Challenge Wrap Up: Time Quartet/Quintet Read-Along

Time Quartet/Quintet Read-Along

Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Trilogy/Quartet/Quintet books were some of my favourites growing up. So I’m going to try to take the opportunity being offered by Kailana at The Written Word to reread them in the first half of 2010.

Here are Kailana’s guidelines:

1. You have until January 31st to finish the book.
2. On January 15th I will post a place to talk about spoiler-related things. Things you want to talk about but can't mention in your review.
3. The reviews should aim to be finished on the last week of January because I want to have questions that everyone answers in their posts and people need to have time to come up with them.
4. For a sense of community I am hoping that people will come up with questions about the book. I am hoping to have them all by the 20th so I can post them and people can write their reviews. Even if you take the whole month to read the book I hope you will come up with questions. Send in a few so there are some variety. It isn't much fun if people send the same questions over and over again. How you choose to use the questions (and whether you choose to use all of them) is up to you.
5. When I post the questions on the 20th, I will also post a place to post links to your reviews.
6. Feel free to use the button, made by Jason, wherever you want. It's great!

Will I make it? Let us see…

1. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
2. A Wind in the Door - Madeleine L'Engle
3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Madeleine L'Engle
4. Many Waters - Madeleine L'Engle

I did start the last book, An Acceptable Time, in May, but I don't think I even finished before I realised I simply didn't feel like reading it. The lovely feeling of the earlier books seemed missing and I just wasn't interested. Since my reading is a bit of the struggle at the moment and the TBR is more out of control than usual, I decided to pass on it.

I'm still happy with my success with the challege and I really enjoyed the reread. Most of all, I'm delighted that A Swiftly Tilting Planet didn't let me down and remained the amazing read I remembered from childhood.

Thank you Ms L'Engle so a wonderful trip around the universe and down memory lane.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle

From Goodreads.com:

Fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry, whom readers first met in A Wrinkle in Time, has a little task he must accomplish. In 24 hours, a mad dictator will destroy the universe by declaring nuclear war—unless Charles Wallace can go back in time to change one of the many Might-Have-Beens in history. In an intricately layered and suspenseful journey through time, this extraordinary young man psychically enters four different people from other eras. As he perceives through their eyes "what might have been," he begins to comprehend the cosmic significance and consequences of every living creature's actions. As he witnesses first-hand the transformation of civilization from peaceful to warring times, his very existence is threatened, but the alternative is far worse.

This isn’t a proper review. I’m not talking much about the plot, or deeper meanings or the paradoxes involved in time travel. I’m really just gushing, because I totally loved reading this book.

While I was supposed to be rereading it for Kailana’s book challenge this month, I kept putting off starting it. This was because I remember this book with such fondness and I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my memory. I was disappointed in my reread of A Wind in the Door and I was so scared the same thing would happen again.

I needn't have worried. I loved this book all over again. It simply works for me in all ways. One the sidebar of my blog, I attempt to give some kind of explanations for my book ratings. I list 10/10 as: “I loved this; it hit all my buttons both in the writing and the emotional impact”. That describes my reactions exactly. Everything just worked together for me and I loved the book.

Which is kind of funny when I think about it, as the main characters of the previous books, especially Meg and Charles Wallace who have always been my favourites, are actually pushed into the background by all the vignettes of Madoc and Gwydyr and their descendants and the futures they might bring. It doesn't matter in the least. I found myself caught up in all their stories, and especially Mom O'Keefe's, and kept reading steadily whenever I had a chance so that I read the book in a day that included lots of after school activities.

While Meg isn’t in the action a lot, the device of her kything with Charles Wallace to follow him on his journey is brilliant. It pulls the reader in and lets him/her be part of the story with her. She also adds a sense of solidity to the fantastic of Charles Wallace and Gaudior’s quest. Her reactions to what happens match mine and we’re in this whole adventure together.

L'Engle's use of theology is much quieter here, which also helps. It's fundamental to the story in its own way (partly about the balance of the universe and partly as the tale of Cain and Abel plays out again and again) but it fits the story so much more smoothly. Yes, it is Christian theology, but it isn't shoved in your face and I think this book would be much more accessible to a non-Christian reader than the previous book. For me, it was a beautiful backdrop to the story that fitted it perfectly.

The whole story fit for me. It's beautiful and ultimately a successful ending, but it remains bittersweet throughout, which adds more power to the story. Meg’s discovery of the depths in her mother-in-law, almost too late, is a perfect example, and the story is stronger for it.

There are also some gorgeous moments of writing and phrasing. The dog’s name is beautiful and a perfect fit to the power and bittersweet tone of the story. Charles Wallace calls her Ananda, which he explains means -

That joy in existence without which the universe will fall apart and collapse.

Wow. As Mrs Murray says, it’s a mighty name for one dog to carry, but it is so beautiful and amazing.

I love the book’s title too. There’s something round, and evocative and just plain cool about it. A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Go on, say it again. It describes the story exactly (and is specifically used when Charles Wallace is Within Chuck) and sounds lovely. In fact, all three of the original books have wonderful titles: A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Unfortunately, after that they become much more plain and less magical. Although Many Waters comes from the most beautiful verse (which may be Biblical but I can’t remember), An Acceptable Time does sound kind of boring. I’ll be interested to see if there’s a hidden meaning in that one too. I don’t remember, but I’ll find out come May.

So in conclusion, I really loved this book all over again and I'm so glad I did get up the courage to reread it. Now I know how powerful it remains for an adult reader, I'm sure I'll be doing it again. This may be a book for children, but it is also a book for adults and there is certainly nothing childish about it.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Madeleine L’Engle
Time Quintet, Book 3
10/10
Read: 25-3-10 to 26-3-10

Time Quintet

1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. A Wind in the Door
3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet
4. Many Waters (Goodreads link)
5. An Acceptable Time (Goodreads link)

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle

  From Goodreads:

There are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden," announces six-year-old Charles Wallace Murry in the opening sentence of The Wind in the Door. His older sister, Meg, doubts it. She figures he's seen something strange, but dragons—a "dollop of dragons," a "drove of dragons," even a "drive of dragons"—seem highly unlikely. As it turns out, Charles Wallace is right about the dragons—though the sea of eyes (merry eyes, wise eyes, ferocious eyes, kitten eyes, dragon eyes, opening and closing) and wings (in constant motion) is actually a benevolent cherubim (of a singularly plural sort) named Proginoskes who has come to help save Charles Wbllace from a serious illness.

Here we go, the second book in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet and the second book for Kailana’s challenge. I’ve always felt that A Wrinkle in Time and A Swiftly Tilting Planet are the most well know of L’Engle’s books about Meg Murry, but I look back at this one with great fondness.

There are two reasons for that: Proginoskes the cherubim and mitochondria (and farandolae). All these years later, I found that while not all of the book stood up to an adult reread, those two aspects of it did.

I don’t remember when I first read this book, but it would have been back in my teens. I know that I would have still been in high school, already leaning towards a university degree in science (even without ever having studied biology). I had never come across the word mitochondria before, but already being a scientist at heart, I went straight off to try to find out more. This was not such as easy a task as it would be now, in those long ago, pre-internet days, but I was delighted to discover that mitochondria were indeed real (although I admit to being equally disappointed to find out that farandolae were not).

I also loved Proginoskes – I thought he was described beautifully - and I always particularly liked my cover (shown above) for its attempt to illustrate him, which I always thought did a pretty good of it. Rather like mitochondria, a cherubim (singular, of course) was something I didn’t know much about, but was encouraged to explore further. Many, many years later, I read Faith Hunter’s Bloodring and sequels that features a cherubim, and whatever Hunter’s vision of it, my mental picture was shaped by Progo.

Sure, those are both kind of sentimental reasons for liking a book, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Surely good books should provoke an emotional and even sentimental response?

Meg remained a favourite character, but Charles Wallace was underused in this book – no surprise as he was ill for most of it, but I still noticed the lack. It was great to have Calvin there, but in all honesty, he didn’t do all that much. It was Mr Jenkins who was a surprising star, as a man who had been portrayed as shallow and mean showed that there was more to him than anyone, even himself, would ever have expected.

However, I did feel that A Wind in the Door had dated much more obviously that A Wrinkle in Time had done. There was more pseudo-science in this one, and in the time between 1973 and now, even the general concepts of many of the ideas used by L’Engle have been invalidated by the progress of modern science. We don’t use sound to look at very small things, we use electrons, and we know so much now about the structure of the mitochondrion that L’Engle’s vision, while interesting, is also kind of silly.

The underlying theology was also a lot more prominent this time. In itself, that doesn’t really bother me, as like I’ve said, much of my own is pretty similar. But it was much more to the fore this time to the point that I noticed it, and I suspect other readers may feel the same way. In A Wrinkle in Time I felt she blended the science and theology nicely, but they didn’t mesh quite as well this time.

All the same, I enjoyed my reread, and found that one of my favourite lines of all time came from this book. I’d always known it was in one of the Time Quintet books, but I’d imagined it was A Swiftly Tilting Planet not A Wind in the Door.

Calvin’s eyes met her for a long moment and held her gaze, not speaking, not kything, simply being.

That last phrase, “not speaking, not kything, simply being” is something that I’ve often remembered and wished I could achieve more often in my own life. We get so caught up in all the things we have to do, remember, keep up with, that we forget to simply be. This line has always reminded me of that. I need to try to simply be more often.

One last small love from this book – the comment tossed away in passing that Sandy and Denys will be Teachers one day. I like that. That even the “normal” ones are special too.

So all in all, a pleasant reread, but it didn’t stand the test of time the way A Wrinkle in Time did. It’ll be interest to see my reaction to A Swiftly Tilting Planet which I remember with even more affection than I did this one.

A Wind in the Door
Madeleine L’Engle
Time Quintet, Book 2
7/10
Read: 12-2-10 to 16-2-10

Time Quintet

1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. A Wind in the Door
3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Goodreads link)
4. Many Waters (Goodreads link)
5. An Acceptable Time (Goodreads link)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

From Goodreads.com:

Meg's father mysteriously disappears after experimenting with the fifth dimension of time travel. Determined to rescue him, Meg and her friends must outwit the forces of evil on a heart-stopping journey through space and time. A commemorative edition with an Introduction by the author. A Newbery Medal winner

This was a favourite book - and the first in a favourite series - when I was a child. I'm sure I've read it several times over the years, along with A Swiftly Tilting Planet which is my absolute favourite of the five.

I promised not to take on lots of reading challenges in 2010, but when I saw that Kailana at The Written World was holding a readalong for the series over the first five months of the year, I just couldn't resist. After all, surely I can manage to read one children's book a month for five months?

It's always something of a risk, rereading childhood favourites as an adult. You come to them with such a range of experiences that you didn't have when you first loved them. And not only that, but if your childhood is as long ago as mine was, they the book is going to be several decades old and there is also the chance that it may have dated terribly.

I'm very happy to report that I really enjoyed rereading A Wrinkle in Time. Yes, with adult eyes I could see that it was a book for children, but I didn't care. That delightful sense of wonder I discovered so many years ago was still there and I read it quickly and easily, really enjoying my trip through the universe with Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin.

I don’t remember a lot of details of my reaction to the book on first reading it. I remembered the story and I remembered loving Meg as the main protagonist, but not much more than that.

Firstly, let me say that I still love Meg. I guess she is one of the first characters I really felt I could relate to. I, too, was the different kid who didn’t properly fit in. I was more academic than Meg and didn’t get into such trouble, but I still felt, on reading her, that here was someone like me. Looking back now, I see that the superficial likeness isn’t all that great, but inside, inside I felt like Meg. And I can look back at my childhood self and look at Meg and still fell great sympathy between the two. The blessing given to Meg, “I give you your faults”, felt perfect. What child (or what adult) doesn’t want to be able to turn their faults into something powerful and positive like Meg did.

I also remember finding IT horrible, repulsive and scary. I still find the concept of IT and its control over Camazotz to be all those things, but the actual physical manifestation of IT no long scares me. Instead, I find myself wondering about size and scale and really, unless it was huge, it’s not all that frightening. I’m reminded of the Buffy episode, Fear, Itself where the demon seems terribly frightening until its scale is revealed and Buffy stomps on it. It felt to me that IT needed a good stomping. But because the power of IT remained so repulsive, this small failure didn’t damage my enjoyment of the book.

I did wonder, when I started, if the book would have dated. On the whole, really it hadn’t. Okay I did try to remember when Cape Canaveral turned into Cape Kennedy (1963, the year after A Wrinkle in Time was published I find after looking it up on Wikipedia, which make logical sense when I think about it). But really, the only time I stopped and thought, “Hey, this was written in the sixties”, was when the children walked into Camazotz Central Intelligence and the computer room was described as being full of enormous boxes full of reels of tape. That kind of technological dating is impossible to avoid in an old book – how could L’Engle (or anyone else) imagine what my computer experience would be in 2010 as I sit here with a laptop on my knees connected to you all by wireless broadband. I just noticed the old computers and moved on. Otherwise, the people remained real people, the problems real problems and the alien worlds were very nicely, if not exactly scientifically, portrayed.

I've already read some of the reviews posted by other "readalongers" and some points had been raised (points seen by adult eyes and at a distance of years as I mentioned above) that remained in the back of my mind as I read. Would I notice them too? Would they bother me too?

One in particular, mentioned by more than one reader, was the very Christian-centric view of the universe in the book. Several said that while they didn't mind the characters having such a belief set, they felt that the author was preaching to them by having the actual universe itself having that belief set. Being brought up in the Christian belief system myself, I certainly never noticed it when reading the book as a child. Or at least, I don't remember noticing it. Reading it now, I could see what the other readers meant - I felt there were two places in particular where Christianity was given as absolute truth of the universe rather than one of several possibilities. These were when Mrs Whatsit tried to translate the music on Uriel and later, when the children were asked to think of people on Earth who had fought against the Darkness and the first answer, given by Charles Wallace, was Jesus.

So yes, it was there. How did it affect my reading of the book. Well, it didn't really, I must admit. I thought for a second, "Oh, that's what they meant" and went on reading. Part of that is probably due to the fact I still hold that same belief set myself (if not with the absolute assurance I had as a child), but I also didn't feel that L'Engle was preaching at me. I couldn't say whether she wrote the book as she did because to her that's the way the world was, truth rather than choice, or because she chose to create her "universe" where that was the truth of things. Either way, it didn't feel to me like she was on any kind of soapbox, which would have annoyed me, but telling her story the way that was right for her. Of course, others who come to the book from a different background may not agree with me.

(It also helps that I'm quite capable of subscribing to the concept of each book I read belonging in its own alternate universe that exists alongside the real one - something that can be very useful when watching TV and film adaptions of favourite books as they often belong in totally different universes from each other. Although, as an aside, I admit that even I can't manage that when it comes to the atrocity that is the film of Susan Cooper's wonderful book, The Dark is Rising.)

Someone else mentioned that they felt the characterisation was choppy, especially with the way Meg's feelings jumped all over the place. I don't think I would have noticed that even this time if I hadn't already been aware it might be there. I didn't really find it choppy, but more as if everything was being shown right up front and centre. Subtle, Meg certainly wasn't. In an adult book this might have been a problem, but I didn't feel it was here. By that, I don't mean that L'Engle can "get away with it" because she was writing a book for children, but because subtlety is something we develop as we mature and spelling it out was probably appropriate for the reading audience. This is a book for children, not for adults or even young adults (a reading category that didn't even exist when this book was published in 1962) and I felt it fit the age group, especially considering when it was written.

Speaking of when it was written, do you like the cover of my edition? I had to go and scan it, since I couldn’t find it online anywhere. I really like it and feel it works well for the book. I’m kind of sorry there’s 50c written on the cover, but it helps with the whole nostalgic feel. I wish I could still buy books for 50c – and that New Zealand cents not American ones too.

Kailana asked us to come up with some questions for discussion. I've already addressed some other readers' points, so thought I'd throw out one of my own.

Do readers feel this book has a clear sense of place?

Because I do. For all that a significant portion of it occurs on other planets, this feels like a very American book to me. I don't mean that as a kind of judgement, just that the sense of place is very strong for me. And this is something I feel certain I picked up on original readings as well as it felt very familiar to me as I reread. I've been thinking about why that might be, and come to the conclusion that it is because most of the books available to me as a child living in New Zealand in the 1970s and early 80s were British books. The fiction world of my childhood was therefore very British. (There were a few New Zealand books available, noticeably books by Margaret Mahy and Maurice Gee's Under the Mountain but I don't remember many others off the top of my head.) Then along came these wonderful books that felt so different. I couldn't say why then and I still can't put my finger on it now, but the sense of place for me stood out because it was quite unlike the other books I read.

There are some obvious things, like mention of different kinds of trees and Mr Murray working at Cape Canaveral, but it was more subtle than that. A sense that seeps through the pages to give me a delicious, different feeling.

I'm not sure that actually makes sense, but that's how it feels to me and I'm going to stick by it.

So overall, yes, you can tell this is a children's book, but I just don't care. I loved rediscovering it and it spoke to me as much at age 40 as it did when I was 10. There's got to be some kind of magic in that.

And besides, tesseract is just a totally cool word.

A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L’Engle
Time Quintet, Book 1
9/10
Read: 19-1-10 to 21-1-10

Time Quintet

1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. A Wind in the Door (Goodreads link)
3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Goodreads link)
4. Many Waters (Goodreads link)
5. An Acceptable Time (Goodreads link)

Time Quartet/Quintet Readalong

I swore I was going to do it. Really I did. No more challenges for 2010. I don’t want to get stressed, remember? But this one will fit in with my desire to do plenty of rereading in 2010 and count for the Flashback Challenge as well.

Kailana at The Written Word is hosting a read-a-long of Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quartet (that started out as a trilogy and is now a quintet) and since I already wanted to reread A Wrinkle in Time this year, I decided to join.

I consider this a guideline rather than a requirement. If I manage to do it, that’s fantastic. If I don’t, it most definitely isn’t the end of the world. All the same, I hope I do manage to reread this wonderful kids’ series that has always been suitable  for adults too.

A full listing of the rules/guidelines are on Kailana’s blog and my reading list is here. If you’re a L’Engle fan, or want to find out about these books that get readers all enthused. Do come and join us.