tek's rating: ¾

Pilgrimage: The Book of the People, by Zenna Henderson (pub. 1961)
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Caution: spoilers.

This is a collection of stories about "the People," written between 1952 and 1959. There have been other collections that include Henderson's later stories about the People, but this is the one I happened to see one day in a thrift shop, so it's the one I got. And... I thought it was okay, but not something I really liked enough to feel a great need to read any more of the stories of the People. I should mention that at first I didn't even realize this was a story collection, because it has a framing device that makes it read more like a single novel... even though most of it actually consists of stories that are being told to a person in the framing device. So... it really isn't hard to see it as a story collection, once you know that that's what it is.

It begins with a young woman named Lea, on a bus one night, ending up in a random small town. (I think it was called Kerry Canyon.) She starts walking, until she finds a bridge. She intends to jump to her death. But a woman named Karen stops her, despite Lea's protests. Then Karen takes her to meet a woman named Miriam, and the two women carry her... and fly with her, taking her to the hidden community where they live, in Cougar Canyon. Subsequently, Lea will join the people who live there during several Gatherings, during each of which a different person will tell their own story. Actually, it's more than "telling"; it's a sort of reliving and sharing of memories with everyone in the Gathering. The first Gathering is called together by a man named Jemmy, who mentions that they all have an important decision to make sometime in the next few days, and that there will be good-bys to say. (I had forgotten about that, by the time I got to the end of the book. Skimming through from the beginning to write this review and thus being reminded of it, it helps me realize the end of the book makes more sense than I thought it did.) And the first story is told by Karen.

Ararat (originally published 1952)
The People always had trouble finding Outsiders to come to their community and work as teachers for the children. Teachers never lasted long when they did come. When Karen was younger, a new teacher named Valancy Carmody came to Cougar Canyon, and this one ended up staying, unlike the previous teachers. And Jemmy immediately fell in love with her. I don't want to go into much detail about the story, but it serves to give us an understanding of who the People are. Their own world (which they call "the Home") had been destroyed, and they'd gone out into space on ships, looking for someplace new to live. One ship had come to Earth, a couple of generations ago. But their escape pods got separated, scattered throughout the American Southwest. So now, the Group from Cougar Canyon always hope to find more of the People, and bring them together. Anyway... they all have powers (or "Persuasions") that the people of Earth don't have, such as flying (or "lifting") and telekinesis, and some of them have individual Gifts, as well. I think they all have some degree of telepathy, though some may be more gifted in it than others. But they must hide these abilities from Outsiders, which is why they have limited contact with the people of Earth, despite doing their best to assimilate in some ways. (They are also a spiritual people, who worship a higher power that one might assume to be the same God worshipped by some of the religions of Earth, though the People refer to it as "the Presence" or "the Power." And they don't seem to have much in the way of organized religion; or if they do, it doesn't play an important role in the stories told in the book.) And... Valancy eventually learns the truth about the People, and stays with them, and with Jemmy. Meanwhile, Karen planned to go into the outside world to get a teaching degree, herself.

There are interludes between each story, in which we see how Lea struggles with her own inner darkness that had nearly driven her to suicide. And she struggles with disbelief that what she's learned about the People can be true.

Gilead (originally published 1954)
The second story is told by a man named Peter. When he was six years old, he had discovered that his family was different from other people. His parents had never told him why. His mother was one of the People, but his father wasn't. When Peter was about nine, his sister Bethie was born. As she grew up, her mother realized that Bethie was a "Sensitive," someone who had a special Gift for healing, though it caused her pain. Years later, their father died, and some time after that, their mother too. But she finally told them a bit about their origins, and that she'd heard a calling from more People, in a canyon to the north. So, all alone in the world, Peter and Bethie set out to find the canyon, unsure if they could do so, or even if it was real. They also wondered if the People would accept them, since they were half-breeds. But of course, they do eventually find the People, and they are accepted.

Pottage (originally published 1955)
The third story is told by a woman named Melodye. She was also a teacher, and an Outsider, who went to teach in a small town called Bendo. She eventually realizes that the children there are of the People, whom she had learned about from Karen, when the two of them had been college roommates, years ago. Now she planned to tell Karen that she'd found another Group, but first she wanted to help the children herself. They were miserable, because their parents forbade them to use their abilities, and the children had no idea why. So Melodye tried to encourage them to use their powers, at least when in school. And to try to Remember the Home (since the People can share memories through the generations), even though none of them had ever been there. Eventually, she learns that the first generation of People who had come here had been horribly persecuted by the people of Earth, so they learned to hide their abilities, and taught the ensuing generations that such things were evil... in order to keep them safe. Things finally come to a head when one of the children has a life-threatening injury, and Melodye calls to Karen to come help. (The People of Bendo had no idea there were any other Groups of the People on Earth.) Karen and some others, including Bethie, come to Bendo to help heal the child. They can't do it themselves, but there is an Outsider named Dr. Curtis, whom Bethie directs in performing surgery that was far beyond his normal ability. So he, too, learns about the People. In the end, the People of Bendo stay there, but now that they have contact with another Group, they start using their abilities again, and things get much better for the town.

Wilderness (originally published 1957)
The fourth story is told by a woman named Dita (short for Perdita). She also was a teacher, in a town called Kruper. She has abilities, but knows nothing of the People. Anyway, one of her students, a girl named Lucine, has, I would guess, some kind of developmental or learning disability, so the other children torment her mercilessly, which makes Lucine very angry. And the other adults mostly blame Lucine for her anger. So, Dita is very concerned for her. Another person who cares for Lucine is a man named Low (short for Lowmanigh), who is staying at the same hotel as Dita. He turns out to be one of the People, and he believes Dita is, too, though she herself is certain that she's from Earth, and that Low is too, and that the People he speaks of don't exist. But he's certain they do, even if he doesn't know where they are, and he has spent a lot of time trying to find them. Eventually, there's a crisis involving Lucine. And... thanks to a minor character, the People eventually find and help Dita and Low deal with the crisis. And it turns out Dita was right, she's not one of the People. I kind of wondered for much of the story whether she might be from some other planet, neither Earth nor the Home, but she is from Earth. So the People learn that some Earth people may be developing Persuasions of their own, and our people might eventually become like their People.

Captivity (originally published 1958)
The fifth story is told by a woman named Miss Carolle. She had been boarding with a family called Somanson, in the town of Willow Creek. She used to be a teacher, but hasn't done much with her life ever since a car accident had crippled her. Now she just lives on disability payments. One night, she spies a teenage boy whom everyone calls "the Francher kid" doing... things no one should be able to do. He's an orphan, living with a foster mother who only seems to care about the monthly check she gets for taking care of him. And basically everyone in town thinks he's no good (except for a girl named Twyla). But Carolle comes to care about him. She also takes a part time teaching position at the local school. And eventually, she meets a doctor who's passing through town on a hunting trip... a doctor named Curtis. He realizes there's something special about the Francher kid. And... eventually there's an incident that greatly upsets the kid, which leads him to run away, so Carolle and Dr. Curtis have to look for him. And of course they eventually find him, and unite him with the People.

In the sixth and final interlude about Lea, she decides to run away. She gets a ride from a man, whose name she later learns is Deon. Actually, she had met him briefly during the second interlude. Now, he drops her off in Kerry Canyon, where she gets a job. And... it seems like a couple days may have passed between paragraphs, and I'm not even sure which two paragraphs. There's just no segue. Which was weird. But then Karen shows up and convinces her to return to Cougar Canyon, to hear one more story. She says she'll be back to get Lea the next night, but instead it's Deon who shows up to fly her to the Canyon.

Jordan (originally published 1959)
The sixth and final story is told by a young man named Bram. His story is from not very long ago at all. A spaceship had arrived at Cougar Canyon, having come from a New Home, another world that had been colonized by People from one of the other ships that had left the old Home. Bram has always been something of a rebel, and has always wished to be free to openly use his abilities, without hiding from Earth people. So now he's excited by the possibility of going to the New Home, where everyone would be of the People. Meanwhile, he has a very close friend (almost like a sister to him) named Obla, who can only communicate telepathically. Years ago, she had been caught in an explosion that took both her arms and legs, as well as leaving her blind, deaf, and voiceless. (Her name couldn't help but remind me of The Oblongs, and her lack of arms and legs reminded me in particular of Bob Oblong. But that's neither here nor there.) Anyway... the People in the ship take awhile to come out, and Bram is impatient. But eventually a young woman named Salla emerges, and the two of them soon become very close. Later, her parents and their pilot (or "Motiver") emerge. The four of them are the only occupants of the ship; the extra space is for anyone of the People who want to go with them back to the New Home. So, there will be debates amongst the People (of various Groups), about whether to go or to stay on Earth, which is the only home most of them have ever known (apart from memories received from their parents or grandparents). Bram himself is surprised to find he's deeply split over which choice to make. Ultimately, his choice will depend on both Obla and Salla.

And then... the book ends. It seemed rather abrupt to me, since I was expecting there to be another bit about Lea, to end the book as her part had begun it. But there wasn't. So... we're left not really knowing what became of her, nor, for the most part, which of the People left Earth and which stayed. But I suppose I don't care that much. It was an interesting book, but not one I was wild about.


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(Image taken from Amazon.com.)