The Chrysalids Reflection

In a society where anyone or anything that does not fall under the “true image of God” is an abomination and is to be exiled or killed, a group of “shape-thinkers” who have already struggled trying to follow the strict rules of their town are struck with a brand new problem when their group of eight becomes nine. John Wyndham introduces us to a post-apocalyptic time period where a God-fearing community tries desperately to rid their town of all deviations in The Chrysalids. Although this science fiction novel had the potential to be a great piece of literature, reading it was like a chore, it was boring and I could not wait to be finished.
Meet David, an ordinary looking boy who is one of the nine “shape-thinkers.” He has the ability to create shape thoughts and communicate with others like him through his mind. The other “shape-thinkers” are Michael, Rosalind, Mark, Sally, Katherine, Anne, Rachel and Petra; David’s sister and the ninth member. The entire story is told by David and although first person perspective can give

you a better understanding of the character and how he sees things, the author did not do a good job of portraying this. Readers only got to understand parts of the book from David’s perspective which made it difficult to understand scenes when David was not present. David’s character also lacked personality and could be tiresome to read at times which left people wanting more from the other characters rather than David who is the protagonist. Lastly there was a lot more internal monologue than dialogue. Throughout most of the book, David was explaining things rather than showing us things through action and dialogue which made the book uninteresting at times.
Nevertheless, the plot is very exciting and unique however maybe the only reason one might pick up this book.

After the tribulation, only the Bible and Nicholson's Repentances survived which is what the people of Waknuk follow and they began living in fear of god sending another tribulation hence, why they praise god so much. This aspect about religion is very different and John Wyndham’s ideas captivate you into wanting to learn more about their society. When David’s sister, Petra is born she looks like an ordinary person but like David, has the ability to create shape thoughts. However Petra is much more powerful than them and this becomes a problem because she is young and doesn’t know how to control her abilities. Eventually, their secret is discovered and David and Petra along with their cousin Rosalind are forced to leave Waknuk and travel into the Fringes in hopes of finding help. Overall the plot is very well thought out and

original.
On the other hand, the boring and uneventful conflicts overpower the interesting storyline. Throughout the course of the story, David faces many different conflicts. For most of these problems, David either runs or hides from them making the story boring and uneventful. During one of the most climatic scenes in the book, David is hiding in a cave while others are outside fighting each other. Although conflict is the most exciting and suspenseful part of a story, the problems in this story was the exact opposite.
Along with that, the book was also very slow paced. A lot of the information and descriptions in the story could have been helpful when picturing scenes if not for the boring and poorly written writing style.
The Chrysalids had the potential of being a great piece of literature with its original and well thought out plot. Unfortunately, the poorly written POV, uneventful conflicts and slow paced story overpowered the plot and made the book extremely difficult to read. I would recommend this book to those who have a lot of free time and sci-fi lovers who don’t mind extremely boring conflict and unnecessary details.