Review: The Day of the Triffids

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A classic of the science fiction genre, one I've read before but not for several years. I wondered whether I would still enjoy it, since I know the ending and most of the story beats. It's so old fashioned, after all; maybe without the 'newness' I wouldn't like it.

Needless worry. It's old fashioned, especially with regard to the women, but the tone fits well. It's definitely a cozy catastrophe; anyone writing this story today would make much more of the breakdown of society. Wyndham glosses over most of that.

The Triffids are a much smaller part of the story than I remembered from my previous reading, but the rest of the book is interesting enough without them. I can't wait to reread in another few years...


"In the time now ahead of us a great many of these prejudices we have been given will have to go, or be radically altered. We can accept and retain only one primary prejudice, and that is that the race is worth preserving. To that consideration all else will, for a time at least, be subordinate. We must look at all we do, with this question in mind: 'Is this going to help our race survive-or will it hinder us?' If it will help, we must do it, whether or not it conflicts with the ideas in which we were brought up. If not, we must avoid it, even though the omission may clash with our previous notions of duty and even of justice.
"It will not be easy; old prejudices die hard. The simple rely on a bolstering mass of maxim and precept; so do the timid; so do the mentally lazy-and so do all of us, more than we imagine. Now that the organization has gone, our ready reckoners for conduct within it no longer Live the right answers. We must have the moral courage to think and to plan for ourselves."
He paused to survey his audience thoughtfully. Then he said:
"There is one thing to be made quite clear to you before you decide to join our community. It is that those of us who start on this task will all have our parts to play. The men must work-the women must have babies. Unless you can agree to that, there can be no place for you in our community."


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