It's The End Of The World As We Know It

Those who read this book expecting it to be the typical Mad Max, Terminator etc end of the world scenario will find that it isn't by any means the conventional, action-packed type of apocalyptic fiction you'll see in most movies. (Forgive me for comparing cinema with literature but the fact is that movies have created certain expectations about the genre in people's minds.) The characters in the book are generally concerned about the things we are all concerned about--their jobs, dating, having kids, and gardening. In fact, Shute captures the everyday language and concerns between married couples in a true-to-life way that I have rarely seen, if ever. The world of the novel is normal and immediately recognizable, even if set in Australia--so much so that the details reported seem almost painfully inconsequential and mundane.

And this is precisely what gives the novel its quiet power. It feels absolutely real. The small details that the author captures are the essence of the fabric of our lives, which are not generally heroic journeys filled with stirring dialogue but rather remain caught up in the millions of details we all have to deal with every day, from finding our keys to putting gas in the car to picking what kind of flowers to plant in the spring.

Also unlike most U.S.-produced Hollywood end-of-the-world blockbusters, it is not built around a last-ditch effort to save the world from destruction by a handful of dedicated heroes, who eventually win out against the odds (see The Core, Armageddon, Deep Impact, Independence Day, etc etc). Such movies seem to celebrate America's power (and the power of individual Americans) to conquer obstacles and heroically save the day in the end, a national myth that is evident not only in theatres, but in the country's real-life foreign policy.

In this novel, America is somewhere "other"--somewhere that can not be easily accessed or seen, and somewhere that is already gone. Whatever action has taken place in America is alreaady over, and if there were any last ditch efforts to save the planet, they've failed. It's not America that saves the world--it is a war involving America that has already destroyed it. It is made clear to the reader over time that there is no chance of escape, that despite some initially hopeful theories the deadly radiation is there and coming and final. It will kill all of the characters involved and all animal life as well. There is no way to fight it. America lives on only in the memories of the few Americans currently working out of Australia as part of the U.S. Navy, themselves doomed to death by radiation sickness in the near future when the dust finally reaches them. Those Australians who are left ask why they have to die for a war they had no part in, a war for which they only provided "moral support".

This is a profound comment and one which would probably never be found in U.S. culture itself. The novel makes it clear that nuclear war has no survivors. It makes it clear that death is inevitable. It makes it clear that the arrogance of a few can punish many.

It seems to me that American culture, and specifically American culture under George Bush, is mainly concerned with denying these ideas, not examining them. Death can be delayed by science, as can ageing. There is little or no acceptance of the fact that death comes to us all eventually, that no heroics can save us for more than a little while. That idea is essentially taboo in a culture where youth is prized above all else. But it is in fact a profound truth about human existence, a fact which other cultures have not shied away from (think if the Mexican day of the dead, or the central teachings of Buddhism).

More importantly, these days nuclear war seems to be viewed as a practical strategic tool rather than the doorway to Armageddon. There has already been talk of using small nuclear bombs as part if the U.S. arsenal. Depleted uranium is already used in "bunker busters" and armour-piercing weaponry, and there seems to be no official acknowledgement of the costs to health these weapons are almost certainly causing. Perhaps this is because there is always the sense that whatever happens, there will be a way to survive--some sort of bunker, or ark, or technological solution that will save the day. The heroes will step in and sacrifice themselves to save us all at the last minute. Those heroes will of course be American.

But in this novel the reality is that the world is dying and there is nothing that can help. Rather than working desperately on some scheme to survive, people spend their time finding ways to come to terms with the inevitable end. For some it's drinking, or fishing, or working. For many it is denial, but the always-encroaching reality of the situation breaks through that denial in the end. And it is precisely the mundane things that people cling to, and treasure the most, as they slowly lose them.

The Day of the Triffids offers a similar scenario but one that has more elements of sci-fi. Namely, along with it being the end of the world there are some pretty freaky plants running around. Literally.

If you haven't read this book before and you've seen the zombie flick 28 Days Later, you're going to feel a pretty strong sense of deja-vu when you read the opening passages. Like Jim in the movie, the protagonist awakes in a very quiet hospital in a very quiet London, wondering what the heck is going on. Just remember that this book came first--in fact the people behind 28 Days Later openly acknowledge their debt to it.

And The Day of the Triffids does, again, make a more interesting comment in my view than the similarly-themed movie. While in 28 Days Later the people who expect help from America are proven right and the Americans do eventually come through in the end (as evidenced by the fighter plane that eventually finds the survivors) in The Day of the Triffids it is underlined again and again that to expect the Americans to come save everyone (as many people throughout the novel do) is to cling to false hope and to decrease the chance of survival. The protagonists, who are certainly the most successful survivors, do not cling to this hope and as a result are more able to cope with the reality of the situation. Again, this has interesting implications for the real world. I wonder if it marks a shift in British consciousness that the more recent 28 Days Later does look to America for help, while the older Day of the Triffids does not, especially since more recently Britain has been such a close U.S. ally in wars such as the war on Iraq. Perhaps it was just more marketable to American audiences. Either way, I think the movie plays in to American national myths far more than this book does.

The Day of the Triffids may also be easier reading for those who find the absence of attempts to survive in On the Beach frustrating. The protagonists do go about finding ways to cope with the situation in this book and are generally successful, although many others are not. They do continue to hope for re-establishing human dominance in the world, where in On the Beach this is out of the question.

However, like in On the Beach it is clear that the loss and destruction forcing the need for survival is the result of human arrogance. The freaky walking plants that like to kill and eat people (the triffids) are the result of human genetic experimentation and lust for profit. The original disaster, which is that most of the population wakes up blind, is likely the result of human satellite weapons. The novel specifically says that humans were walking a tightrope and "fell off." Implied is that America, Russian etc were the ones who created the satellite weapons in the first place, and therefore responsible. But it is the whole world that must deal with the consequences, even if that is unfair.

So despite other more superficial differences, the message here is the same as the message in On the Beach--it's foolish to put such powerful weapons in place and not expect them to eventually hurt the entire populace of the world. And while the novel concludes on a more generally hopeful note, it makes clear that the future remains uncertain, and the question of whether it is the humans or the triffids who survive is not yet resolved. There is more hope that with the brains and courage of a few people some solution can be found. But it is not found within the pages of the novel, and so the reader is left to draw her or his own conclusions.

All in all, I highly recommend both of these books and I am personally of the opinion that everyone needs to read them in order to develop as human beings. They are classics because they are the kind of books that will remain in your consciousness forever.

And most importantly, they bear a message that is being all too quickly forgotten in today's nuclear-friendly world.