I'm going to throw this out there: John Wyndham is one of the best science fiction (or speculative fiction, if you will) authors there's been. Everything of his I've read I've really liked and The Chrysalids is no exception. It might follow a similar style to his other works, but if it ain't broke... First person narrative, dry sense of humour, fear and adventure, endlessly creative imagination, and at the heart of it stories about people and feelings. Hard to fault, really.
Unlike the other books of his I've read, which are mostly set in a world pretty similar to ours (nuclear holocausts optional), this one is a futuristic but more primitive society. Clearly some kind of catastrophe has happened and people have returned to both farming and fundamentalism. Throw in some genetic mutations, not only as a potential real-life issue, but also addressing themes of salvation, tolerance and acceptance and you have a novel to make you think as well as enjoy. Joining David on his journey through childhood in early adulthood, adapting to his society and the differences that set him apart from the majority, we see society and social interactions reflected back at us.
The collections of outsiders and different groups and perspectives can say, in their own way, as much as any other tract on multiculturalism and tolerance. The tragedy that befalls the victims of deformities, the way they are harshly dealt with or forced to live outside of each small closed society, only serves to enhance the point. As usual with Wyndham, the characters are human enough, whatever the situation or differences that make them more than human (in this case a form of telepathy), and that's where his real gift lies. No matter how fantastic, suspension of disbelief is easy, because there is always Coleridge's semblance of truth at their heart.
Book number: 37
Title: The Chrysalids
Author: John Wyndham
Category: Chris' choice
Haven't you read this before? I swear it was you who lent it to me.
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