Product Description

In the community of Waknut it is believed mutants are the products of the Devil and must be stamped out. When David befriends a girl with a slight abnormality, he begins to understand the nature of fear and oppression. When he develops his own deviation, he must learn to conceal his secret.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82543 in Books
• Published on: 1973-06-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From the Publisher
Connection Series
‘Connections will leave a legacy for youth theatre groups everywhere. The collections should be enthusiastically received in the classroom.’ Times Educational Supplement

Connections is a new series of challenging and entertaining playscripts for 11-19s, commissioned by the Royal National Theatre and written by professional playwrights. Each books contains reference details for online educational resources for teachers and youth group leaders, as well as Royal National Theatre website information where details of past productions and interviews with authors can be accessed.

If we hope to have discerning practitioners and audiences tomorrow we must ensure that work of quality is available to young people now. Connections provides that quality.

Customer Reviews

Post-Apocalyptic Genius
The Chrysalids tells the story of an isolated remnant of human civilisation struggling to rebuild in a world that was devastated (by thermonuclear war - although he never says this directly it is clear from the effects he describes).

The story works superbly by not providing too much detail - it invites the reader to fill in the blanks and is a much more intelligent take on the post apocalyptic genre. The 'how it happened' aspect of the story is secondary to dealing with the human issues.

In particular Wyndham's vision of a society that has reverted to an extreme paranoid interpretation of the bible is superb - the paranoia over checking for mutants amongst them has strong overtones of the Salem witch trials etc.

I am a relative newcomer to John Wyndham and read The Day of the Triffids before moving on to his other work. Having now read most of his novels I would rate The Chrysalids as his best.

Imaginative and Brilliant
A truly fantastic book, and incredibly appropriate in today's society, especially if you believe that the book is an apocalyptic tale. It also makes you think about how society may feel towards people that do not look like the 'norm' It causes you to have a good hard think about your own issues, and if you would be outcast to the 'Fringes'.

The book is beautifully written and wonderfully vivid. It often tugs at you heart strings and leaves you wondering what might be.

There were parts that reminded me of 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell, neither of which tell a happy tale about a post-apocalypse.

There is a lot to think about with this book, but ultimately it is a great tale, extremely well written.

The world is upside down and it's about to get worse
The world is plagued by genetic mutations, people are reduced to primitive, Dark-Age styled living and the past is a blank with strange hints of a nuclear war. Amongst this a small group of humans find out that they possess a power unlike any other, they can read each others' minds. Constant fear and awful watching day and night go along with their power,one day, someone is bound to let something slip. Eventually, they see a way out but they need to find out how to get halfway round the world and people are on to them. A masterpiece of post-apocalyptic style writing, conflicting morals and persecution to the highest degree culminating in an escape attempt that brings an army after them. Brilliant writng exposing the best and worst in human nature