A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet) by Madeleine L'Engle
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Book Reviews of A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet)
Book Review: Dear Fellow Teens
Summary: 5 Stars
Dear Fellow Peer/s, I read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. It was a very good book. It was a nice story with a plot like no other. I couldn't put the book down once I started to read it. It was very suspenceful which provokes you to read it more and more. Maybe thats why I was so hooked on the book. Its characters are not boring eigher like some other books. Almost all of the characters in the story have a good reason for being there. That is another reason that A wrinkle in Time isn't boring. The events in the book I couldn't thought of. Everything just flowed perfectly. It makes fun reading fun. That is coming from a person who doesn't always like to read. A Wrinkle in Time is not only science fictions and that's what so unique from other books. It is also good that there is more than science fiction for those who are not fans of science fiction. There is a little bit of love, mystery, and being suspenceful it just makes you eager to turn the page as you read it. A book that has a wonderful blend of science fiction, love, mystery and suspence is truly unique. I looked up on the Internet for reveiws on this book and one reveiw agreed with what I'm saying about a Wrinkle in Time has. The review also said how a Wrinkle in Time is different from any other science fiction book that they have read in the past. The story of A Wrinkle in Time has an exiting and unique twist to it and thatis why I am so devoted to this book so much. Madeline L'Engle has a vivid imagination. I mean who could of thought a word like tesseract. Or even the title itself is very unigue and creative. Who could of thought of a tile like a Wrinkle in Time, only Madeline L'Engle. The plot is great which makes won't to read the book again and again. I surfed the web in school and I also found that people said at this book had an exiting plot and thats why they read it again and again. I absolutly agree with them. Some people may say that the book is boring. Most of those people saying that are not into science fiction or reading period but I cannot see how this book is so boring because it is so exiting. Other people may also say how they didn't like it because they thought it was too complex for them. Those people who are saying this might not be all that smart or don't like to ponder. Well life is not always going to be easy with baby words. Other people say that this book could of been better. I disagree with that because it is a wonderful book and like I said before it has a brilliant plot. Some people even say that this book doesn't deserve a star. Well I went on the web and 99% of all the reviews that I read totally disagreed. As a matter of fact those 99% said that it desserves 5 star and it did get 5 stars. A wrinkle in Time is a excellent book with a creative plot and being suspenceful makes reading fun and the reader is eager to read. A Wrinkle in Time is a wonderful combination of science fiction, love, mystery, and suspence. I don't think a lot of people can put all of them in in a book and still make it a nice story. Those that can I don't think they can do it as well as Madeline L'Engle. Your Peer, Stacey DoukasBook 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: an old favorite offers surprises
Summary: 5 Stars
The phenomenal success of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, the first two are 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 noone 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: Multi-Leveled & Multi-Layered. . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
A WRINKLE IN TIME is one of those rare "children's" books that I keep in a consistent rotation to read every few years (Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry & The Phantom Tollbooth being two others). It is so much fun to read the novel as just a futuristic fantasy story, with touches of science and sociology thrown in: dimensions, misfits, love conquering hate, etc. Although overworked lately, time travel was quite state-of-the-art for when the book was written and published, and L'Engle approaches the topic from a scientific perspective, through the five dimentions, rather than a fantastic one. As successfully as L'Engle presents these timeless themes and ideas, she also does a spectacular job of presenting some major symbolism, very biblical and spiritual in nature, as well.Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who so clearly represent the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, respectively): Mrs. Which with her booming voice and mulit-lettered pattern of speech, clearly the leader of the triad; Mrs. Whatsit, taking on a human form despite her other-worldliness, being the mediator between Mrs. Which and the children; Mrs. Who, never quite appearing, represented only by her glasses, using the words of others to communicate whenever possible. It's beautiful. The obvious struggle between good and evil (with love being the ultimate weapon), the "fallen" stars, the Black Thing, and the mind control of IT all serve as classic biblical symbols. L'Engle uses multiple scripture references, particularly through Mrs. Who's quotes, to convey her messages of love, hope, and strength. She does all of this with a remarkable subtlety and tact. She does not intend to offend, nor does she---the story stands by itself. If one wants to delve deeper, however, the symbolism is there to be dug out.
Truly great books can be read many times on different levels, with different reactions and interpretations from different readers. Ms. L'Engle provides readers of all ages, reading levels, backgrounds, and thinking skills with a gold mine of material in this book and its sequels (none of which quite match this one for overall quality, although they are well worth reading!).
Book Review: Delightful, at any age!
Summary: 5 Stars
Having only very vague memories of reading this as a child, I was pleasantly surprised this second time around. I immediately fell in love with the Murry family, especially oddball Meg, who seemed to be a mirror image of myself as an awkward adolescent. This story is completely enchanting, from the very beginning, and L'Engle's writing totally drew me into her world. I found myself tearing up at certain, heartbreaking moments in the story (I don't want to give anything away). Also, I found that reading it as an adult allowed me to grasp the writer's philosophical theme. Normally, I steer clear of books with heavy Christian overtones (my one exception being The Lord of the Rings), but L'Engle masterfully weaves together science and spirituality. This is not, by strict definition, a "Christian" book. Jesus is mentioned only once as being one of many people from Earth who have battled evil throughout human history. And it somehow delightful that the most pious characters in the story are the aliens of the planet Ixchel. The three Mrs. Ws (Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which) act as guardian angels (and are referred to as such by Calvin), and various mythological names and beings make appearances throughout the story, a further demonstration of the un-religious (as in specific, organized religions) spiritual theme of the book.
A Wrinkle in Time is a book that teaches. It teaches the importance of love, as both a simple emotion and as a weapon against great evil. It teaches the importance of trust, as the children's trust, in each other and in those around them, is repeatedly tested and shaken. And it teaches that the simple pleasures of family, friends, good food, and good health are all that are needed to live a good life.
I recommend this book both to children and adults, as it has lessons and delights for people of all ages.