Chrysalids (original 1955; edition 1958)

Brian Aldiss is supposed to have coined the term cozy catastrophe to cover John Wyndham's books, but I've never been able to see anything cozy about The Chrysalids, which is my favourite of all Wyndham's books and one of my overall favourite reads from my teenage years. Set in a much warmer Labrador of the far future after a nuclear holocaust has engulfed the world, it depicts an agrarian society where mutations (clearly caused by the high radiation levels) are common. But having no understanding of radiation, and very little understanding of the civilisation that preceded them, people have interpreted its destruction as 'Tribulation' sent by God to punish an evil world. And the only way to prevent tribulation from revisiting them is to root out all mutations, whether human, animal or plant, which depart in any way from the norms laid down by their forefathers. No matter how human a mutant might look, no matter how small might be their departure from the norm, they are merely soulless copies sent by the devil to tempt humans away from the true path laid down for them by God.

Into this world comes David Strorm: seemingly born to a secure life as the only son of a prosperous farmer who owns the biggest farm in the district. But his father is also strict in his persecution of mutants, strict to the point of bigotry some would say, and as the young David realises that he is different from virtually all others around him, even though apparently physically normal, his life becomes a struggle to hide his true nature. And when his younger sister Petra is born, the struggle becomes nearly impossible.

This is a book which, although short, deals with a lot of underlying questions of what it means to be human. Without giving anything away, I can say that I've always found the ending thought-provoking and disturbing. And even though I've read this several times before I enjoyed it equally as much when re-reading it again. Highly recommended. ( )

I've been meaning to read The Chrysalids since it was mentioned in Among Others (reading books Mori mentions hasn't steered me wrong, so far). I'm glad I got round to it. I enjoyed Wyndham's Day of the Triffids, but I enjoyed The Chrysalids rather more: I fell in love with the way he created a whole post-apocalyptic world in just a few pages. I loved all the details of it -- harsh and oppressive as it would be to live that life, it's a fantastic read for someone interested in post-apocalyptic dystopia.

It wasn't, really, all that new to me, the modern reader. Still, it felt like it was, somehow. It leaves one wanting more, too. The ending is open enough that goodness knows what could happen, and the reader is given plenty they have to work out for themselves.

Character-wise, I suppose it wasn't that strong, as the only characters who stood out to me strongly were the really central ones. Most of the group, I don't think I'll remember their names tomorrow. David and Rosalind do have a sweetness to them, but at the same time, if I think of what marked them out as people... David's uncle, who kills someone to keep their secret, and supports David and helps him despite his difference, he's actually perhaps the most memorable to me, in a way.

There is, by the by, a lot of moral ambiguity.

I'll be keeping my copy of The Chrysalids, for sure. I'll want to come back to it. ( )

I was very surprised to find this book as good as I did. In general I don't care for futuristic, sci-fi stuff, and this one does have its holes. However, the discourse on "image of God" and perfection and evolution and change was very good and still relevant. Almost theological and philosophical. I'm sure most of that discussion is over the heads of students who read the book (often gr9 or less academic senior students), but there's enough plot-action to entertain those who just read for story, not philosophy/message.

I think one of the holes that bothered me most is the telepathy that David has with his friends. How it works isn't well explained. How do they turn it on and off, yet allow it to be on in a way to understand each other's deeper thoughts? Also, their thoughts are described as pictures or images, yet the author conveys them by words. Their thought-dialogues are often complex and abstract -- how are images used to convey such intricate messages? Intuition and feeling type thoughts make more sense than images. But the concept in itself is interesting. Also interesting if you transcribe that method of communication to today's use of text-messaging -- communication across distance in a way that no one else knows (okay, there are some holes in the analogy) that you can turn on and off, but you've never had to meet the person for the communication to exist. Not quite the same, but for me, noticing the similarities added a contemporary angle to the story. ( )

I do love this book about a community living in Canada after a nuclear war has wiped out most of the world. I reread it every couple of years.

This is a dystopian book that I reread every couple of years – I never tire of it. Set in the future, a nuclear war has destroyed civilization and those who survived now live in isolated communities with their own sets of rules. David’s community is run by religious fundamentalists who are constantly alert for any deviation from what they perceive as the norm of God’s creation. Plants and animals are destroyed; babies are killed at birth, but if the deviation is discovered when they are older people are made to leave the community and live in the wild country. David and few of the other children have their own deviation that cannot be readily seen – they can talk to each other telepathically. As they grow older they realise that if this knowledge gets out then their lives will be in danger. A very insightful story.

"Here's your future" - The Thermals ( )