Thom reviewed The Chrysalids by John Wyndham by D. T. P. Mitchell (Studytapes)
Review of 'The Chrysalids by John Wyndham' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Post apocalyptic title with young adult main characters, this is one of Wyndham's better novels. Specific topics on religion, eugenics, and whether the end justifies the means would be great talking points for this fairly short novel.
Showing these topics from young adult eyes allows questioning, something the adults of the small community are past being able to do. We can see the point of reducing mutation by not allowing them to breed, but when taken to a religious mania ("in the image of god") we can also see the problems. The main characters have some sort of telepathy, a non-visible mutation that nevertheless scares the heck out of the community, once they find out.
Some aspects of the ending were abrupt. The sexism of the 50s and the sexism of the ultra-religious are in this indistinguishable, and many of the female characters are very strong. I found this better …
Post apocalyptic title with young adult main characters, this is one of Wyndham's better novels. Specific topics on religion, eugenics, and whether the end justifies the means would be great talking points for this fairly short novel.
Showing these topics from young adult eyes allows questioning, something the adults of the small community are past being able to do. We can see the point of reducing mutation by not allowing them to breed, but when taken to a religious mania ("in the image of god") we can also see the problems. The main characters have some sort of telepathy, a non-visible mutation that nevertheless scares the heck out of the community, once they find out.
Some aspects of the ending were abrupt. The sexism of the 50s and the sexism of the ultra-religious are in this indistinguishable, and many of the female characters are very strong. I found this better than the Midwich Cuckoos, but not as good as The Day of The Triffids. Other reviewers reverse these. That said, I still look forward to reading more from this author.