El día de los trífidos

This was a fantastic read. There's a lot more of just a few individuals trying to survive in a a post-apocalyptic London/England than there are of the titular Triffids. Overcoming and rebuilding from the initial tragedy that renders (presumably, roughly) 99% of the population blind is what we mostly see here. The Triffids themselves are an occasional and looming future threat humans will have to deal with if they ever hope to rebuild society, but its the interpersonal relationships and effort here that matter and are the focus. As the creator of 28 days later has made no secret of, there's clearly a ton of Triffids in 28 days...you could almost replace the triffids with rage infectees and move some of the set pieces over whole cloth. Great read.

I've been wanting to read Day of the Triffids for years. I should have done so sooner - it was fine, but I think I expected better.

I'm a little conflicted about this book. It's a unique and innovative take on the post-apocalyptic dystopia genre, and given it's age there's no doubting it's influence. It's clear to see shades of 28 days later. It's refreshing to read a zombie story with no zombies, but the titular plants that rule the day feel like an afterthought. At points the characters even seem to forget about them. Maybe it's just hard to envision sentient plants that walk and swing whip-like stingers. The characters seemed to focus too much on rebuilding society, while the brutal aspects of humanity in a survival situation felt like an afterthought. Seems the author thought more about how people would be shagging after the apocalypse than how they would be feeding themselves. Again, the lack of zombies was a pleasant respite, but the blind people who replace them being dismissed as helpless burdens on those who maintained sight seems ableist and flat. The main characters have a pretty bland romance that takes up a lot more words than it deserves. Side characters are barely developed, but numerous. All it all the narrative flounders. I really want to give this four stars; after all, I finished it which is saying something, but I just can't. It's pulpy, and not really that compelling. Margaret Atwood did it MUCH better with Oryx and Crake.

Warning: discussion of suicide

A good story but sadly dated. Ignorant even for the time in my opinion.

As a story about the dangers of technology that cuts too many corners it is very good. Sadly the story itself cuts corners and plays out far too quickly in some areas, too slow in others. And it seems safe to bet the author never actually met a blind person.

Spoilers below:


Within hours of the event that blinded the planet, people were killing themselves rather than live blind. No idea what caused it or if it was temporary, just straight to ending it all.

Those not giving in to instant despair just wait without plan or agency. The main character describes closed shops and abandoned bars but not one shopkeeper trying to help by opening their store. Not one police officer trying to keep order. Not one radio announcer trying to let people know what is going on. Because they are blind. Further notable is the lack of any people who were blind before the event. For a science fiction book it is irritatingly myopic.

Through the course of the story the blinded are treated as nothing less than burdens and one of the protagonists least charming traits is his utter agreement with that fact. From the moment he wakes up the lone sighted man in a building of the blinded, he makes no effort to stop the suicidal with so much as a suggestion they wait a few hours and see if this doesn’t wear off first. He then makes no effort to help the blind and has to be forced to do so by another lucky sighted man with more conscience. Only to be proven ‘right’ when the effort proves useless and he and our man of conscience abandon all efforts.

The task is understandably Herculean and once rival gangs and Triffids enter into the picture any attempt at saving more people would be profoundly difficult but I would expect an author to use those factors to drive the plot rather than simply having the main character presume everyone else is useless.

The premise is incredibly strong. Unfortunately, the book's writing is a bit stale, despite the potentially exciting backdrop, but thought-provoking situations help bridge the divide.

Civilisation has been brought to its knees; the world has gone blind (except a few) and this is the major cause of the world’s destruction. The book focuses on the survival of the remaining people and the changes in society. But there is also the added element of the Triffids; these plants (which were around before the comet/meteor shower) have been the great resource for humanity, but when they started to move around panic people freaked out.

The Day of the Triffids was written during the start of Cold war and I believe the book is a metaphor for everything that where on John Wyndham’s mind during this time. The threat of biologist warfare, the problems caused by human greed and bickering, right down to the inequality of men and women.

This is a quick and enjoyable read, while some people might disagree with the book being a metaphor, the book is enjoyable without any deeper meaning.

Re-read this in 1996,  just to remind myself of it about fifteen years after reading it for the first time. Surprisingly low-key compared with the film (well, maybe it isn't surprising given what you need to do in films).