Chrysalids

A review of The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

A very interesting book this, and in my opinion, the best of
Wyndham's
novels. The first sci-fi novel I ever read was Day of the Triffids,
which is
probably the most famous Wyndham, and the most popular. It sold very
well in
the 1950's and found its way into the national consciousness and even
onto
the school curriculum, which is where I encountered it over a decade
later.
For some reason, people seemed able to relate to the idea of a bunch
of
intelligent, ambulatory giant plants taking over the world - surely
he
wasn't alluding to the Russians?
As much as I enjoyed Triffids, it was The Chrysalids I read next of my
own
accord, and this was the book which was to become one of the
'milestone'
novels in my life - one of those you know that you'll read many times
and
always have a copy of on your bookshelf. It thoroughly caught my
imagination and had me right in there with the protagonists when the
action begins to heat up.
Now the plot. Although it's never explicitly referred to, it's clear
that the events
take place in a post nuclear holocaust world which has taken some time
to
recover. The legacy of the blast still remains in the form of 'no-go'
areas
of land, referred to as 'the badlands', and malformations in the
progeny of
everything from plants to humans. The other major factor is that the
bible,
in the form of the old testament, has survived Armageddon to
strongly
dominate the lives of a largely evangelical community which is
their
response to their own need to survive and control their world once
again.
Unfortunately, anything which comes into life with any kind of
physical
defect is either burned (plants), slaughtered (animals) or banished to
the
badlands (humans) as abhorrences in the eyes of God. The unfortunate
humans
in this position tend to get a bit rebellious as they know that there
is a
tendency for people who set foot in the badlands to die sooner rather
than
later. Wyndham's clever ploy is to introduce a group of humans who
are
physically normal, but have been bestowed with the power of telepathy
and
who gradually form a group who have the same disruptive potential in
the
eyes of their society as a group of anti-capitalist demonstrators seems
to
have on ours.
By now you should have the idea that it's quite a complex book and
one
which has the potential for some very heady human conflict and emotion
- and
you'd be right! I think it's the most fluent of Wyndham's stories and
certainly the most comprehensive in terms of the world he creates. It
must be one of the earliest attempts at tackling the consequences of
nuclear war and I think Wyndham successfully demonstrates that the
literally open minds of the telepaths are the way forward from the
bigotry of their society that remains even after the devastation. A lot
of people have called Wyndham a pessimist, but there's a lot of hope
offered in this book. I can't understand why no-one's ever attempted a
film version, it would be a cracker. Maybe one day I'll get round to a
screenplay.