I just finished The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham. I loved the opening, and overall thought it was a good book - the descriptions were good, the writing was snappy and engaging - however, by the end, I felt somewhat unfullfilled by it. The opening was super, very visual, and getting you involved with the main character immediately. However, as the book continued, there were long diversions from the plot development that wound up going nowhere - such as the time Bill Mason (the main charactor and narrator) gets waylaid by a group and he gets separated from his female interest. This, as I said, did not contribute much to the story, as this group kind of just fizzles and now, Bill embarks on a nearly hopeless search for the woman from whom he became separated. This would not be so bad a plot development, but I was never convinced that Bill had that much feeling for her - nothing approaching passion - nothing approaching the kind of devotion that such a hopless search under dire and perilous circumstances would warrant.
Additionally, there were so many details that were unaccounted for - how in heck did all those blind people take care of their sanitation? It might be nitpicking, it might seem low class of me to think of it, but I always look for this in a book. If people in books and movies never go to the bathroom, it detracts from the realism. Let's face it - all men and women on this planet - as well as every other organism, is no more than 2 - 3 hours at most from their next whizz. How did they ever wash? Or get their hair cut? Or get shoes or clothing? They were only trying to get food most of the time - very little else. I love these details - it draws me into a story - makes me almost feel a part of things. Without them, I become detached from a story. As far as sanitation, I guess at the time the book was written (1951) it would have been scandelous to account for it but hell, the Earth was ending. It's ok to kill off millions, but not ok to account for their hygene? Nah, the real end of the Earth would be very very very very much worse than Wyndham had it. P. C. Jersild had it right in After the Flood. The real END would be nearly unbearable, not a mere inconvenience. Then, the triffids themselves were less terrifying than they should have been. They just didn't arrouse the kind of horror that they might have. So - a good book - deserving of its reputation, yet, it falls a bit short.
Just my humble opinion.
I read it fast. I couldn't put it down and loved it till the last word. If you're a progressive Catholic like me, you'll like it. If you're a conservative Catholic, you'll hate it!
