This short novel delves into another made up society in a post-apocalyptic world. Wyndham deftly blends new ideas with the familiar trope of an old world’s influence upon a recovering society. Keep in mind that The Chrysalids was written in 1955, so the trope may have been quite fresh. The premise lies in a society blinded by their faith into believing there is only one way to live, one way to look, and one way to think. Nature, of course, has ways of deviating from one sided belief. Whether that deviation is physical, biological, or psychological, it eventually comes forth as some sort of agent of change. Because change is life.
The narrative is told in first person through the eyes of a growing young boy named David. We grow with him as we discover his world and the characters around him. Wyndham has an easy style that whisks us away on a wondrous and thought provoking adventure in a future time. He doesn’t back down from the bland bigotry and ignorant violence in this society. There were quite a few scenes that caused involuntary wincing in either sympathy or anger. But David’s innocence, and the gradual loss of it, keeps us fairly positive that things will work out for him. The growth of his character feels natural.
There were points in the second half of the book that crossed chunks of exposition with world building that felt forced, but these parts passed quickly and the action and tension of the narrative picked right back up.
This is a solid entry into the sci-fi masterworks collection and a solid entry into the post-apocalyptic canon.
