Short Science Fiction Story Review Connie Willis A Letter From The Clearys

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Spoiler alerts – Gollancz Press - 1982 An early Nebula Award winning tory by Connie Willis. A young girl, goes to the derelict village post office with her new pet dog, finds a letter from family friends who were due to visit and stay with her own family, but never arrived. The girl excitedly starts to read the letter to her family, but they angrily quieten her and tell her that they know why the Clearys never came anyway. The Cleary letter states that due to a family member having a child, they are postponing their visit for a month. It has however been more than a month. It has been two years. Slowly, the unsettling truth comes through what begins like an episode of The Waltons. The girl’s first pet dog was shot dead by her father in front of her when he mistook his daughter and the dog for looters. Her father is increasingly worried by the daughter going across the other side of the stream or into the village for fear that she will draw others to their secluded countryside home. The reason why there are looters around is that World War Three has taken place. The Clearys are among those killed by the bombs and radiation. The survivors are desperately growing their own food in their greenhouse. Sad and a little creepy as the facts slowly emerge amidst routine family events like walking the dog, collecting the mail and settling to a family meal. Easy to see why this won a major award. Arthur Chappell