5.0 out of 5 stars Very memorable story though I have a few objections

M.L. · February 7, 2001

I am now in the middle of the first sequel to this book, going through the Time Quartet (don't understand why it isn't called the TIME QUINTET, the only logic I can come up with is AN ACCEPTABLE TIME deals with Polly and not one of the four Murry children) for the first time. A WRINKLE IN TIME is one of those books that have a sterling reputation, and a book I had been meaning to read for a long time. It was worth the wait, being one of the most memorable and unusual books I've read. For you old school gamers, perhaps Mother Brain off Metroid came from the villain here? Just a thought.The story is tightly written, very good buildup of characters, dominant themes very apparent (acceptance, curiosity, and very importantly: love), plausible resolution. All the characters are very memorable, people you would love to meet in real life. Charles Wallace is one of the most intriguing of all characters I have met in literature, and it's a shame we don't get to see more of the REAL C. W. (to those of you who have read the book you know what I mean). The images and story are so diverse, so far reaching I consumed the story rather quickly. To those of you familiar with C. S. Lewis, he said one of the purposes of literature, and primarily myth, is to give you `stabs of joy', awaken a spiritually yearning that ultimately is consummated in the character of Christ Jesus. This book is myth. I wanted to go to the land of the centaurs and bask in that glory. This story awakens a longing and a yearning for things of the supernatural. It certainly did for me.I would end it at that, but I do have some issues or problems with this book. One largely rests in the fact that the three Mrs. Ws are maintaining the illusion of haunting and witchcraft to scare away people. No angles of God would do this, as described in the book, for "a joke" (its in the passage where Meg is attempting to help Charles Wallace at Camazots). I do not object to magic in literature depending on how it is handled. But I do object to this simply because they are painted as such wonderful servants of God, and there's the whole feel to the book of goodness and holiness, and then this element which for me goes completely against everything L'Engle otherwise consistently maintains in this work.Another is the inclusion of The Happy Medium. Medium is generally associated with sorcery and evil, and wish she had chosen a better title for her than this.Yet another is the feeling of universalism that predominates a particular passage in the book where Charles Wallace is describing the heroes who have fought against the encroaching darkness. One is Jesus. Since the book plays with the time element extensively, L'Engle should have said the Jesus won the battle already, even though we must fight it. This I do not hold against L'Engle, simply because the doctrine is complex and very difficult to understand, but I do resent the inclusion of Buddha as one of the people who have fought against the darkness, which, oddly, is included a few lines down with a lists of artists. My own thoughts on universalism are clouded (no, I do not believe full-blown universalism: the one I waiver back and forth with is found in THE LAST BATTLE). But Buddhism is a false religion, and he did not fight the darkness, although he had been deceived into thinking he had.While, for me, those things I've cited above do detract from this book, the story is wonderful, and one of the most remarkable books I've read. You will be changed by this book if you allow yourself to be. It's such an unusual book. I just soaked it up. Well done, L'Engle.Another impression I have of L'Engle, and which she herself supports, she has a very large curiosity about the world. There's a definite shift from NARNIA to WRINKLE. With Lewis you feel like he's an uncle telling you this wonderful story, but he's wise. With L'Engle, you get the feeling she's just as amazed at this world that's been uncovered as you are. In an interview with L'Engle here on Bolo, she said Lewis had a lot more answers, and she had a lot more questions. Lets see what she can turn up.Mike London(P. S. Have you seen those dreadful illustrations, the cover art, to the other paperback edition? That edition has the three children standing in an egg-shaped circle with a white creature flying over. They are much to young looking for this book - I don't like the cover art at all on those. I much prefer the one with the centaur on the cover or the hardback edition).

5.0 out of 5 stars My Seven Year Old Self Still Loves it

M.W. · July 20, 2017

I had to channel my seven year old self this week because I had been away from this book for too long. After having read it a few times a year for many years in my youth, I fell out of the habit over the last decade or two. Nevertheless this book was, as a friend so aptly put it, my gateway drug into the world of science fiction and I retained a love for it that now seems somewhat out of proportion.The first thing that jarred me was the ham-handed characterization, particularly of Meg, who spends so much of the book either complaining, or screaming, or obsessing about one thing to the exclusion of every other, often obvious, necessity. Meg is not a likeable creature, though not because she's both stubborn and angry, but because of how she chooses to use what Mrs. Whatsis calls her "gifts." Rather, it's her unwillingness to understand or even listen to what her brother and her friend, and her father are telling her because she's certain she knows what's going on and they don't.And the screaming. Meg screams a lot, and it's wearing.I understand what L'Engle was going for with Charles Wallace, but now that I'm older and have done a lot more writing, I recognize that at least some of his speech pattern is in aid of not having to write a small child's dialogue. Yes, he should be more adult in his speech than a normal child his age, but to make him sound like a professor puts the reader at such a distance from his reality that it become difficult to read him as anything but a miniature adult, and it blunts the sense of danger we might get from his predicament.Calvin? Too slangy by half, and all that slang seems quaint and even prissy.But the story does hold up. Three children travel across universes to rescue the father of two of them. He's being held by an evil entity which takes over worlds and turns the inhabitants into near zombies. There's a 1984-ish vibe to it. It reflects the fears about the rise of totalitarian powers, Nazi Germany, certainly, but even more so, the spread of Communism after WWII. L'Engle, a profoundly Christian writer, believes that the power of love can defeat that sort of evil, and that the love of God is the greatest expression of that power.While I don't share L'Engle's sentiments about Christianity, I do think that the scene where Meg is called upon to save her brother is a powerful one because it's the moment when she focuses all her negative energies into something positive: her expression of love for Charles Wallace, and not only accomplishes her task, but turns a corner in her own development. She begins to understand how even negative energies can be made positive if they're properly applied. It's also our pay-off for having stuck with Meg, and cared about her even when she was at her most unlikeable.After that it's wham, bam, thank you ma'am, and done. There are two or three other books in this series, though, so the story continues, though somewhat less successfully than in Wrinkle. I've read two more in the past, and have no real desire to reread them now or seek out the fourth if it exists (can't recall, sorry.)Part of me wishes I hadn't reread this because after such a long absence I found it a bit of a chore, and I hate thinking of it that way. I want to remember the magic, not the flaws. But I still have high hopes for the upcoming film, so it's not a story I'll ever let go of.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good children's read!

B. · September 22, 2024

Id give it a better rating but I bought this for my daughter for a reading assignment. When it arrived everything was fine until I noticed the back of the book had some damage. It's not a big deal but when I purchase a book brand new, I'd like it not to be crushed. So that was a little bit of a bummer. Other than that it arrived quickly and my daughter is enjoying the read!

piacevole

r. · November 26, 2019

l'ho preso per mio figlio, a lui è piacito molto

très clair

M.A. · March 17, 2025

j'aime bien le livre

Leitura muito boa!

b. · June 12, 2021

Recomendo esta leitura! Comecei a ler para treinar o inglês mesmo, mas acabei gostando bastante do enredo e me envolvi com a história. Me fez pensar bastante, além de aprender novo vocabulário e relaxar.

very good book

R. · August 12, 2024

I bought this book, and it did not come damaged. very good and interesting book definitely going to read the next one in the series!!!!

Precioso viaje a través de la imaginación colectiva de una familia americana

C.d.K.B.F. · March 11, 2017

Intrigante muestra de novela corta juvenil. Un viaje en el tiempo y el espacio para desenmascarar al monstruo y deshacer la Nada. Escrita en la época de mayor alerta nuclear del siglo XX.