"If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth ..." (short story): Sad & nostalgic

One of the less entertaining stories by Clarke. It is yet another of the many doomsday stories in the aftermath of World War II - dealing with radioactive destruction of earth.

Story summary (spoiler).

Story is almost entirely descriptive & flashback, with few dialogs. In the Armageddon, all life on earth is destroyed. Only human survivors are those living in a colony on moon. Story is told through the eyes of a 10 year old, & is essentially a wistful longing for the world that was.

See also.

1. Other stories with nearly the same subject matter: Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains", & Arthur Clarke's "The Curse". Bradbury's version is the lightest read.

Fact sheet.

"If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth ...", short story, review
Author: Arthur C Clarke
First published: Originally "written at Christmas 1950", & published in Future, September 1951
Rating: C

Collected in.

1. "The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke"
2. "Expedition to Earth"
3. "Of Time and Stars"
4. "Across the Sea of Stars"