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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a terrific story of intolerance and hate; required reading, Aug 5 2002
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.
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