A chilling tale, one of the first adult books I read.

A man wakes up in hospital. He has a bandage over his eyes - they are due to be taken off today. But where is everybody? As he peels the bandages off, he discovers a world where everyone has gone blind. But this misfortune for humans is a wonderful opportunity for the triffids, giant walking plants which feed on human flesh.

This book is going in the (virtual) tutti-frutti bookbox.

Book claimed by Starry-Starry - hope you enjoy it :-)

Received this morning, thanks very much Loopy1. When I saw this on the Tutti Frutti Virtual Bookbox list I could resist. Looking forward to reading it, though it maybe some time.

What a terrific book! I was pulled into the story right from the first couple of pages and it remained compelling right through. The plot is fascinating and the different ways in which the survivors attempt to pull their lives back together is very well thought out. The triffids are a very odd mixture of amusing and chilling, and although I wouldn't say this was a horror book, I did get spooked walking home in the dark a couple of nights back.

The only jarring thing was the apparent lack of emotion in some of the characters. Josella for example seemed to mourn for one night and move on without a backward glance or another thought for her poor father.

However I loved the book and I'm going to seek out other books by the author.

RELEASE NOTES:

To be released at the Cardiff meetup

Picked up at the Cardiff meet. This is one from my wishlist. Will read and pass on.

Finished this a couple of days ago. It was great to recognise Wyndham's style and tone as soon as I began to read this book. Yet again he takes something scientific and shows what could happen.

I felt it was as much about the sociological consequences of an apocalyptic event as much as the horror of the triffids. Leaving me, as with all his works, a 'what if' feeling.

I suppose there has to be some rules for this bookray. Try and get the book read and sent to the next person on the list within a month. If this will be a problem (due to life's pressures or too many book rings arriving at once) then let me know I'm sure we can find a solution. Let's try to keep this moving at a regular pace.

Participants (please PM me of you wish to join):

1. samulli (Germany)
2. KathyS (UK)
3. isisjem (UK)
4. celticseahorse (UK)
5. GingerGeoff (UK)
6. GateGypsy (Canada) <------ book is here
7. piemunga (Australia)
8. katie1980 (Malaysia)

Arrived today together with another ringbook. I have just started to read a pretty thick ringbook, but I'm sure I will be able to slip this one in somehow so I won't keep it for too long ,especially since I am the first one on the list.
Thanks molekilbi for letting me read it!

As I had hoped this was a quick read.
Considering his book was written in 1951 it has held up admirably. I was really quite impressed that the story didn't seem dated at all. I wouldn't exactly say that the story will "haunt me for the rest of my life" (as implied by a quote from the Sunday Times on the blurb), but it certainly was an entertaining read.
As a biologist I have a bit of trouble with the feasibility of the concept of triffids, but I was able to suspend my disbelief in that regard quite easily (I just love stories where humans get all but wiped out, so I am not too picky on the details).
I agree with starry-starry that the characterization was in some parts done a bit sloppily. Josella didn't really come to life for me up until the last third of the book and some other characters seemed quite one-dimensional as well.
But nevertheless I am happy to have had the chance to finally read this book. One more example of the growing collection of post-apocalyptic fiction. I just love this genre.

As soon as I have KathyS' address the book will travel on.

Oops, I totally forgot to journal that I sent this book off to KathyS two days ago.

Arrived safely and next TBR.

Another Wyndham book that I could have sworn I'd read when I was a teenager but I must have been remembering the BBC TV adaptation. The BBC didn't do a bad job with the 1981 series starring John Duttine, but this book is WAY better.

The book is not really about the triffids, more about humanity's courage, determination and ability to survive whatever is thrown at it. Written during the Cold War, it highlights just how close the world came to total destruction in the 1950s while, at the same time, reminding us that we still can't take life as we know it for granted. Although nucleur weapons are never mentioned, the menace is there in the book and is still with us to this day. It becomes all too apparent how poorly civilisation would cope when put under extreme pressure. Some of the decisions Bill makes made me wonder what I would do it his position. I have to admit that I know I wouldn't cope and would probably be one of the first to fall fowl of the triffids.

Over the last three years I've managed to work my way through five of Wyndham's books and I've enjoyed every one. This is not my usual choice of genre but I have found each of them compelling and thought provoking. I'm also glad that none of them feel particularly dated so that the themes are still relevant today. I would highly recommend this book and hope that the other readers in this ring enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks for sharing this with me Molekilby - who happens to know how much I'm enjoying my Wyndham read-a-thon and is keeping me regularly supplied with more material ;o) Cheers!

Katie1980 has asked to be moved to the end of the reading order as she's just about to move to Malaysia for a year with her job. I'm in the process of contacting the next name on the list and will have the book in the post asap.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent 2nd class today. I hope it arrives safely and that you enjoy it :o)

This came in this mornings post from KathyS. Thank you.

I've wanted to read this forever. I was a small child when the BBC did their adaptation and I can remember wanting to stay up and watch it and more often than not got sent to bed before it had finished.

One of the digital channels showed the series again recently but I missed the first and last episodes. I'll be reading this next.

I really enjoyed this story. After seeing snippets of the BBC drama as a child and seeing part of the series as a re-run it was good to have the original book to fill in some gaps.

I agreed with the other readers who thought the characters would have benefited from more development. In fact I think this novel would have benefited from more pages so you had enough time to get into the story and care about the characters more.

I did think this novel was highly thought provoking. When I'd finished it I was left with all kinds of what if's and it made me look at the issues surrounding an apocalyptic situation Eg. I started off thinking more people should have survived. Then when it went on about mob rule I was pleased more hadn't as that would be a big issue to deal with.

I can see how this novel has greatly influenced "28 Days Later..." and similar modern works.

One thing I did find hard getting to grips with was the time scales of events in the book. At times I felt these were contradictary. One moment it would give you an impression days had passed and then it would be only a day and then years seemed to skip by.

At the start of this book I couldn't see much point of the triffids in the story and they didn't seem so menacing as watching the drama as a small child. However, as the book progressed I could see the full implications and horror of having them on the loose...

Pming the next person on the list for this book.

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailing this off to celticseahorse - the next person on the list. Enjoy!

Arrived safe and dry this morning! I read this many years ago so it will be interesting to see what I make of it now. I remember enjoying it then and feeling quite bold as it was very differnt to what I normally read :o) I did go on to read others by Wyndham and planned to read them all but I didn't get around to it..so maybe this will be trigger to do so now.
It is next up to read
Thanks for sending Isisjem, and Thanks for ring Molekilby.

It was interesting reading this at a time when the country found out what would happen when major parts of the system failed ..electricity and water. Then as if to rub it in we still have the not completely answered question of the source of foot and mouth.

Wyndham''s version seemed to stand up against these real events?
I really enjoyed Mr Palanguez and the wry humour around that part of the book.

"The discoverer and inventor are the bane of business. A little sand in the works is comparitively a mere nothing - you just replace the damaged parts, and go on. But the appearance of a new process, a new substance, when you are all tickling nicely, is the devil. Sometimes it is worse than that - it just can''t be allowed to occur. Too much is at stake. If you can''t use legal methods you must try others"

I wonder what is being suppressed now?

I agree with others, some of the characters were not very rounded but what a wonderful motley bunch they were. The various reasons why they hadn''t lost their sight was also interesting Wyndham seemed to be putting the finger of fate up there for examination.
There were some great digs at different sections of the community . The looting and foraging reminded me of another book I read recently Spinelli''s Milkweed, set during the holocaust, where the street kids survive best because they are already well equipped with these skills and different sense of morality.

I could imagine this making a great radio play with the chattering Triffids.

I found I had mainly remembered the beginning with him in hospital with bandages and strange lethal plants called Triffids. I think the world menace of the cold war particularly struck me at my first reading because I went on to become a great Solzenitsyn fan. The biological warfare menace went straight over my head as did the modification or special breeding of plants.

I enjoyed this, there were some weaknesses but it is interesting to read something written in 1951 which covers topics which are still very pertinent today.

Thanks Molekilby for ringing this. I have Gingergeoff''s address and will be getting it in the post.

PS. Thanks Isisjem for great Chinese pc

Thanks Celticseahorse, I received this today. I have a book on the go at the moment, but I will start this as soon as I can...

An excellent read! I have only seen snippets of the TV programme, so I only had a very basic idea of what this story was about - the book has filled in the blanks. As with some other works by John Wyndham, it is quite dark and it paints a very pessimistic veiw of the future, but when you consider when it was written, that is not surprising.

I will locate and pass this onto the next person in the ring...

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to GateGypsy as they are next on the bookring.

Arrived in the post today! Another 1001 book that I'll soon be able to cross off my "still to read" list. I'm still somewhat backed up with bookrings at the moment, so this may take longer than the standard month of read-to-turn-around time, but it will definately be moving along! Thanks so much, molekilby, for sharing this with all of us.

Crysalids is my favorite book of all time, so of course I love the Triffids!