Review: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham – In which there are far fewer moths than anticipated

Novel: Sci-fi, Apocalyptic fiction. 

The first review I posted here was for Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson and I suggest you check it out, as it pertains to the subject of telepathy, a major theme in this week's book, The Chrysalids.

        The book takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, one which is heavily implied to be the result of an atomic war. Civilization has collapsed and reformed under a new order. The civilization in North America is ruled by a government, but that government must conform to a number of religious rulings, the majority of which regard mutations. The new world order prescribes the destruction and incarceration of all mutations since evolution doesn’t exist, everything was made perfect in the beginning by god. Of course, since there’s a whole lot of radiation hanging around like a bad guest at a dinner party, mutations aren’t exactly few and far between.

        Our protagonist is one of these mutations, and like half a dozen other children in and around his hometown, he has telepathy. Although his mutation can’t be seen, we still get his sense of frustration with the world, as he is brought up to hate what he is. He shares this with his fellow telepaths, and we get a lot of cool interaction from the mostly emotional way in which they communicate.

        While the antagonists are spurred on by their beliefs, the book is definitely not anti-religious. The people who end up helping our main characters believe in God as well, they just believe that the mutations are not The Devil’s work, but rather divine. So antagonists have more to do with superstition and fear of nature no longer needing you than religious zeal. You can sort of sense why these people believe the hateful and dangerous things which they do. 

      They’ve grown up in this very harsh environment, and although their religion has caused immense pain, it has also reconstructed civilization to some degree. That said, the book does make some good points about how arrogant we are to think that we are the apex of evolution or even creation for that matter. There is certainly room for improvement mentally and physically, or people would not be so miserable and harsh in this world of ours. 

      It’s a refreshing look at how change doesn’t necessarily create monsters, just those which we can never quite understand. In this day and age, we are on the tip of diving into cybernetics and genetic manipulation. Both things are quite scary to think about (at least for me), and it is read a book from the ‘monsters’ perspective.

    It might be easy for others to think about enhancing themselves, but personally, I always attribute such thoughts as a tad dangerous. What happens when my children aren’t as enhanced as their fellow school mates? At one point do the upgrades end? This book brings up a lot of good things to consider for someone me, especially since while I thoroughly believe in evolution, I consider ambition to be dangerous. 

     This is mostly because it leads to giant companies, and giant companies lead to global warming, cutting costs, and treating people as less than. These characters don’t have any control over their advancement, however. 

     I find it fascinating that Wyndham considered that telepathy would lead to a better society while the aforementioned Matheson insists that it would lead to people hating each other (towards the end of A Stir of Echoes). I find myself somewhere in between. Telepathy would certainly be useful, and I believe that empathy is one of the most useful traits. Simultaneously, I get the feeling that so much privacy would be lost, and so much madness would be caused by people knowing what they truly think of each other.

    I was first turned onto this book by a list of dystopias, and it certainly makes for an intriguing one. Not everyone is a rebel or a devotee of the prime ideology. There are lots of nice fat gray lines which Wyndham paints the picture with. Hell, one of the guys whose job it is to investigate and deal with mutations is not exactly eager about his job. The characters aren’t incredibly memorable, but they suit their purposes pretty well. There was no point when they seemed to be boring, just not terribly interesting other than the conflict which they are put into. And I must say, the conflict only grows in scale and complexity as the book continues. The book isn’t terribly long, and I don’t think it needs to be. It suits its length quite well. I think the world and conclusions which the characters make are certainly memorable, not brilliant, but memorable.

    The plot runs at a smooth pace, it’s easy to connect with the characters even though they were born into a vastly different world, and the questions raised are all nearly unanswerable, which are the best kind of course. My only complaint is that the climax is a tad anti-climactic. Not quite a Deus Ex Machina as it is set up in previous chapters, but disappointing nonetheless.

    I rate it Great. An altogether worthwhile experience, if not with a few flaws.

    Thanks for reading and have a nice day!