First Impressions

"When I was quite small I would sometimes dream of a city - which was strange because it began before I even knew what a city was. But this city, clustered on the curve of a big blue bay, would come into my mind. I could see the streets, and the buildings that lined them, the waterfront, even boats in the harbour; yet waking, I had never seen the sea, or a boat..." (page 1)

This quote is taken from the first page of The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. The character who delivers this quote is David Strorm, the main protagonist throughout the novel. This quote is very interesting as it gives the reader a false sense of the time period in which the novel is set. After reading this quote, one would assume that this book is set in the past while in reality, it is set in the future. Ultimately, we find out that the Chrysalids is set in a post-apocalyptic era and the society that David lives in is trying to rebuild mankind in the true image of God. As we learn more about David's society, we realize that because of the nucleur apocolypse, basic technologies that we are used to living with every day are absent from David's life. This opening quote did a good job of getting my hooked and interested in what was to come in later chapters.