Bill Masen is hospitalized after a triffid attack, meaning he misses
the meteor show that everyone else enjoys. His disgruntlement at having missed
out soon proves misplaced as he discovers the widespread blindness that has
occurred as a result. As he wanders the streets trying to work out what has
happened he rescues another sighted person, Josella Playton, from her violent
captor. It quickly becomes apparent that their sight puts them in danger and
they make the difficult decision not to reveal their ability on grounds of
self-preservation. All around are despairing, many preferring death to a life
spent in darkness.
Other groups reveal themselves, each with their own ideas of how
they should proceed, causing factions and separations. They try their best to
survive with ever decreasing supplies and increasingly numerous triffids. There’s
also a mysterious illness wiping out large swathes of the population that
nobody is qualified to treat.
The book raises a lot of questions about humanity and our imagined
superiority over nature. Previous to the disaster Bill had a colleague who
believed triffids would take over if human sight was lost. It was our only
advantage, and with the triffids already adapted to a sightless life they would
have the upper hand. He was dismissed as having absurd ideas – imagine if the
triffids had agency. The novel proves that they do, raising the question of how
moral their treatment had been. It also leaves us with a sense that nature will
survive long after humanity has exhausted itself, and that we will bring
destruction on ourselves. Although written in 1951 this is a message that feels
particularly pertinent today.
The writing is very much of its time and allusions to the Soviet
Union as a place of mystery and secrecy play into the concerns of the day. The
inevitable power struggle and attempts to give survivors something to believe
in feels timeless however, and it is clear why this book continues to capture
the imagination of its audiences.
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