telefrog's Full Review: Madeleine L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time: Literature ...
Until a flood sent it to the great book depository in the sky, a rather battered book held pride of place on my shelf. The cover was almost entirely hidden by duct tape, and the title had been scrawled in permanent marker along the spine by my 10-year-old self many moons ago. That title was A Wrinkle In Time, and it held pride of place for two reasons:
A) It had belonged to my Mom, who passed it on to me and
B) It is simply one of the best books I have ever read.
I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that this book had the dubious honor of being on the ALA’s top 100 challenged books list. I remembered the story to be basically a tale of innocence, faith and love triumphing over evil. Nothing objectionable in that, right? So I went and purchased a new copy so that I could take a fresh look.
At its core, this is a coming-of-age story. Meg has many of the common complaints of adolescence - she feels dumb, plain, awkward, often overly emotional. Suddenly she is
swept up in the adventure of rescuing her missing father, and in the process she discovers her own inner strengths. This basic story is told within a framework of a sci-fi tale
involving multi-dimensional space travel, other forms of sentient life, and an all-consuming evil which seeks to stamp out free will and is slowly absorbing the universe.
Meg has great company on her adventures - these characters really ring true, even the most fantastic. They all have their little quirks and foibles, and there is not a cardboard cutout among them. She is joined by:
Charles Wallace: Her five-year-old brother who hides his adult level vocabulary and genius IQ because he feels others would find it disturbing. He can be himself around Meg, and they have a close bond.
Calvin: Handsome, charming, and athletic, he is one of the most popular boys in school. Meg thinks he has it all until she discovers what his home life is like.
Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatzit, and Mrs. Which: Whether they are retired stars, angels, or both is never quite made clear. They act as guides and guardians to the children on their journey and are quite a remarkable group. One speaks almost entirely in quotes, one spends most of her time invisible, and one is a charming bumbler who wears her heart on her sleeve.
The supporting cast consists of Meg’s parents (Mom is a chemist, Dad is a physicist), her absolutely-average-in-every-way twin brothers, and a race of pacifist beings on a distant planet (notably Aunt Beast, who cares for Meg when she falls ill and in the process teaches her some valuable lessons about tolerance). There are also the requisite minions of evil, who hypnotize everybody in the name of equality. (They also try to convince Meg and co. that sameness and equality are the same thing).
The writing style is a bit simplified, as this is aimed at the pre-teen crowd, but the author obviously understands her audience and never “talks down” to the reader. I enjoyed it just as much as an adult as I did as a child, and even found some new levels and complexities which I had missed. It was pleasantly easy to suspend disbelief and slip right into the story, and I was delighted to find that all my old friends were just as wonderful as I remembered them to be.
A Wrinkle In Time is story about love and faith, innocence and trust, good against evil, free will and the responsibility that goes with it. It has valuable lessons to teach our children about tolerance, responsibility, and faith in others and one’s self. I have a hard time believing that it was challenged on the basis that it goes against traditional religious beliefs, as all the basic tenets are here. While the story itself is not overtly of a religious nature, the moral and ethical lessons are pretty clear. Perhaps the challengers were simply offended at the idea of a theologian writing an exiting sci-fi adventure for children. Personally, I would say this is a must read for any youngster, both because of its uplifting content and because it is just so much fun to read.
This was written as part of a Censorship Write Off. Please be sure to take a look at my fellow contributors - I'm sure you will find it worthwhile!
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