Coming of age in a post-apocalyptic wasteland: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham | Book Review [CC]

My review of John Wyndham's The Chrysalids, a mid-century post-apocalyptic coming-of-age story.
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[@JoannaT455]

We had to read this at school in English class when I was 14 I think (I'm Dutch and English is thought as a second language). I didnt read the whole novel and forgot what book it was but a couple of years ago I kept thinking about that book and found it and finally read it! I really enjoyed it! I picked up some other Wydham novels from the second hand bookshop and I'm very excited to read them.

[@spreadbookjoy]

Have heard of The Chrysalids but had no idea of the plot and it sounds great - I am adding it to my wish list. Wyndham explored some fascinating topics and I am looking forward to reading his work.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

The Chrysalids is my favorite John Wyndham novel.

[@glennmaillard5972]

Same here.

[@readandre-read]

This is right up my alley! Adding this book and author to my TBR. Thanks for the thorough review!

[@marthaneale2434]

This is my favourite john Wyndham book. I read it as a teenager in the 70s. I also loved The Day of The Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos. I liked Trouble with Lichen. but I was not so keen on either the Kraken Wakes or Chocky. I have never had a chance to read The Seeds of Time, Consider her Ways And others, or The Outward Urge.

[@brontewcat]

I totally agree with your summation although I quite liked the Kraken Wakes. I also first read the books as a teenager in the 1970s and the Crysalids was my favourite as well. Consider Her Ways and Seeds of Time are short stories. I really liked the Consider Her Ways collection. I didn’t like The Outward Urge so much.

[@AnaMoShoshin]

I read this book earlier this year and loved it! My first John Wyndham! Very glad you liked it also!

[@ellie698]

Thanks for video. This sounds really good! I've never read a John Wyndham, but I do have one somewhere on my shelves I think. I'll dig it out 👍🏼 My favourite post apocalyptic story, I read it as a kid in the 70's, is Z for Zachariah. It's written from the perspective of a young girl, about teenage I think. She is all on her own and has to look after herself. I've re read it as an adult and it really stands up. Superb book, I definitely recommend it.

[@brontewcat]

I found your review very interesting. I read it as a teenager in the 1970s and I have not read many of the YA written much more recently. So many of the tropes didn’t really exist then. I loved John Wyndham and the Crysalids was my favourite John Wyndham novel as I really liked dystopian novels. I think I need to reread them all to see what I think now.

[@mattday2656]

one of my favourite books from english class, especially being a weird kid in Canada's bible belts lol

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Our high school had morning 'scripture readings' and that's where I found this book. I've always had a copy at home.

[@escole48]

I loved that novel when I first read it. I have enjoyed most of John Wyndham's novels. 😃👍

[@toweringtbr]

I just read it this month and I was blown away by his prescience. So good! What of his should I read next?

[@SpinstersLibrary]

My favourite is The Kraken Wakes, though it is very different in tone and subject matter to The Chrysalids. The Day of the Triffids is absolutely iconic, of course, so that might be another pick. Or just look at synopses of all of his novels and then choose one that speaks to you. I am yet to be disappointed by a Wyndham book.

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

Aloha Claudia, Happy new year and I hope your holidays were full of joy. I’m starting to read different genres so this review was very interesting to me.

[@TheEulerID]

The Chrysalids was not set in the far future, it was set in a relatively near future, close enough to the present day (that is in 1955), that there were folk memories of flying machines. It was written at a time when the Cold War was nearing its height, along with the fear of all out nuclear war. On the Beach, another post apocalyptic novel was written just 2 years later and A Canticle for Leibowitz another 2 years after that. I think we can conclude that Wyndham was not thinking about a far-future nuclear war, but a potentially imminent one. Also, the key role of a recognisably fundamentalist form of Christianity also makes me think it's not far-future (incidentally,. a Canticle for Leibowitz also has a strongly religious element as well as genetic mutants). I would place the novel maybe ten generations from the nuclear war that wiped out civilisation. That fits in with way that the effects of radiation are gradually reducing in the novel as the radioactive isotopes decay. The ones that cause the most trouble over time are those with medium-length half lives, which might cause serious contamination for maybe a couple of centuries. The long half-life ones are not so radioactive as to be seriously damaging, at least not within the context of what is a rural existence without the means to detect more subtle, long term effects.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

If you notice on the cover of that edition: there are two right feet.

[@SpinstersLibrary]

I DID NOT! This is so good! I love these covers of Wyndham's books, I actually bought these editions specifically for them, but I didn't notice that detail

[@arnesahlen2704]

Right re gay analogy as 'sector' not discernable by sight - also women, not men, must wear crosses and may be sent away. 🤨But HOW did you miss the humour in Petra's skills and their impacts?🤔

[@zubaerchaudhari8267]

you so kindness kind favorite kindness kind sooo favorite sooo kindness sooo favorite amazing friend