Wom, by Michael Joll

Wom is a weird story.  It does not match the picture on the website.   It is a story about post-apocalyptic survival.  At first it seems like it might be almost peaceful, but it lulls you into a false sense of security.  It's violent.  The entire story.  So many sentences punch at you.  It's not just the actual violence, but the way the story is written carries an urgent undertone.  Yet, the characters all seem alarmingly indifferent.  They lack emotions; the kind of emotions we would feel if in their situation.  I think that's done on purpose.  Except for a few spoken phrases, these people are nothing like us.  SPOILER!  Wom does not fight for her survival in the end, she just accepts her fate.

Is "Wom" short for woman?
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Wom will cause a reaction in anyone who reads it.  You might like the story, you might hate it, but once you read it, I doubt you can ignore it.  Wom provokes feelings in the reader, though they are absent from the characters.  It is well-written, but as I write this, I still don't know if I liked the story.  Because of the content, I don't know if I'd read something by Joll again.

Thanks to John Mutford at The Book Mine Set for hosting Short Story Monday.