The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
When Bill Masen wakes one morning in hospital, ready to have the bandages over his eyes removed, it's to find that the world has changed overnight and, where it was once he who was 'blind', now it is the majority of the population that has lost its sight after watching a mysterious comet shower.
In a chaotic, collapsing London, Masen rescues a sighted woman, Josella Playton, and together they find a group of mainly sighted survivors that intends to leave the capital and set up a colony somewhere safe.
But then there's the desperate blind, while only Masen thinks that the triffids - carnivorous, walking plants that appeared a few years before and have been being farmed for their valuable oil - are a real threat to the future survival of humankind.
John Wyndham's post-apocalyptic novel, written in 1951, is a brilliant example of the genre.
At the time of publication, it was criticised by Brian Aldiss for the tone, but this is a huge part of what makes the book work so well. The narration is conversational and understated, which helps to emphasise the apocalyptic nature of what has happened - the very ordinariness of life is suddenly blown apart by momentous events. And the tone also recalls HG Wells, whom Wyndham acknowledged as a major influence.
Wyndham deals very well with the ethical issues that follow the disaster - principally the question of whether the sighted minority should expend huge effort in attempting to help the blind majority. His conclusion may not be comfortable but makes complete sense. And although it's done in a quite sketched way, he paints briefs pictures for us of a number of different directions that survivors could take in attempting to rebuild the human world.
Wyndham's initial disaster - the comet - is of human origin; he has Masen speculate that it's the result of something happening with one of the armed satellites orbiting Earth. And the triffids too are the presumed to be the result of some human experiment.
Since the book was written in 1951, it's easy to place these as products of the Cold War, with the Soviet Union as the originator of both - although Wyndham makes clear that the reason that, once created, the triffid population grows, is greed. But he never over-eggs the Cold War pudding, which helps to prevent the novel feeling dated now. Indeed, with new 'wars' and with new fears over the possibility of scientific research opening more of Pandora's boxes, it seems hugely current. The novel is far from anti-science though - indeed, Wyndham has his hero make a speech to the effect that they cannot stop exploring and research, even though these things could have risks.
A really super novel - far more convincing that George R Stewart's Earth Abides in terms of portraying a post- apocalyptic world, and with a raft of characters that you really feel yourself caring about.
When Bill Masen wakes one morning in hospital, ready to have the bandages over his eyes removed, it's to find that the world has changed overnight and, where it was once he who was 'blind', now it is the majority of the population that has lost its sight after watching a mysterious comet shower.
In a chaotic, collapsing London, Masen rescues a sighted woman, Josella Playton, and together they find a group of mainly sighted survivors that intends to leave the capital and set up a colony somewhere safe.
But then there's the desperate blind, while only Masen thinks that the triffids - carnivorous, walking plants that appeared a few years before and have been being farmed for their valuable oil - are a real threat to the future survival of humankind.
John Wyndham's post-apocalyptic novel, written in 1951, is a brilliant example of the genre.
At the time of publication, it was criticised by Brian Aldiss for the tone, but this is a huge part of what makes the book work so well. The narration is conversational and understated, which helps to emphasise the apocalyptic nature of what has happened - the very ordinariness of life is suddenly blown apart by momentous events. And the tone also recalls HG Wells, whom Wyndham acknowledged as a major influence.
Wyndham deals very well with the ethical issues that follow the disaster - principally the question of whether the sighted minority should expend huge effort in attempting to help the blind majority. His conclusion may not be comfortable but makes complete sense. And although it's done in a quite sketched way, he paints briefs pictures for us of a number of different directions that survivors could take in attempting to rebuild the human world.
Wyndham's initial disaster - the comet - is of human origin; he has Masen speculate that it's the result of something happening with one of the armed satellites orbiting Earth. And the triffids too are the presumed to be the result of some human experiment.
Since the book was written in 1951, it's easy to place these as products of the Cold War, with the Soviet Union as the originator of both - although Wyndham makes clear that the reason that, once created, the triffid population grows, is greed. But he never over-eggs the Cold War pudding, which helps to prevent the novel feeling dated now. Indeed, with new 'wars' and with new fears over the possibility of scientific research opening more of Pandora's boxes, it seems hugely current. The novel is far from anti-science though - indeed, Wyndham has his hero make a speech to the effect that they cannot stop exploring and research, even though these things could have risks.
A really super novel - far more convincing that George R Stewart's Earth Abides in terms of portraying a post- apocalyptic world, and with a raft of characters that you really feel yourself caring about.
