Chrysalids

Penguin Essentials

224 pages

English language

Published April 2, 2018 by Penguin Books, Limited.

ISBN:
978-0-241-98392-8
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4 stars (43 reviews)

This book is about a post apocalyptic world returned back to the times of the horse and carriage seen through the eyes of a young boy. Deviations are punished or destroyed and what few books remained govern the way people think about change and the differences from the norm. The twists and turns in this rather short book as bought me back to it many times over the years, which is very unusual for me. It would make a great Spielberg movie with the authors descriptions of the scarred landscape and the characters being fantastic. you could really picture the trials and tribulations of these people. When the young boy David finds his closest friend has a sixth toe on each foot and is asked to keep it a secret from his god fearing tyrant of a father, he comes to question his own secrets and what would happen to …

37 editions

reviewed Wiedergeburt by John Wyndham (Phantastische Bibliothek, #192)

Es braucht nur ein geringes Maß an Wohlwollen, um sich von der Geschichte mittragen zu lassen

4 stars

Wyndham finde ich oft etwas schwierig: Zwar sind seine Geschichten fantastievoll und originell, aber er ist meistens doch in seiner eigenen Normalität fest verwurzelt und verlässt sich zu sehr darauf, dass die Abweichungen, die seine Erzählungen eben zu fantastischen machen, ausreichen, den Leser bei der Stange zu halten. Da unsere Welt aber nicht mehr so ist wie Wyndhams von 1955, nehmen wir auch die Abweichungen anders wahr, und oft geht dadurch viel Spannung verloren. Wenn dann die Prämisse auch noch dermaßen an die seines gerade zwei Jahre später erschienenen Romans The Midwich Cuckoos erinnert, lehnt er sich doch etwas zu weit aus dem Fenster.

Trotzdem ist Wiedergeburt so effektiv erzählt und so elegant als ganz neue Welt aufgebaut, die nur völlig zufällig an die amerikanische des Jahres 1955 erinnert, dass man ihm ein wenig Routine bei seiner Themenauswahl durchgehen lassen kann. Auch wenn nur wenig Überraschendes passiert, braucht es nur …

Classic post-apocalyptic novel.

4 stars

John Wyndham writes of a world where the only knowledge of the world past is from books, but those books are the Bible. This creates an interesting and strange world where religiosity is prominent everywhere from Government to how farming is done. It is a pleasant and interesting read and makes you wonder what the world would be like if we were this religious (esp. in Government).

Review of 'TheChrysalids by Wyndham, John ( Author ) ON Aug-07-2008, Paperback' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Interesting book, but not as gripping as it should've been considering the wonderful themes it was exploring. Maybe I've just read so much better dystopian fiction stories that explore similiar themes. Chidren of Time is one book that immediately comes to mind.

LIKED:
Dystopian setting.
Pseudo-Christian cult that abhors 'deviant' humans/animals.
Theme that life is always changing, humans are always evolving.

DISLIKED:
Dystopian setting not fleshed out enough.
Characters were boring and forgetable.
Pacing - story didn't get all that interesting until the last 50 pages.

RATING:
1 star for the setting, 1 star for the idea of the book.

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Subjects

  • Fiction, science fiction, general