The Chrysalids (Penguin Audiobooks)

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Summary: The chrysallids (also published under the title, "Rebirth"
Review: I first read this book in 1980 as a used paperback entitled, Rebirth. The cover pictured two children riding in baskets on either side of a huge white horse. There was a notation on the cover that the book had been published in England as, The Chrysalids. I enjoyed it immensely and have re-read it quite a few times over the years.

One of the most curious things about this book are the words of the "New Zealand" lady who communicated with the main character, David Storm, at the end of the book. She calls the people of David's society, "Fossils of our time," and goes on to say, "Life is change, how it differs from the rocks. I hear those words too often for my liking. New worlds to gain...my life is to survive and be alive for you."

As a child of the 1960's and early 1970's, I immediately identified those words as coming from Jefferson Airplane's Crown of Creation. I went to the album and tried to find a reference to John Wyndham, because his book was written years before The Airplane's album. I was surprised that Paul Kantner, (and I believe David Crosby) hadn't attributed these words to Wyndham, or to anyone else writing earlier.

As I was reading the book, it sounded to me as if these weren't really Wyndham's words either, that they had come from an earlier source. Even though I searched the book, I could find no reference attributing these words to anyone other than Wyndham. Does anyone know about where these quotes originated? Where they Wyndham's, or did they come from another earlier source?

As I am writing this, Huxley comes to mind as a possibility.

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Summary: Inspired the Airplane
Review: I read this book over 25 years ago while in the Peace Corps in Ghana, W. Africa. I believe it was left at the school where I taught by some British teachers who had been there before us. It was a wonderful read then and we (the other volunteer there) had a lot of time to read w/o any TV to distract us. He read it before I did and mentioned that there was a surprise in it. I wasn't sure what he meant until nearly the end of the novel. All of a sudden there were the words to a song by Jefferson Airplane, "Crown of Creation." "life is change, how it differs from the rocks." And other lyrics which I'd heard because I was also a fan of the Airplane.

This book must have inspired them to write some of their songs because their themes sometimes matched the ones in this book: nonconformity, the dangers of the "true believer," etc. I was enjoying the book immensely when I read these words that I'd heard in the Airplane's music, I related to it even more. Even though Wyndham wrote the novel some 20 years before that time, the themes and issues were topical and still are. All one has to do is to ponder the religious zealots who bombed the WTC and one can see the results of ignoring the themes in the book. I might add that we have our own dangerous zealots in this country. In essence, Wyndham would be saddened to see how far we have not come.

I would also add that in reading the reviews for this book and for the Airplane's album "Crown of Creation" I never saw anyone who mentioned the connection. I just thought it might be a good idea to let people know.

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Summary: a terrific story of intolerance and hate; required reading
Review: The Chrysalids is really a terrific story; no wonder it is often required reading at high schools. It is a wonderfully concise, powerful story on how conformity above all else is vile. Perhaps not the author's intended target, but when I read The Chrysalids I thought of religious fanatics of all forms who are self-righteous and full of hate (..although these folks don't view it that way).

In The Chrysalids we have planet Earth some two thousand years after some worldwide disaster (nuclear destruction, presumably). Only limited colonies of humans survive. Many more straggling, deformed humanoids abound ... along with freakish plants and animals. In one of the colonies they strive, above all else, to maintain purity of life forms (animal, planet, human). Humans with even the slightest deformity are thrown out of the colony, or are destroyed. Colony leaders cite biblical references to justify such actions.

This rather frightening picture of the future is told through the eyes of a boy who discovers he, along with several other children, share a "defect" - they all have mental telepathic capabilities. These children fear for their lives, and rightly so.

The story so far is rich and fast-paced; simply wonderful! Unfortunately the last bit of the book gets a bit wobbly, or at least falters from its high plateau - it turns into series of chase/battle sequences. However the very ending is rewarding.

Bottom line: compulsory reading for all.