Review: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

The Day of the Triffids
John Wyndham
1951

From my Classics Club List.

This novel is pure genius. It's actually pretty hard to describe how much I enjoyed reading The Day of the Triffids without there being some of this: kjhagiouy489765jhasbgb. That's excited babbling, by the way, something I am inclined to do a lot of.

Moving on.

The Day of the Triffids is 50's sci-fi. According to the blurb of the Penguin copy I have in my possession, it is a 'fantastic, frightening, but entirely plausible' story. Now, I would argue with one bit of that - plausible. I hope those folk at Penguin do not know something that I don't but I really, REALLY hope this story is not plausible. Human sized death plants and a blindness epidemic? No thanks, I'd rather not.

'When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.'

One morning Bill wakes up, the morning after a meteor shower he was most disappointed to have missed, to find that the world has gone blind. Bill escapes the blindness because his eyes are bandaged and covered as he is recovering from a triffid sting (alien plants are normal in this version of the world). This is a truly post-apocalyptic novel which sees those who survive the initial catastrophe working together (or not) to ensure the continuation of the human race. I was under the mistaken impression that the triffids were a result of the events but, as it turned out, the triffids were part of everyday life already. Bill Masen makes a living studying the things and until later in the novel the threat they pose is not really understood by the majority of the characters.

I finished this book with perhaps more questions than when I started. Wyndham does not address any of the whys or wherefores of how the world got so darn screwed up in the first place. We don't know what caused the meteor shower or how the triffids arrived in the back gardens of Britain (and the world) in the first place. I'm convinced they had something to do with the meteor shower because it's all to cushty a coincidence for them otherwise. I actually found the randomness of the triffids to be one of the main causes for my uneasiness. 

'Of course, coincidences are happening all the time - but it's just now and then you happen to notice them...'

I'm not saying this book scared me (it totally did for a minute there), but I generally felt a little uneasy throughout. To be fair, it actually should be a lot scarier than it is (plant things killing people) but it is narrated in such a matter of fact and deadpan way that the freakiness of the whole thing is undermined. Bill is almost like 'and I was walking down the street and there was a load of blind people and oh yeh, a triffid just killed some kid'. Deadpan. There are also lots of panto-style 'don't go in there' moments that significantly ramp up the entertainment factor whilst simultaneously ramping down the scaredy-cat factor.

Josella was an interesting character and one whom I find immensely discombobulating. She's girly and flaky but completely able to deal with the horrendous situations she finds herself in. When we first meet her it is because Bill saves her life but after that point she shows some serious stones and gets through just fine by herself. Plus, she wrote a raunchy book that most of the characters are very judgemental about. I just don't get her.

The Day of the Triffids is such a brilliant look at the way society and individuals deal with the end of civilisation. Where it could have gone into some real deep places, Wyndham keeps it light and humorous whilst still encouraging the reader to consider what their own role in an apocalypse would be (I would definitely not survive). I would highly recommend this novel and I look forward to reading more of Wyndham's novels (The Midwich Cuckoos seems to be the most highly recommended).

'The deadness, the finish of it all, was italicised there.'

Have you read The Day of the Triffids? How do you think you would fare in an apocalypse?

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Top 13 Books of 2013

I'm fighting against the constraints of a top 10 list and instead going for the baker's dozen (amazing on so many levels). When I consult my list it seems that I read 79 books in 2013. I'm pretty happy with that number. I have nothing to compare it to having failed to take note of my progress in previous years, but I think it is a very respectable number. I have read some amazing books this year - classics, debuts, non-fiction, memoirs - and had such a great time writing about them. Long may it continue!

Here we go, in no particular order:

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
My first foray into Russian Literature went rather well. So well, in fact, that I'm participating in O's Russian Literature Challenge in 2014.

2. May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes
The Women Prize for Fiction winner did not disappoint. Dark, humorous and full of life lessons.

3. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Even if you've had little more than a cursory glance at this blog, you will notice that I have a particular enthusiasm for Wilkie. November and #readWilkie was probably one of the highlights of my entire year (THANK YOU, AWESOME PEOPLE).

4. Where D'You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Hilarious and heartwarming.

5. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
A late favourite as I only read it in December. It's humour, wit and general 'aw'-ness made me love it.

6. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
Brilliantly written, brilliant story.

7. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
You just can't go wrong with a book that gives you a case of the Deep Thoughts. I can still remember the ending of this novel, 12 months down the line. Powerful and so very hopeful.

8. The Marlowe Papers by Ros Barber
A novel in verse? The Shakespeare authorship question? Oh, go on then.

9. 50 Shades of Feminism 
The best non-fiction I have read this year.

10. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Another late favourite and such a brilliant piece of sci-fi (even if I was left with questions).

11. Running Like a Girl by Alexandra Heminsley
This running memoir helped me rediscover my enthusiasm for running. Funny, honest and so true.

12. The Pre-War House by Alison Moore
A spine-tingling collection of short stories. I read these in the summer but I think they would benefit from a winter re-read (for extra atmosphere).

13. Lamb by Bonnie Nadzam
At times an uncomfortable read but wonderfully written and such a brilliantly complex story.

Do any of these crop up in your top reads of the year? What was your favourite read this year?

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Challenges for 2014

This year I held back a bit with the challenges - I took part in Ellie's Translation Challenge and loved it and took part in a couple of Classics Club related monthly challenges such as Austen in August and Modern March. I really like the way challenges can help focus your reading without making reading a chore (as uni did, occasionally). I'm signing up for three year-long challenges and will be joining in on a Jazz Age related month in January (time to get through some of those Fitzgerald's that have been lingering on my shelves for a while). 

Russian Literature 2014 hosted by O at Behold the Stars
After reading and loving Anna Karenina this year I was really excited to see O's challenge for 2014. I was completely shocked by AK, mostly by how much I enjoyed it and how I had unfairly pegged it as intimidating when actually it was relatively easy and wholly enjoyable. 

I'm only going to go for level one which is 1-3 books - I don't want to go too far and freak myself out. Some of the big name Russian authors still do scare me half to death. I've got a little list together of some that I would like to read and will pick and chose from there. Still, you never know, I may get caught up in the Russian Lit and head for level two!

• We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
• The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov

Just look at all those Russian authors with their beards!

TBR Pile Challenge 2014 hosted by Adam at Roof Beam Reader
Reading Adam's reviews of books read during this challenge for 2013 made me realise that I can conquer my pile too if I actually make the effort to do so. What better way to make the effort than by joining in on the challenge next year. I am going to have to seriously consider my twelve reads and will post my list in due course (after serious consideration, VERY serious consideration). I'm hoping to finally get around to one or two (or twelve, even) books that have been languishing on my shelves for longer than should be legal (or than I can admit to).

TBR pile, let's be 'aving you.

Classics Club Twelve Months of Classic Literature
I was really excited to see this announced some time ago. I am really looking forward to matching books on my list to the monthly themes set out by the club. I won't be participating in every month but there are particular months (January, March, June and November) that I will definitely be enjoying.

Jazz Age in January hosted by Leah at Books Speak Volumes
It's not much of a secret that I love novels of the Jazz Age and the Jazz Age in general. I just can't help myself. I am going to thoroughly enjoy settling into the 20s during January and will hopefully get to one or two books I've had on my pile for a few months, some of which are on my CC list. I will also hope to get around to reading one of the relatively recent non-fiction releases that I have been eyeing up for some time. I'm hoping to read some (or all) of the following:

• The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Z by Therese Anne Fowler
• Call me Zelda by Erika Robuck
• Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell

This event starts on January 1st - I will attempt to start then but I feel I may be suffering from a slight hangover on that day so the 2nd may be more realistic.


Anyone else as excited as I am for 2014?! What challenges are you participating in this year? Do you find them helpful for focusing your reading?

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A Very Bookish Christmas

This Christmas, as ever, I could tell which collection of presents was mine before even looking at the tags. Yep, all the book-shaped presents were sat in a little pile, eagerly awaiting me stripping them of their wrappings, opening their covers and…OK, getting a little bit dodgy right there. Let's all just calm down.

I received some lovely books this year, some which I'd hinted at wishing to find under the tree and others which were just a brilliant surprise. Iain Banks's death this year reminded me of how obsessed I was with him back in my college days. I remember reading The Wasp Factory on the recommendation of a fellow lit nerd and completely falling for Banks. I never owned a copy of The Wasp Factory and I would really like to re-read it so I was completely overjoyed to receive that and two other Banks novels (that dude was prolific -  I've read a ton but still no way near everything). 

I've wanted to read Almost English since hearing extracts at a reading I went to in the summer. I have read another novel by Charlotte Mendelson (I forget what it was called) and I remember really enjoying it so I'm looking forward to getting to this one. I don't think I need to say anything about And the Mountains Echoed except that I am VERY excited to read it. Hosseini's first two novels completely blew me sideways and I have no doubt this will do the same. 

Perhaps the best book I was given for Christmas was one from my sister, Twitterature. It's not an unknown fact that I adore twitter and I have wanted this book since I first came across it months ago. It has not let me down. Imagine my family and I, kir royales in hand, trying to guess which literary masterpiece is being retold through twitter. There were many wrong answers but it sure was an interesting evening. Anna Karenina is by far my favourite with Oedipus not far behind.

And, of course, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Star Wars related goodies. I shall spend the next few months snuggled up in my Storm Trooper onesie (yes, that's a thing), drinking peppermint tea from my new Storm Trooper mug. I'm practically Vader's right hand woman. I think I'll leave you with that image…

Did you have a very bookish Christmas? I hope whether it was bookish or not, you had a lovely couple of days.

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Classics Club Meme: December

The question this month is a repeat from August 2012 which is before I joined the club. It's actually quite a tricky one and I'm glad we can list multiple! I would definitely struggle to limit it to just one. My favourites always change, it depends on my mood and my current life circumstances (I think that explains why I have such complicated histories with four out of five books in this list). These five are the books that always spring to mind when I'm asked about favourites and, though occasionally another book may push its way to the top of the pile, these five never cease to amaze me.

What is your favourite classic?

1. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Not going to go into this one, we all know my feelings for Wilkie...

2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I always thought Dickens was a giant pain in rear who used a million words where one would do and wrote sentences that were considerably longer than they needed to be or even should be. Whilst all that may be true, he also had a wonderful knack for storytelling and creating unforgettable characters. Joe Gargery, anyone? Best fictional character EVER.

3. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
I've studied this novel twice at two different levels and loved it both times. Rebecca West has a ridiculous skill for evoking shell shock and demonstrating the impact it can have on all those around. The final lines of this novel are still stuck in my head (and fuelled my obsession with neurasthenia that overtook me during my MA).

4. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Again, another novel I've studied twice (British universities are not known for their variety). I can read this novel in any mood and it will always show me something different. I can learn new things and be shown new ways of looking at the world. Woolf's language is completely stunning and the middle section, 'Time Passes', has some of my favourite pieces of writing ever. For someone who was terrified of Woolf until I hit about 21, it's quite impressive she has so prominent a position in my favourites.

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Oh look, another novel I've studied twice! Come on, British education system, learn some new tricks (or don't, given you've introduced me to most of my favourites). I hated Gatsby the first time I read it at A Level. The people were vapid, shallow and generally quite mean. The story was boring and not engaging whatsoever. Fast forward a year to my first year of uni, reading Gatsby again with a lecturer who would not let me sink to the back of the class and hide (FYI, she is the reason I did not drop out of uni when I very nearly wanted to). Gatsby came alive for me - the people had new depths, the story new intricacies and suddenly I could not let go of the novel. Now, I have a cheeky re-read whenever I can.

Have you read any of these? Do any of them have a place in your favourites?

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Review: Wilkie Collins by Peter Ackroyd

Wilkie Collins

Peter Ackroyd

2012

Chatto and Windus

186 pages

Ready for another dose of Wilkie enthusiasm? Of course you are!

I read this biography alongside reading The Moonstone to cash in on all the Wilkie goodness (and goodness it truly is). I bought this hardback practically the minute it was released and then (quite unfairly) abandoned it on my shelf and left it languishing there. I'm actually pretty glad I so carelessly left it on the shelf because, as it turned out, it was the perfect accompaniment to my month of Wilkie.

This is a short biography and shouldn't really be taken as a definitive life of the Wilkster. There aren't any excessive footnotes here. Rather it is a concise and entertaining overview of his life, with some brilliant explorations of his work. 

Peter Ackroyd has such a brilliant style. I'm usually a bit turned off by biographies but in this case I was entertained throughout. Granted Wilkie had an interesting life, but there is something about the way Ackroyd comments on his behaviour that I found completely wonderful. Reading this has actually made me feel like trying more biographies, just to see how I'd get on. I'm certainly going to look out for another Wilkie biography, now I've had a taste of his ridiculously interesting life.

I think a few quotes are the best way to demonstrate the brilliance of this book:

On Wilkie's reunion with Martha after some time away: 'That reunion is not in doubt, since Martha gave birth to their third child nine months and seven days later.'

On his name: 'He was always simply known as Wilkie, not as Collins or Mr Collins.'

On his sexual and romantic adventures: 'To have two mistresses was, even by the standards of the nineteenth century, a precarious situation; but Collins seems to have adapted to it quite naturally and cheerfully.' - I bet he did, the saucy bugger.

He was an opium addict and a womaniser (though he did seem to treat his ladies relatively well) but his enthusiasm for his work almost measures up to my enthusiasm for his work. He always met his deadlines and wrote continuously until his death. I can't help but love him, and this overview and insight into his life has only made me love him even more. What's wrong with having a slight obsession with a nineteenth century womanising novelist? Nothing in my book.

Do you read many biographies? Would you rather read a short, overview-y biography or a detailed blow by blow account of someone's life?

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Christmas Reading

It's the holidays (big cheer), I'm back home in Somerset (bigger cheer) and I don't have work for almost two weeks (biggest cheer yet). Suffice to say, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I feel even better when I think about how much reading I'm planning. I still have non-full time job work to do and I have a few things going on socially (hard to avoid at this time of year) but I am determined to give myself a break and enjoy at least a couple of days of relaxed reading in front of the fire.

I had to very carefully consider my Christmas reading this year as my books are spread out between London and Somerset. As any bookish individual would undoubtedly understand, packing my books for the trip home took priority over anything else (which perhaps explains how I forgot pyjamas). I weighed up the pros and cons of each individual book before putting it on the 'yay' or 'nay' pile. In the end, I realised that it would be silly to bring too many back as I do have about *cough* five *cough* overflowing bookshelves in Somerset. It's a problem we all know well. I managed to narrow it down to three (plus the ridiculous amount on my kindle).

The honour of Christmas reads went to:

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier
I have mentioned this book more than once on here. It first turned up when I went to an event in the Archway With Words Festival where Chevalier read out sections from this book (followed by much fangirling and failing at life when she graciously (considering my general non-human-ness) signed my book). It is also on my Winter Reads list. Plus, I know my Mum will want to read it too as we always read Chevalier's novels and then have a little chat about them.

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein
I'm reading this for a blog tour in January. I'm really looking forward to it as I remember Jennifer sang its praises on its first tour.

The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins
No explanation needed. It's Wilkie. He is my homie. 

And then, in case of dire necessity, I have my kindle for backup. Although, I have just realised that I asked my parents for a couple of book for Christmas…perhaps backups will not be necessary.

What are your Christmas reading choices this year? Do you like to make your Christmas reading a bit special like I do?

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