Do not read this... (The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham)

Member Name: esthersmile

Product:	The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
Date:	17/11/03 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original, Scary!, Hasn't dated.

Disadvantages: Not exceedingly deep, Scary!, Implausible

Title: Day of the Triffids
Author: John Wyndham
Pubished: 1951

I picked up ithis book in the library the other day simply as something to read whilst waiting for a friend in a coffee shop. As it turned out i got a lot more than the mildly diverting sci-fi that I was expecting!

"Day of the Triffids" begins with the main character, Bill, waking up in hospital after treatment for a Trifid sting. Upon removing the bandages covering his eyes, he realises that he has had a very lucky escape. Most of the rest of the world has gone blind due to flashes of light from a meteor shower the previous evening. While the world tries to come to terms with the devastating effect that it has on their lives, some mysterious plants sieze their chance...

The book focuses on Bill's attempts to simultaneously recreate some sort of life for him, and his companion (also not blind), whilst fighting the the ever-stronger army of triffids who are thriving on man's disadvantage. The action is fast paced and exciting, while the atmosphere created is dark and uneasy, without ever becoming depressing.

Characterisation is perhaps a little weak, with the hero and heroine being very stereotypical characters in their quest to do what is right, yet when one remembers that this book was written more than 50 years ago, it's astonishing how such a strong female figure exists. Another thing which is amazing, considering the book's age, is that the book has hardly dated at all. Set in London and rural England, the only things which betray its origins are a few idiosyncrasies to do with cars, or technology. In my mind, the Triffids could have been attacking in modern day England, and it wouldn't have made much difference to the way that the book was written. It has such an easy-to read style that I read it cover to cover in two session - about 3 1/2 hours in total.

Wyndham explores many issues in the book, without going in to t
hem in too much depth. Obviously the time period implies some sort of cold-war paranoia - the book is set in a world where the Russians are totally cut off from the rest and the world is on the brink of collapse due to overpopulation - and conspiracy theories abound, but the more interesting issues are those to do with the people and the actions they take towards the catastrophe.

The blind are represented as little more than an underclass of humans, reliant on the sighted for everything. This I find quite disturbing, as i wouldn't like to think that I would lose my equal status to other people simply because i had lost my sight. The exception to this of course is the man who was blind beforehand, who is quite cheered up by everyone else being reduced to his leve, and having the superiority of experience over them.

Another interesting feature of the novel is the way in which vairous people choose to deal with the catastrophe and make a new life for themselves. There are interesting discussions of morality and dogmatic beliefs, and which values it is appropriate to uphold in such circumstances, with various groups trying various different methods with different degrees of success. It would spoil it to detail them here though - yyou'll just have to get hold of the book!

The lasting impression I have of the book though - is amazing. Maybe it is because I read it all in one go, but my mind keeps returning to the question - what if everyone were to go blind? How would society function? Isn't it amazing how much of society is so reliant on the rest and how little we know of what we take for granted most of the time? I couldn't stop thinking about this book once I'd read it - and I challenge anyone else to finish it with the same perspective on the world they had when they started, and not be scared of meteor showers!

Summary: