A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet) by Madeleine L'Engle Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet)
Book Review: ok as an introduction for kids to sci-fi and fantasy
Summary: 3 Stars
''A Wrinkle in Time' by Madeleine L'Engle tells the story of Meg Murray, a sullen adolescent, who with her very precocious younger brother is trying to find their father, missing while on a secret government mission. They are aided in their quest by three alien beings: Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which. With their help Meg and her brother travel throughout the galaxy, learn what has happened to their father and confront a monstrous evil.
'A Wrinkle in Time' reminded me a lot of what would happen if CS Lewis had written his 'Space Trilogy' for children. However L'Engle is not as good a writer as Lewis, and the plot is a little bit of a mess. Like Lewis's Narnian Chronicles there is a Christian theme to this book, but it is much more overt. Written in the late fifties the book describes the battle between good and evil. Evil is represented by the planet of Camazotz, which is obviously meant to evoke an authoritarian communist society. Subtlety is not L'Engle's strong suit, although to be fair it is a kid's book. The theme of the value of the individual and freedom is a worthy one in my opinion and kids will enjoy the story without noticing any of the problems that bothered me. It is a good book to introduce them to fantasy and science fiction, especially for young girls, as Meg is an admirable heroine.
Book Review: still terrific, but now I understand more
Summary: 5 Stars
The phenomenal success of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books (see Orrin's review)--the first two are currently both in the Top 10 of most Bestseller Lists--lead me to reread this Children's Classic, which was one of the big favorites of our generation. I must have read it around fifth grade--I imagine most every kid in America reads it at some point--and no one will be surprised to hear, it turns out I wasn't as smart as I thought I was when I was ten. Madeleine L'Engle managed to hoodwink me, but good. I thought this was just a great Science Fiction/Fantasy story, but now I discover that the whole book is a religious allegory.Meg Murry and her brothers, Charles Wallace and the twins, live with their mother. Their Father has been missing for years, supposedly working on a top secret government project. Meg and Charles Wallace are strange children, noone seems to know quite whether they are idiots or geniuses. In short order they meet Calvin, a tall gangly boy, who also feels like a misfit and three women who have moved into an abandoned house in the neighborhood. The old women, Mrs. Whatsit , Mrs. Which & Mrs. Who, inform the children that Mr. Murry is in dire straits and needs their help. They travel through time and space via wrinkles, called tesseracts, to the planet Camazotz, where Mr. Murry has gone to battle the forces of darkness that are closing sections of the universe in shadow. There they battle the evil being known as IT, a disembodied brain who offers people complete security if they will only give up their freedom and their individuality, as have the inhabitants of Camazotz.
Most of the allegorical stuff is easy enough to see, the children can fight evil by finding The Father. Meg despairs that evil is allowed to exist at all and blames her father, and so on. But I really liked the fact that L'Engle portrays Camazotz (or Hell) as a place where there is complete conformity and security, but no personal freedom. Personally, I believe that Camazotz closely resembles both a Socialist or Communist State and the Garden of Eden. Just as the great struggle of Ms L "Engle's time was the fight for freedom against the security of Socialism/Communism, Man chose to leave the security of a pastoral existence in the Garden and accept the vicissitudes of life without because we prefer freedom.
The book also contains one of the most beautiful descriptions of human life that I've ever heard. Mrs. Whatsit compares life to a sonnet:
It is a very strict form of poetry is it not?
There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That's a very strict rhythm or meter, yes?
And each line has to end with a rigid rhyme pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet, is it?
Calvin: You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but freedom within it?
Yes. You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.
This book conveys a worthwhile religiopolitical lesson about the human condition and is great fun besides. I look forward to reading it with my kids.
GRADE: A+
Book Review: the VERY Best Book for young girls
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read this book as a young girl, more than 30 years ago! It was far more than just a great story , it gave me hope and changed my life! I was inspired by the idea that women could be smart, scientists and loved ! Meg grows from the out -of-place nerd to a beautiful heroine. My daughters have both loved it, too!BUY one for a girl you love!
Book Review: this book is great
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought this book was a really great book. The reason why I thought it was a really good book is that it always kept me interested and made me want to read more. The only times I put the book down were when I had to go to sleep or do homework.Every time something happened in the book you would always wonder why. There would always be a cliffhanger. And then later on the author would reveal what it was. And most of the time the cliffhanger would have an important role in the character's emotions, actions or feelings. One example is that early on in the book a strange person comes to the main character's house in the middle of a thunderstorm. The person is very strange and very weird. You kind of get the idea that something is going to happen but you are not sure. She stays, has hot cocoa and is getting ready to leave and then suddenly turns around and says,you know a tesseract is real" to the mother. At this comment the mother is very disturbed and distressed. Then after suspense filled chapter or two wondering what the heck it is you finally figure it out.
Another reason that the book is so good is that all the crazy ideas and theories in it are things that you never would have thought of but then when you read it off the paper you totally agree with what the author is saying. For instance a tesseract is basically the same thing as a wrinkle in time. According to modern science the closest way to get between two points is a straight line, but it really isn't. You would take the line and bend it, wrinkle it, you would get there a lot faster. To support that if you are holding one side of a string in each hand and an ant were to crawl across it, in science if he crawled straight across he would get there faster. But if you moved your hands together it would be even faster, you would put "a wrinkle in time".
A truly ingenious book.
Book Review: why people love this book boggles my mind!
Summary: 3 Stars
I didn't like this book very much, it was weird. It was pretty descriptive, but the way she described what was going on was confusing. It was like an episode of the twilight zone! I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone younger than 12 or 13. Unless you are able to understand hard concepts.