Rating: 
Summary: Reading a book is reading between the lines
Review: The good thing about a book, as apposed to TV or movies, is that it excercises your imagination. Some people love colorful narratives with thick imagery, plots that twist and surprise them. Some other people like a book with subtle suggestions about broader ideas/questions.The good thing about this book, is that it does not explain the why and how of the new world... The author writes the book from the perspective of a child coming into maturity. This books has alot to say about how history is written. It is written from the perspective of the the survivors and their memories... The relationship between the children and the parents can be liken to the relationship between the average man and the governments which rule us today. The depth and questions that this book purposes, is more than what meets the eye. The author purposefully left out allot of detail, so you the reader have room to paint your own images and make your own inferences. Read it more than once... Forget that you read it at school. When I was 17 or 18 years old, I didn't have the maturity nor the experience to apply to the ideas put forth. It is well worth going back to. I am dyslexic, so if I can enjoy re-reading this, then more talented readers should have a ball!
Rating: 
Summary: A Interesting Deviation
Review: (contains minor plot details)
I was assigned this book to read as part of my Grade 11 curriculum. Being interested in science fiction I was somewhat interested, but that was before I read it. Although the book itself is well written, the actual plot was rather dry. It was extremely predictable, lacking in surprise. The entire book seemed to me as one long incident. The Chrysalids is written in a first-person point of view, giving the reader a view of David Strorm, a seemingly normal kid in a world where 'mutants' are not tolerated. These mutants appear quite freqently in the breeding cycle and are characterized by extra digits, eyes, and other strange features. There is no explanation as to why exactly the future is this way, except of course the 'Tribulation', which was brought upon by the 'Old People' (present day population). There are various moral and ethical messages throughout the book, and this one is meant to tell us that we will bring upon our own destruction. The protagonist, David, gradually learns about other worlds where the governing doctrine is different than his own. The 'Fringes' is a geographical region where mutants are sent and has almost no government, where a few small groups provide for themselves. He also learns that he is a 'mutant' himself, which gives him no pleasure to learn, especially with the ominous sign in his own house 'Beware of the Mutant' and his strict father. The kind of mutant like David is most feared because he is indistiguishable from the 'Norm', because he is telepathic. What happens to David is really no surprise and the trek that he makes to get away from his home can be expected. What would have made this novel better would be at least a few more details revealed throughout the book to keep me interested. The ending was an unneeded epilogue; nothing new was introduced. In fact the ending could be predicted much earlier on, and the doubt as to whether it would happen is eliminated based just on the general feeling of the book. My lack of interest in this book was definitely compounded by the purpose of the book, since these ethical messages are nothing new to most people. The only thing that kept my focus on this text was the interesting writing-but writing alone does not make a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Best post-Apocalyptic novel, ever
Review: If I remember correctly, Stephen King called this novel (which is sometimes called "Rebirth"), the best post-Apocalyptic novel written. I would have to agree. Wyndham writes in a low-key,
realistic style, which makes the book completely believable. Set sometime in the future after a nuclear war, it deals with a land where religious fanatics are terrified of genetic mutations--whom they exile. It turns out, however, that some of the mutations are telepaths. The novel details their attempts to stay hidden from the authorities. This was one of the four novels that Anthony Boucher included in "A Treasury of Great
Science Fiction," and I can see why.
Rating:
Summary: A short novel that is surprisingly good
Review: It has been 8 years since I last read this book as a grade 10 student. I still recall that night when I picked up this book and was planning to read just a chapter or two but I ended up reading the entire novel after picking it up. Since then I've read numerous books in various genres and even in different languages. However, Chrysalids would always stand out as one of the best novels that I came across. It's very rare to find such an interesting story and good characterization all condensed in such a short novel. The setting in the story might take place in a different world but the theme in the novel applies in societies of the past, present and the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Get the original book instead
Review: I read the original in Grade 9, and it is a fantastic book. Probably for all ages above 12 - but especially good for teenagers. I don't see why anyone should get this abridged version if you can find the original "The Chrysalids" by John Wyndham. Amazon.com doesn't seem to have it listed, so go to your local library. (or double check if Amazon has since added it).
Rating:
Summary: The Chrysalids...thought provoking
Review: As a 9th grade student, I found this book at times confusing, but over the long run, very thought-provoking. The Chrysalids is about a group of young people with telepathic powers in a society where genetic conformity is the Will of God, and any mutant, no matter how small the distortion, is cruelly abused and ruthlessly cast out. The setting is supposed to be after a huge nuclear war, which wiped out much of the world. The rest is for you to find out. It is good to read books like these to open our minds more to what could be. A few reasons why I liked this book was because it made you think...everything wasn't all there for you to figure out. Also, the themes and ideas in this science-fiction novel are very true, shown in an interesting way. Overall, it was a great novel, and I encourage you to read it!
Rating:
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.
Rating: 
Summary: it started off so well...
Review: Fascism is based on Darwinism, which proclaims the right of a species to exterminate another species if it is able to do so. Fascism, in particular, proclaims the right of the 'superior' individual to rule over the 'inferior' individual belonging to the same species. Fascism is NOT primarily non-democracy - that's what true fascists want us to believe as a smoke-screen for their activities.
This book start off non-fascist and ends Darwinistic/fascist. It is indeed a confused work and was it not for the end, it would be a splendid piece of work - what a shame!
Now, in order not to just throw words around, let me give a declaration for what is truly superior:
A truly superior human being does not kill if not attacked and he then keeps his killing to an absolute minimum. A truly superior human being does not take upon himself to exterminate - he doesn't have to. The truly inferior people will die by their own hands as a group (no mocking of individual suicides here!), just as the dinosaurs died by just developing size until they got so big that a natural catastrophe was too much for them to survive in their enormous demand for food.
The truly superior human being shows his or hers superiority by loving MORE and not LESS and especially loving the forsaken ones. To kill the forsaken ones is a sure sign of inferiority.
Those of us who happen to be superior will not stand in the limelight. They will be grey mice amongst humans and they will withdraw from the rest of the world, seeking out the most barren places in which they can be left alone to develop their superiority and leave this planet if they have to and leave the inferior ones to cut each others throats.
If Wyndham had only ended his book that way, because until the very end, it was a splendid book.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING NOVEL IN THE WORLD.
Review: This was a novel study in our English class. The first day I got it... i thought, "it's probably another boring classic book" but i read the first chapter and i couldn't stop. i read it for one whole day! it was so interesting. it's one of the best novel i've read. i even borrowed some books by John Wyndham the "Chocky" and "The Day of The Triffids." But nothing could beat the "Chrysalids." I can't believe some grade nine students who reviewed this book found it horrible and boring. i feel that their entitled to their opinions but i still think they should read it again when they've matured enough. I'm sure they will change their minds.
Rating:
Summary: not the book you thought
Review: The Chysalids (Connections) is not the novel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. I bought it thinking it was and am now returning it. This book is a play based on the book. It may or may not be good in its own right, but is not the novel and that is why I am giving it a 1 star only. I read the novel years ago and it is one of the best that Wyndham wrote. If you can find the novel, read it
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