A review by satyridae
Ingathering: The Complete People Stories by Zenna Henderson
5.0
Extraordinary. I read and re-read Henderson's People books as a young girl and as an alienated teen. No, that's not fair- I didn't read them, I clung to them as a lifeline and dared to hope that there would be a place for me somewhere, someday. I'm pleased to report that, first of all, I've found a lovely place for me, and secondly, Henderson's stories hold up over time.
I have carried the Francher kid in my heart all these years, and it was glorious to meet him again. And Karen, of course. And the heartbreaking Eva-Lee. And Lytha. And Melodye, whose spelling I briefly aped. Henderson's characters are alive- gloriously, realistically, maddeningly alive.
It surprised me how much of these books I have by heart- the phrases entire, intact. The stories too, of course. I am heartily sorry that Zenna Henderson is not more well-known. She was a hell of a writer. Many of her stories center around the rural teacher and her charges. Re-reading these stories made me remember, among other things, that I always believed, growing up, that I'd be one of those teachers. 'Course, I always half-believed I was one of her lost People, and I waited a long, long time before I gave up on Jemmy & Valancy coming to fetch me Home.
Henderson examines the fault lines around religion without ever losing a deep and sobering recognition of The Sacred. Her People's relationship with The Presence makes me so terribly sorry I can't enter into it- but somehow gives me hope that somewhere, somehow, humanity can be healed. If you follow my reviews, you know I'm not a believer in any sort of higher power, but, oh, how Henderson makes me want to be. That's how good her writing is.
If you have the slightest tolerance for sci-fi, you should be reading her stuff.
I have carried the Francher kid in my heart all these years, and it was glorious to meet him again. And Karen, of course. And the heartbreaking Eva-Lee. And Lytha. And Melodye, whose spelling I briefly aped. Henderson's characters are alive- gloriously, realistically, maddeningly alive.
It surprised me how much of these books I have by heart- the phrases entire, intact. The stories too, of course. I am heartily sorry that Zenna Henderson is not more well-known. She was a hell of a writer. Many of her stories center around the rural teacher and her charges. Re-reading these stories made me remember, among other things, that I always believed, growing up, that I'd be one of those teachers. 'Course, I always half-believed I was one of her lost People, and I waited a long, long time before I gave up on Jemmy & Valancy coming to fetch me Home.
Henderson examines the fault lines around religion without ever losing a deep and sobering recognition of The Sacred. Her People's relationship with The Presence makes me so terribly sorry I can't enter into it- but somehow gives me hope that somewhere, somehow, humanity can be healed. If you follow my reviews, you know I'm not a believer in any sort of higher power, but, oh, how Henderson makes me want to be. That's how good her writing is.
If you have the slightest tolerance for sci-fi, you should be reading her stuff.