The Day of the Triffids Book Review

Yet another book that I didn’t expect to read that somehow landed on my TBR: The Day of the Triffids. However, I’m attempting to read Golden Age science fiction, so perhaps it was only a matter of time before I read this one. Let’s get into the review.

Written by John Wyndham (until his real name; he used a lot of pen names) and published in 1951, the book follows Bill Mason. While he recovers in a hospital, a meteor shower occurs, leaving most of Earth’s population completely blind. Not long after, a strange, alien-like species of plant appears throughout the country. The plants start killing the defenseless people left blind by the meteor shower. However, Bill manages to retain his sight. What follows is a series of adventures as Bill attempts to survive in this post-apocalyptic scenario. Two fun facts: the book developed into a 1963 movie of the same name AND it served as inspiration for Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later.

I don’t generally read post-apocalyptic novels. However, I found a lot to like about this book. I’ll start by talking about the tension. For one, I enjoyed the concept of almost everyone in the world going blind all at once and its connection to the triffids. The book set up the stakes perfectly with this concept, which meant that the book started with high stakes and kept building from there. From a writer’s perspective, I couldn’t ask for better. Classic example of a story building on an idea that grips the reader from beginning to end. Even if the story didn’t follow a traditional structure, it still built toward a climax that was fun to read.

I also enjoyed how the story ended on an ambiguous note. There’s no specific solution to the plants, which retain their mystery, or how society might be rebuilt. Just people now trying to survive in this new world, as well as the protagonists resolving to find their own solution. It reminded me in part of The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard. Obviously, that story didn’t end with things being magically solved. It was still post-apocalyptic. However, it ended with the main character resolving to come up with his own solution. I think I appreciated that about this book the most. In The Day of the Triffids, you get the sense that hope remains, which I always like in the books I read.

I might need to add more post-apocalyptic books to my TBR. In the meantime, I need to get back to the posts I set up for this week. Stick around for another author interview! Happy reading!

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