The Midwich Cuckoos

I'm still in awe of that ending.

A short read but, seeing as it was originally published in 57, it had that old writing style thats made the experience of reading it very similar to what I remember reading books for school used to feel like. People who are more used to or read exclusively contemporary “modern” books may have a harder time with the style but you HAVE to stick it out because the pay off is just absolutely phenomenal.

The Midwich Cuckoos is a book exposing how flimsy the abstract ideas that make up the foundations of our society truly are when faced with the threat of, while not immediate, inevitable annihilation and a person's role as both an individual and as part of a larger society in this situation.

As I was reading, I had it firmly placed as a 4 star read then that ending happened and it just blew itself off the chart entirely. I'm so glad to have picked it up and wish I could experience reading it for the first time again.