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The pale invaders
The inhabitants of the secluded valley believe life has always been as they know it until strangers arrive who lend threatening reality to the tales of an elder about life before the devastating Upheaval.
140 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
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About the author
G.R. Crosher
20 books1 followerGeoffrey Robins Crosher (1911-1990), who also wrote as G.R. Kesteven.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 8, 2023
I have always loved dystopian storylines since way back and I read this one in middle school. It has, no lie, been on my mind since the 80's but I was wrong about the name, couldn't remember the author, and the plot points I remembered didn't pull up anything on the Internet--and I have looked several times.
I was finally able to get an answer to the name of this books a few weeks ago and rush off to find a used copy on Amazon. Honestly, it's a shame this book is out of print because it's really pretty good.
It's nothing like Hunger Games or the more modern dystopia. A lot of it is about trying to uncover the past, while living in a different kind of society and while it's aimed at a younger audience, I still enjoyed it after all these years.
We start in a small village with a different kind of set up. Children live alone in the Children House until they are old enough to choose partners.
Adults of an age to have children live in the Parent House with the younger children who aren't old enough to live with the others. They children move over about 6-7 I think, and the older children care for the younger ones. And the older adults live in the Grandparents house.
There were a few things that fascinated me about this story. One was that only one person in each generation new how to read and the protagonist is the one who is chosen to learn. It, like a lot of knowledge from the before time is kept away from the younger generations because it might cause another 'upheaval'.
All parents are Mother or Father and it's rarely discussed who are the birthparents of the child. It doesn't matter because the children are raised communally.
And while they had fallen back on old gender norms to a certain extent (only a boy could be chosen to read. And only a boy could be the leader because the leader had to read.) there was a sort of balanced equality that unusual to me. It was the girl who chose her partner when she was old enough to be ready (I assumed it was based on her being able to have children, but it was never explained.)
She chose the boy she wanted and by then it was usually obvious since the selection was limited to 1-2 boys close to her age. And then she asked for him. If he agreed, they both move to the parents' house. The next oldest pair of kids are now in charge of the Children House.
It just seemed like a really different way to have a society and it stuck in my mind for years. I'm glad I tracked it down and reread it, though being out of print I'm not sure this review will help anyone.
I was finally able to get an answer to the name of this books a few weeks ago and rush off to find a used copy on Amazon. Honestly, it's a shame this book is out of print because it's really pretty good.
It's nothing like Hunger Games or the more modern dystopia. A lot of it is about trying to uncover the past, while living in a different kind of society and while it's aimed at a younger audience, I still enjoyed it after all these years.
We start in a small village with a different kind of set up. Children live alone in the Children House until they are old enough to choose partners.
Adults of an age to have children live in the Parent House with the younger children who aren't old enough to live with the others. They children move over about 6-7 I think, and the older children care for the younger ones. And the older adults live in the Grandparents house.
There were a few things that fascinated me about this story. One was that only one person in each generation new how to read and the protagonist is the one who is chosen to learn. It, like a lot of knowledge from the before time is kept away from the younger generations because it might cause another 'upheaval'.
All parents are Mother or Father and it's rarely discussed who are the birthparents of the child. It doesn't matter because the children are raised communally.
And while they had fallen back on old gender norms to a certain extent (only a boy could be chosen to read. And only a boy could be the leader because the leader had to read.) there was a sort of balanced equality that unusual to me. It was the girl who chose her partner when she was old enough to be ready (I assumed it was based on her being able to have children, but it was never explained.)
She chose the boy she wanted and by then it was usually obvious since the selection was limited to 1-2 boys close to her age. And then she asked for him. If he agreed, they both move to the parents' house. The next oldest pair of kids are now in charge of the Children House.
It just seemed like a really different way to have a society and it stuck in my mind for years. I'm glad I tracked it down and reread it, though being out of print I'm not sure this review will help anyone.
Displaying 1 of 1 review