How the World Became Quiet by Rahcel Swirsky
How the World Became Quiet is a history of how humans managed to wipe themselves out, or at least the story of how humans finally apocalypsed themselves to death. Interestingly enough, according to the author, it took eight apocalypses to finally do the job. It’s told from a very unique perspective, even though it certainly follows the age-old adage that history is written by the winners.
The story has a wry, twisted sense of humor about it, although it really seems to make perfect sense within the fabric of the author’s reality. It has the classic tone of a myth and really feels like a story that has been handed down through several generations and will continue to be told to subsequent generations.
The real twist of the story is finding out who is actually telling it. It’s not entirely a shock but it is the kind of thing that makes a reader really understand why this story would be included in a “Best of” anthology. How the World Went Quiet is the kind of story that I would revisit multiple times because it’s the kind of story that really sticks in a person’s head.
This is part of the BookSpot Central Short Fiction Round Table spotlight on stories that will be included in Best American Fantasy 2008 edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer and forthcoming from Prime Books. Please see the intro to the spotlight.
