A review by ncrabb
Ingathering: The Complete People Stories by Zenna Henderson
5.0
I’ve heard reference to these People stories numerous times all my life, but I’ve never read them. When a lifelong friend mentioned in a phone call that he is reading them, I felt strongly prompted to do the same. I initially argued with myself, recalling my strong dislike of short story collections, but his conviction that I would enjoy the book carried the day. He was resoundingly right. I can think of few books I’ve read this year I’ve enjoyed more.
This compilation is a series of interconnected short stories about a group of aliens who look exactly like native earth-born humans, but who have special powers and a higher degree of morality. The People must find a new planetary home because a supernova will destroy theirs. While emigrating, the ships in which they travel crash, and they leap into lifeboat-like vehicles and land on Earth after first investigating our moon to determine its habitability. These stories deal with their lives after coming to rest in the American southwest around the turn of the 20th century.
In one story, the aliens determine to do nothing that sets them apart from other humans. So draconian are these measures that happiness, love, and humor are exempt from their lives. It takes a schoolteacher to show them that they can safely be themselves.
Another story looks at a blended family—a situation where the father is an Earthling and the mother is one of the people. It helps you see the difficulty such a blend would create among the children who partially inherit their mother’s abilities and gifts.
In “No Different Flesh,” an Earth couple discover an alien toddler following a massive thunderstorm and build bridges of love to her in an effort to raise her. But the child’s father discovers her, and while the People are cautious about allowing outsiders to know much about their world, they determine to let this particular couple in.
In “Angels Unawares,” radiation poisoning is killing an entire community. It is up to the People to save whomever they can.
The first story—one that will draw you into the rest of the book—involves mentally troubled Lea. Lea wants only to end her life. But representatives from the People see potential in her and want to prevent her suicide.
These are far-reaching wide-ranging stories whose characters will stay with you and whose concepts will reshape the landscape of your mind. Best of all, you could hand this to your teenage grandchild avid reader or the most pious ultra-God-fearing member of your church with no fear of corrupting or damaging the spirit of those individuals. There just isn’t anything profane or sexual in any of these stories. my friend and I have commented frequently this weekend as we’ve talked about my progress in the book about how refreshing it is to read a book where we didn’t yearn for a literary counterpart to Vid Angel, a video service that edits out on the fly sexual content and profanity in television content you may watch. These are good clean stories that are so well written you’ll want to keep the book in a to-reread library and go bac through them on occasion.
This compilation is a series of interconnected short stories about a group of aliens who look exactly like native earth-born humans, but who have special powers and a higher degree of morality. The People must find a new planetary home because a supernova will destroy theirs. While emigrating, the ships in which they travel crash, and they leap into lifeboat-like vehicles and land on Earth after first investigating our moon to determine its habitability. These stories deal with their lives after coming to rest in the American southwest around the turn of the 20th century.
In one story, the aliens determine to do nothing that sets them apart from other humans. So draconian are these measures that happiness, love, and humor are exempt from their lives. It takes a schoolteacher to show them that they can safely be themselves.
Another story looks at a blended family—a situation where the father is an Earthling and the mother is one of the people. It helps you see the difficulty such a blend would create among the children who partially inherit their mother’s abilities and gifts.
In “No Different Flesh,” an Earth couple discover an alien toddler following a massive thunderstorm and build bridges of love to her in an effort to raise her. But the child’s father discovers her, and while the People are cautious about allowing outsiders to know much about their world, they determine to let this particular couple in.
In “Angels Unawares,” radiation poisoning is killing an entire community. It is up to the People to save whomever they can.
The first story—one that will draw you into the rest of the book—involves mentally troubled Lea. Lea wants only to end her life. But representatives from the People see potential in her and want to prevent her suicide.
These are far-reaching wide-ranging stories whose characters will stay with you and whose concepts will reshape the landscape of your mind. Best of all, you could hand this to your teenage grandchild avid reader or the most pious ultra-God-fearing member of your church with no fear of corrupting or damaging the spirit of those individuals. There just isn’t anything profane or sexual in any of these stories. my friend and I have commented frequently this weekend as we’ve talked about my progress in the book about how refreshing it is to read a book where we didn’t yearn for a literary counterpart to Vid Angel, a video service that edits out on the fly sexual content and profanity in television content you may watch. These are good clean stories that are so well written you’ll want to keep the book in a to-reread library and go bac through them on occasion.