended. Any human that deviates from that norm is considered an abomination. Human mutants are sterilized and ejected from the community, mutant animals are slaughtered and mutant crops are burned. Then, quietly and undetected, a different kind of human mutation evolves. For a long time it goes unnoticed, because these new mutants look normal. However, they have certain mental abilities beyond what is normal and acceptable. This aberration isn't discovered by the normals until some bad luck and carelessness draws attention to the change. When the mutation is discovered, the reaction of the community is ruthless. In their hysterical state of fear and loathing, they mean to root out every last abomination. At some level they must understand that this particular mutation, far from dragging them into mutational melt-down, might actually replace them as the dominant species. The future looks bleak for these young people. They must hide their talent or run away, but where can they go? Life in the wild fringes beyond the slowly genetically stabilizing safe region where they live, is a horrible lurid area of unstable biology and lawlessness, and beyond that chaotic zone there is no life in the burnt badlands.
Wyndham was full of apocalyptic ideas and post-apocalyptic strategies for the survival of the human species. His main protagonists are reasonable, well balanced and humane people who are forced by circumstances beyond their control to be practical - taking whatever distasteful steps seem necessary in order to survive. The stories are always compelling and interesting. The Chrysalids is no exception: interesting characters with a bit of depth, a desperate situation calling for desperate measures, and all adding up to a good read.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Perhaps the best book I have ever read, I read it some 15 or so years ago and it still remains fresh in my mind. You'll read it in one sitting if possible and I hope you derive the same pleasure from it that I did.
Imagine a world that has gone wrong and suffers from the legacy of the mistakes it made in a previous era and then imagine a people that can rise above this imperfection and strive for a world of unity and love. In this book you've got it all, "Beautiful."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
mel64
I read this book at school many years ago. I really enjoyed it then and after purchasing it recently, I haven't changed my opinion. Read more
Published 29 days ago by mel74
Memories
Remember first reading this at school and enjoying it then - and enjoyed it again this time round - after all these years!!
Published 2 months ago by mitch
Just the best book ever.
I have loved this book since I first read it in 1982. It's chilling, thought-provoking and beautifully written. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Anna Buttimore
A still-underestimated classic
The Chrysalids has to be more or less my favourite SF tale of all time. I first read it soon after turning 16 (and wasn't allowed to read it as a small child, my mother judged it... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lynda Stevens
If you're not a fan of dystopian fiction look away now!
Constantly while reading The Chrysalis I was reminded of other books, films and TV shows that had very similar plot elements that I lost count of them all. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Willis
Superb and gripping drama
Like a great many people, I believe, the only John Wyndham book I had read was the superb `Day of the Triffids'. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Essex Mark
Even better than I remember
I read this at school and it must have been special as it stuck in my mind.
I have just re-read it (am now in my 30's) and am really glad I did. Read more
I have just re-read it (am now in my 30's) and am really glad I did. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Princess
Classic Science Fiction
This has always been my favourite John Wyndham book. Apocolyptic drama about a world where radioactive mutation is the order of the day. Great plot and well written.
Published 15 months ago by Ms. Elise Hey
great as always
This writer never lets the reader down, delivers every time and is as current today as it was when written
Published 16 months ago by E. Leach
Fascinating, thought-provoking and absorbing
This was my first John Wyndham novel and I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't even sure what it was about! Read more
Published 17 months ago by Miss E. Potten
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