IMAGINE waking up unable to see, quite alone and hearing nothing but silence occasionally broken by horrible groans. Well, this is the exact position that Bill Masen, the protagonist of post-apocalyptic novel The Day of the Triffids, finds himself in. And things just get scarier when sight is returned.

Throughout the novel we follow Bill Masen, a man who has managed to retain his sight in a world of the newly-made blind, and we read on as he struggles to survive in an England over-run with pernicious plants, known as triffids. Triffids are tall plants, but there's nothing rosy about them; they spit poison and are en route to world domination.

Perhaps the idea of man-eating plants seems a little bit far-fetched to you-it did to me too-but by taking the plunge to read this 1951 novel by John Wyndham, you may just discover, as I did, a haunting tale that will stick with you forever.

Wyndham's style of writing is eloquent, concise and thoroughly gripping. The plot unfolds at a decent pace, keeping you hooked on his every word and turning the pages right until the very end. The idea of plants that have learned to walk, 'talk' and kill does seem zany, but Wyndham portrays every scene and event so convincingly that you will find yourself easily going along with it, and perhaps even believing it. Besides, The Day of the Triffids is about much more than just triffids; it is a story that portrays the brutality and selfishness of human nature, and delivers a worrying warning. It is also, strangely, about love.

So if end-of-the-world novels are right up your street then be sure to read this classic. Though you'll never look at that innocent tulip in the same way again.