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The Chrysalids (aka Re-birth)
John Wyndham was probably the most widely read science fiction author in the British Commonwealth in the 1950s and 1960s. This was largely due to his being publicised outside the genre and for his attention to the interests and attitudes of a wide audience unfamiliar with science fiction tropes. The first half of his career - before the Second World War - was undistinguished. He wrote under a number of names, usually variations on John Beynon Harris, but settled on Wyndham when he returned to writing after the war. At this time he developed a type of science fiction often referred to as "cosy catastrophe", where disaster strikes and the world is plunged into chaos which the protagonists must survive so that they can begin to rebuild.
The Chrysalids is an example of Wyndham at the height of his powers. It is set centuries after Tribulation ended the world as we know it. The population of Labrador seeks to rebuild the society of the Old People with the aid of the Bible and writings from the time of Tribulation which codify the Image of Man. Any being which does not match the True Image is `hateful in the sight of God' and must be destroyed as an abomination or exiled from human society. This position extends to all known flora and fauna and is enforced by government inspectors. It quickly becomes apparent that this is an attempt to keep the genetic stock pure after a massive nuclear war. The book's narrator, though outwardly normal, has an ability along with a number of others to "think together". As the book opens, he has no real awareness that he is any different from anyone else. As he grows older he comes to the realisation that the memorised lines from the Sunday service have a real relationship to the world around him and his place in it. He has the good fortune of an uncle who offers him advice that fires the instinct for caution into active self preservation. Gradually, events put the group under suspicion and they face significant trials with scant possibility of survival.
The Chrysalids is skilfully written, displaying the increasing danger and frustration for a hidden community of telepaths in a society which prizes normalcy above all else. Their striving for "averageness" despite an ability which allows them insight far beyond their fellows and in the face of widespread communal fear of the different strikes a chord with generation after generation of reader. There is also clear advocacy for change in this novel. While accepting that any creature will fight to preserve itself and its type, there is an emphasis on the importance of change as the only means of improvement and a belief that evolution has no ultimate end point. This leads to the thesis that it is inherently right that humanity give way to those who come after us. This Darwinian perspective may seem reasonable in the long view but the book draws into renewed sharpness questions which have been debated for decades.
The final pages are almost overwhelmed by Wyndham's need to state his position clearly, but the novel does regain equilibrium. As a whole, the book achieves considerable complexity of idea and action whilst maintaining straightforward language. The story progresses primarily through character development, which allows a natural flow and shape in the plot. It is a book which rarely pulls its punches and this is a contributing factor to its continued success and validity almost 50 years after its original publication. The Chrysalids is a tight, well developed novel from a master of a peculiarly English style of science fiction.
Pick this book up at Fatbrain.
I am sure i read this back in high school, t'was a good book too.
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I have nothing else to say
the character development was a little weak
the subject matter was a little to provocative for my taste
overall a hard to read book
This is one of the books I was required to read for 10th grade english, and it's one of my favorite books from all the ones I was forced to read. Right up there with 1984 and Animal Farm, and way above crap like Wuthering Heights.
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...and I'm glad I didn't study it in High School like most of my friends. I think most of the implications of the book are lost on this generation, since the threat of a nuclear Apocalypse is not nearly as imminent as the 1950's. However, the idea of the State controlling and regulating us is more true today then ever before. For those who haven't read it and are into SCI FI, shame on you! Just read it! You won't be disappointed. AC
Well, it takes money to lose money....
After reading this book, anytime I or my brother see a strange looking animal or plant, we say to one another, "It's a deviation!!" (Or an "offence" or a "blasphemy," etc.)
I read this book in grade10 English. Grade10 English was my favourite of all the English courses I took in high school, largely because of this novel, and the other one we read, Animal Farm. It's possible though, that these may have, um, influenced me and created a few of my left-wing views, or at least my reaction to fundamentalism. David Strorm's dad is a raging fundamentalist, and...wait... That would be a spoiler.
I also wish I could communicate in "thought-shapes," too. For example, if I was taking a test in school, I and several other telepaths could send and receive thought-shapes throughout the test and..."help each other out."
Great book. I'd like to say more, but I'd probably spoil it for those that haven't read it... I will say this, though... It's a great book, except for this one line: "They've broken Katherine!" Umm...sure.
...is kept at the University Of Liverpool. If you want to read more about Wyndham and his work, look at the archive web page which can be found
"Information wants to be paid"
Of course the book's theme is not new and much of the futuristic technology has not worn well with age but somehow Wyndham puts his finger on what makes people who are different so unwelcome in society. I guess the man grew up in a small town for his descriptions of small-town politics, relationships and characters are true to life. Perhaps it's this aspect that's so unsettling: behind all the sci-fi aspects of telepathy and technology is this quiet, rural environment that hides the community's basic fears: fear of strangers, fear of power, fear of the God who demands physical purity, and most of all, the fear that someone you know has power beyond your imagination.
Very worthwhile reading.
--- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
We had this read to us in Grade Six. In retrospect, it seems pretty weird to me.
I do remember being on the edge of my seat several times, though, and really enjoying it. I don't think it's lost on those who are younger, but I think it warrants a re-read once you've almost forgotten it.
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I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Your post deviates from the True Image of the Slashdot Post as defined by CmdrTaco. CmdrTaco never intended for Slashdot Posts to look like this! He never intended for Slashdot posters to behave like this! You and your post will be banished to the Fringes (-1). ACCURSED IS THE MU...er, TROLL!!
-- Joseph Strorm
MODERATORS: Before you mark this as a troll, read the book!!
Too lazy to log on at work... This book was great, I got to read it in grade 10 english. Then when I moved to another city, it was assigned to us in grade 11 english! That rocked, teacher thought I actually analyzed that stuff myself. It's a good book, always thought it'd be good for a movie. Character development is superb, but near the end the author doesn't even attempt to conceal his views as the characters. He just blabers on and on for a few pages. So anyone here read Fifth Business by Robertson Davies? Amazing book, read it if you can...
I have not specifically read the book in question, but I have read many books with an all-too-similar premise. Maybe this is a great book, maybe I should have read it years ago. I do believe that I have read too many books about genocidic socities and the struggle of the few people who are different from the norm to change those societies. At this point, I don't want to read any more. I wonder if it's true that there's nothing new under the sun, or if we'll eventually be exposed to some great new concept in a wonderfully written sci-fi novel. I'm hoping for the latter...
I always enjoyed the 1950's era science fiction for its simplicity of style and brevity of technical mumbo jumbo. The Chrysalids and other post apocalytic novels like it were always better written than some of the drivel that comes out today. At least these novels leave many of the notions of fantasy to the imagination
Romanes eunt domus? People called Romanes, they go the 'ouse? It says Romans go home. No it doesn't. What's Latin fo
"The Chrysalids" has been one of my all-time favorite novels for some time now. It deals with difficult and important moral and ethical issues, but it manages to do so without ever failing to be a great *story*.
From just reading this review you might come away with the impression that this book is somewhat dry, and the story is secondary to the points that the book is intended to make. Fortunately, this is not the case. Every character in the book is well developed and you really identify with all of them -- you feel their fear, their sadness, their joy -- especially but not exclusively the narrator. Even the one character with whom you aren't supposed to identify (not mentioning any names to avoid spoilers, but it should become obvious reasonably early into the book) is well developed and completely believable.
There are moments that will shock and horrify you, and other moments that will fill you with feel-good fuzzies. There are even some points where you're on the edge of your seat hoping that a disaster can be averted. The story proceeds at a good speed making the book completely un-put-downable.
I agree with the reviewer that the book deals well with tough ethical issues. But don't forget to mention that it's a really good read for its own sake too!
Stuart.
Pleasant surprise to see a review of a Wyndham book on /.! In many ways, Wyndham seems to be a relatively unknown author (at least, judging from how rarely I see his books in bookstores).
...
:-)
I have been a fan of Wyndham since I was twelve or so - my dad was a high school English teacher, and had The Chrysalids and Day of the Triffids in the house. (OT - I think a good way to turn people off of an author is to force them to read that author in school, and dissect the work into tiny pieces. Luckily, I liked The Chrysalids before having to read it in class, so I was unaffected!) I read all of his books (and stories) back then, but last summer I decided to re-read what I could.
It took a few visits to various bookstores to track down the books I wanted, but it was worth it. Although some things are a bit dated, Wyndham is surprisingly contemporary in many ways. I've always enjoyed his treatment of female characters, and he seemed to have a wide range of knowledge about different scientific areas. I certainly enjoyed and appreciated "Trouble with Lichen" more as an adult, and after having completed my own microbiology studies
Anyhow, it's nice to see some other folks who appreciate Wyndham, too.
YS
"Arrr! The laws of science be a harsh mistress." -- Bender
Good review. I have not read this or the earlier version but it sounds quite good. I wonder how this compares, deviates or compliments the original.
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.
EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW YUK.
AHHH....CHRYSALID!! AHH..Shoot it...shoot it !! DIE!!
- quoted from me from X-Com : UFO Defence
Anyway, the book is extremely good. If you haven't read it...read it!
Gotta love a book about fundamentalist post-nuke canucks.
I remember when I read The Chrysalids in school, it struck a real note with me, and not just because they're Canadian.
List of ingredients:
1 society that is absolutely intolerant of difference.
1 young boy that looks the same as everyone else, but is different inside his head.
A handful of young similar people.
Mix thoroughly.
I've been meaning to re-read this for a few years now.. I'm going to have to pop out and grab myself a copy of this even sooner:)
-blarg.
-- familiarity is only skin deep
Please note that this post contains potential spoilers. Opening your web browser indicates agreement with the invisible licence printed between the lines of this warning, which state that you assume any and all reduction in enjoyment from the book, subsequent to reading this post.
Phew! Having got that out of the way, onto the critique:
First off, I'd like to see a helicopter fly essentially around the globe without refuelling. This is not the only scientific flaw in the book, but it's one of the most glaring. Plot devices are important in any story, but they don't need huge neon signs announcing them, either.
Secondly, many people seem to read the book as "anti-religious". It isn't. It's anti-intolerence, sure, and SOME of the intolerent characters are religious, but by no means all. Read the book again, and check the actions of the guys in the Fringes. Not exactly the sort of people you'd want to hang out with, if they're just as psychotic as the "pure".
Nor is this about "conforming". David's uncle's arm was the "wrong" length by a small margin, and from the sounds of it, that wasn't found out until adulthood. That's not about "conforming", that's power-play - using politics and paranoia to remove potential opponents.
THAT, to me, is the entire central core of the book - the use of power and fear, by ANY side, to exert control and destroy any potential threat. The nature of the threat is as irrelevent as the excuse used.
IMHO, that is what made the ending so sickening. To "rescue" the kids, the helicopter massacres hundreds of people, under the pretext that they "didn't really have lives", and were "only" Norms. In short, the murder of something different was justified -solely- because it was different. Sure, there was more compassion from the New Zealanders, but not so much that they spared any life that did not conform to their notion of the ideal.
This is a great book, in a great many ways, but it is also VERY disturbing. Justification for murder came so easily to each and every one of the characters in the book, based on nothing but difference.
IMHO, this book is worth reading, but it's no light read, and there's no truly happy ending. I'd put it alongside the Cthulhu Mythos in terms of it's depressing hopelessness.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
I had the good fortune to go to a high school who's library had a very large percentage of John Wyndham's works. Chrysalids was probably my favorite of his books but worth noting are some other very good titles:
The Midwich Cuckoos - An interesting type of alien invasion
Day of the Triffids - A different sort of apocalypse novel that's a cross between "night of the comet", "Earth Abides", and a "night of the living dead" with plants instead of zombies.
Out of the Deeps - (if memory serves) an alien invasion that also ventures into what might happen to society if the ice caps were to be melted. Unfortunately my library's copy was missing about 60 pages from the middle of the book, so I've never gotten around to reading the entire story.
Unbreakable toys can be used to break other toys.
I read this in high school. it was a stupid book, and it still is.- --------
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And here I thought a Chrysalid was the rag top on a Chrystler.
This is hardly news, and you don't have to be a nerd either to read Wyndham. Why does /. post reviews of old books? And with a "buy"-link too! Is this some kind of marketing deal they have with Fatbrain?
Moderation Totals:Offtopic=4, Flamebait=1, Informative=1, Total=6.
so many points spent on one post
how many points do mods get to throw around?
Thanks for the plug for one of the great Canadian authors. Not depressingly moribund like a lot of our fiction (couldn't stomach The Stone Angel and its ilk...), Davies can be both disturbing and funny, sometimes in the same sentence. And his small towns are pretty interesting, of course in a different way than Wyndham's :-)
Freedom: "I won't!"
That's because the only reason you read it in high school was because the author was Canadian, just like you.
Actually, John Wyndham was British. Just because the story is set in Canada doesn`t mean he was Canadian. You don`t have to live in Canada to remember that it exists.
Really? I was sure he was British.
Anyway, did anyone notice this: the story is set in Labrador, the mainland part of Newfoundland, in the far east of Canada. There's something in the story for Americans, too, but it's pretty bad... (Then again, in the story, Labrador is full of right-wing fundamentalists and mutated extremists, so that's pretty bad, too.)
This is a little off-topic, but the crazy Québec separatists are trying to claim some of Labrador's land simply by altering the border between Québec and Newfoundland on their maps. The premier of Newfoundland wants to change his province's official name to "Newfoundland and Labrador" but the separtist premier of Québec is warning him that it would anger Quebeckers. (Sigh...) Those separatists are all children, aren't they? (A premier is the head of a province, like in the U.S. a governor is the head of a state.)
You know, that actually wasn't off-topic. The separatists are a lot like Joseph Strorm and company. They don't consider you laine pure (pure wool; a real Quebecker) unless you have lived there for several generations and are purely French. They certainly like to alienate all English people in Québec, a bit like the treatment of the mutants in the story (without being banished, though English people have been moving out of Québec in droves).
It's a shame the Badlands in the story are where they are, instead of directly to the west of Labrador!!
I read Rebirth well before it was inserted in high school English curricula. I wonder whether the impact of the novel was diluted, and am curious about the irony of novels about oppression and conformity being made mandatory reading. BTW -- Lyrics from the Jefferson Airplane song "Crown of Creation" include paraphrases from Rebirth.
I remember taking Chryzalids from the Public Library. Roughly at the same time I've picked up the CD 'Crown of Creation' from Jefferson Airplane. (heard it long time ago on LP, then was waiting for CD). I read Chryzalids for a while, then started listening Crown of Creation. To my amazement I've realized that the song 'Crown of Creation' actually used the words from Chryzalids. In Chryzalids: 'In loyality to their kind they cannot tolerate our mind, in loyality ot our kind we cannot tolerate their obstruction'. In Crown of Creation it is something very similar. Then again the same phrase: 'Life is change. That's how it differs from the rocks'. It happened 10 years ago. I still remember that. Coincidences like this can really blow your mind. To the best of my knowledge, noone every detected that Crown of Creation uses the words from Chryzalids. If you're not familiar with this CD, pick it up, this is probably the top of Jefferson Airplane and one of the best examples of psycodelic rock. (another example of Jefferson Airplance quoting classics is a song Rejoyce with quotes from Ulysses) Wyndham is the excellent writers. The day of Triffids is another novel worth reading. 'Cracatit (sp?) is another really good one.
It's also interesting to note that most of the Religious Right(tm) wish that the world could go back to the way it was in the 1950's, ironically the time that this book received mass notice.
*Strorm, IIRC was the name of the man who built Labrador community as a heavily Bible-oriented place.
- "How do we do it? Volume!" - The Bursar of Unseen University.
>how many points do mods get to throw around?
Some more than they deserve.
Did not like it.
Although this is the type of novel I usually enjoy reading, in a few comments back someone mentioned that:
-The character development was a little weak
-The subject matter was a little to provocative for my taste
-Overall a hard to read book
His first comment was valid. It could have used alot more developement into the characters. But I don't believe it was a hard book to read. In fact, I took this as a children's novel. It played along side "Nineteen Eighty Four", and "The Canticle for Liebowitz", in that the world was horribly destroyed as we knew it, and the characters had to learn to live within the desolation. But because it was written from the point of view of children, it became a novel that would be more appealing to that age group.
Of all the books I had to read in HS, this one was one of the more enjoyable novels.
And on a more personal note, although "Wuthering Heights" is not anywhere near the same classification of novel as "The Chrysalids" (so you really can't compare it), I can safetly say that compared to "The Chrysalids", "Wuthering Heights" really sucked a$$.
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
Since I'm moderating for the next 72 hours I'll answer...
Moderators only have 5 points to throw around and they can't allocate more than one per comment. They only get allocated these 5 points for a period of three days and then have to wait a week or so before their name pops up out of the hat again. I'm not sure how metamoderation affects this, but I assume if someone hates your moderation you have to wait longer before you get moderator points again. Maybe a browse of the code at Slashcode will reveal all
However I agree that some get more [and less!] mod points than they deserve.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
e.g.
I enjoyed reading both these titles, along with Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos (AKA "Village of the Damned" in the movie world), and they still sit on one of my bookshelves.
I thought The Chrysalids was remarkably prescient, as I often regard "think-together" and the hive mind postulated in the book as analogous to how the Web has allowed widely separated teams of people to work on the same project. The opposition to this development in people seems to be opposed by many forces in society albeit not as violently as the community in the book tries to suppress difference.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
Hadn't heard the Commonwealth bit before. Sort of makes sense now though looking at the two locations that are left in the book's world: Labrador (which is part of Newfoundland, a Canadian province), and "New Sealand", both Commonwealth countries. Guess he knew who his audience was and played 'em up a bit.
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"And the beast shall be made legion. Its numbers shall be increased a thousand thousand fold."
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Cast a Cold Eye
On Life, on Death
Horseman, pass by
--W.B. Yeats' gravestone
which can be found where?
Done in spite of reason.
It is in the interest of your personal safety that you read this. My name is Amadou. I was shot to death by N.Y. police officers for fitting the 'description' of a rapist. That is to say I was a person with dark skin. I was shot because my skin color mistakenly identified me as someone who might possess a gun and attempt to shoot police officers. I had no gun. I had no gun and now I am dead because I was unfortunate enough to have dark skin color matching that of a rapist. The New York police officers believed I would shoot them because of my skin color. The belief of danger means the four police officers were legally entitled to shoot me 46 times. I am dead. I had no gun. I was not a rapist. The police officers who shot me are found NOT GUILTY of any of the charges brought against them arising out of my murder. I was unfortunate enough to have dark skin and to find myself in front of a firing squad of white police officers who mistook me for a rapist with a gun about to shoot them. I still have dark skin but now I am dead. The officers walk free. They can shoot you next. They need only believe you to be a threat. I hope that you do not have dark skin.
If you're going to cut and paste straight out of The Register (or anywhere else) at least credit the source.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
i was forced to read it in grade 10 and i dont know why anybody enjoyed. i found it too unrealistic. the book just cant compare to those of some of the great SF writers like L. Ron hubbard, Clark, Adams, or any other of a host of SF writers.
There's lots of interesting SF information available at the Science Fiction Foundation Collection site, which is hosting the Wyndham archive.
I'm delighted to see a review of this book, which I first read 25 years ago. (I have re-read it fairly recently, and it stands up pretty well.) It is also the source for the lyrics of Jefferson Airplane' (or were they Starship by then?) song, "Crown of Creation." Thanks for reminding me of this great readd!
Nancy "In a time of drastic change it is the learners who survive; the 'learned' find themselves fully equip- ped to l
Yes, that was the *first* thing I thought of when I read the article; good old X-Com: UFO Defense.
The hours I have wasted on that game, TFTD (which I am still playing now), Apocalypse, and Interceptor is uncountable. And with Alliance out Real Soon Now, I can't really wait...
"Don't mind me cutting myself on Occam's Razor"
A savage war engulfs the earth... No wait... That's Crystalis. Never mind. Crystalis: an old NES game. Pretty cool. This book sounds a hell of a lot like it inspired the creators of the game. I haven't played it since a friend of mine accidentally overwrote my save slot. Nooooo!