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outcolder's review against another edition
3.0
I think a lot of SF from the '50s (this is early 60s but same thing) is concerned with conformity. I think maybe the reason why so much of it was about telepathy back then is because writers were trying to tell strange adolescents that everyone has weird thoughts if only you could read them. These stories are kind of like the x-men without the goofy costumes or the professor... people with superpowers are persecuted by the boring, small minded normal people. I think you can feel the shadow of McCarthy over all this stuff. In this book, the superpower people aren't mutants (well, OK, some are) but mostly from some other planet called the Home. At first I thought this had something to do with the holocaust, especially because Henderson actually mentions DPs at one point and because sometimes the People exclaim adonai veah or something like that, but then the religious stuff started to rankle a bit when it began to seem like the aliens, in addition to looking exactly like humans, seem to also know the same bible ... buuuuuuut ... this whole thing is really sweet and cozy, especially the bits about being a one room schoolhouse type teacher which apparently Henderson was for a time. There is also, right from the beginning, some very real feeling prose about depression. There are at least two characters with serious disabilities and that seems unusual in a time when sf was mostly about captain kirk kind of heroes.
robertgar's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
megannewsome's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
WOWOWOWOOWWWWW
mireiaaaaaa3's review against another edition
3.0
No ha sigut el que esperava. Tots els personatges són massa bons, les històries són un pèl massa lentes i, almenys en el meu cap, tot era una metàfora religiosa. No ho sé, alguna de les històries és interessant, però que sempre hagi de ser tothom tan bo em desconcerta i no et deixa veure altres matisos. També tinc un problema molt gros amb un altre tema però és igual.
thomcat's review
4.0
A series of short stories set in the same world and a connecting story outside them all. Most of the stories are excellent, but the last is not as strong and the connecting thread remains unresolved. Perhaps this tale continues in the second volume [b:The People: No Different Flesh|5976470|The People No Different Flesh|Zenna Henderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1261208803s/5976470.jpg|706843]. Each of the episodes would stand alone, and each contains a little more about The People than the previous entries. Each has a slight religious overtone, though no overt discussion of or comparison to any earthly religion ever occurs. Has many similarities to Escape to Witch Mountain.
The only other [a:Zenna Henderson|193296|Zenna Henderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1228532638p2/193296.jpg] I read was more than 30 years ago, [b:The Anything Box|491887|The Anything Box|Zenna Henderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330709696s/491887.jpg|480089]. This book was chosen on a list of Defining Books of the 60s, and is also included in Ian Sales list of Mistressworks. For me, this was a solid 4 stars.
The only other [a:Zenna Henderson|193296|Zenna Henderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1228532638p2/193296.jpg] I read was more than 30 years ago, [b:The Anything Box|491887|The Anything Box|Zenna Henderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330709696s/491887.jpg|480089]. This book was chosen on a list of Defining Books of the 60s, and is also included in Ian Sales list of Mistressworks. For me, this was a solid 4 stars.
storiwa's review against another edition
2.0
i think this book is important for historical reasons but all the religious stuff got on my nerves plus the writing just wasn't that great.
allofmypurplelife's review against another edition
1.0
I wish I liked this book as much as the rest of the people who said it was great. It felt very disjointed to me. While the idea of stitching several different characters stories together is a nice one - it still has to flow as a complete story and it doesn’t for me. I don’t leave the book with a particular love for any of the characters and I don’t care what happens next. I had to make myself finish the book. I had hoped it would be a bit like the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer-Bradley - just in reverse. But no, it doesn’t come close to really defining a distinct culture it only hints at the differences and then careens away into another depressed and lonely mind.
ida_ree's review against another edition
3.0
As far as I know this was one of the earlier books to speculate that aliens live among us, trying to blend in. An "outsider" Lea is privileged to hear the stories of The People - who can fly and move objects with their minds, but who look quite human. Good thing, too, since their spaceship crash landed on Earth a couple of generations back.
>The religious beliefs of the author are inserted a little heavy-handedly a couple of times, but I chose to view that as world-building. The writing was engaging, though, and quite funny at times.
>The religious beliefs of the author are inserted a little heavy-handedly a couple of times, but I chose to view that as world-building. The writing was engaging, though, and quite funny at times.
bookcrazylady45's review against another edition
4.0
Love this series of stories. William Shatner made one of them into a television movie.