“In your language you have a form of poetry called the sonnet…There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That’s a very strict rhythm or meter…And each line has to end with a rigid pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet…But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever he wants…You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you."
“You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but freedom within it?"
"Yes." Mrs. Whatsit said. "You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.”
While I seemingly absorbed a love for science fiction and fantasy in the womb, we all must begin our personal journey into that world somewhere. Alongside my parents I ventured into the worlds of Star Trek, Narnia, King Arthur, and many others. I've known these names for so long, in fact, that I regret to say that I have no fond memories of my first experience with them. But one thing I shall always hold dear is the memory of the first time I read A Wrinkle in Time.
I was a wee lad, on a shopping excursion to an Edmontonian Chapters with my (much smaller then) family. I recall I was poking through a section filled with Great Illustrated Classics, a line of adapted classic novels I was quite engaged in at the time, when my Mother (or was it my Father? Memories are fickle) approached me with a book they had found.
It had a most surreal cover depicting an angelic being emerging from a giant egg which was itself emblazoned with an image of three children. Obviously it gave me no real indication of what kind of story I was about to experience.
The author was Madeline L'Engle, and the title was A Wrinkle in Time.
I happily accepted the recommendation as soon as I was able to discern that the genre was science fiction, and that night, I began reading. To this day, it remains one of my favourite novels of all time.
(A side note worth noting so I think I'll note it: I remember that my love for Peanuts made me smile quite broadly at the opening line "It was a dark and stormy night").
A Wrinkle in Time, on a basic level, deals in the plight of fourteen-year-old Margaret "Meg" Murry, her friend Calvin 'O Keefe, and her genius five-year-old brother Charles Wallace as they travel through time and space in search of her father, who went missing after working on the theoretical concept of the Tesseract. The Tesseract here being the fifth dimension, and the titular Wrinkle in Time.
Along the way they travel through many strange, beautiful, endlessly creative and terrifying places and planets, meet many eccentric and engaging characters, uncover many conspiracies and truths about said places and characters, as well as the very universe they live in.
I'm honestly having a hard time writing about this particular book. There's so much I want to say about it at once. I want to talk about how much I was amused by, as well as related to the character who found it easier to express herself through quoting Shakespeare's The Tempest rather than using her own words, the fascinating philosophy and insight of a planet whose creatures have no concept of vision, the horror of Camazotz, the beauty and music of Uriel, the touching closeness and self-sacrificing love that the Murry family demonstrates, but, alas, I am too close to this novel to offer much coherency when discussing it.
What I can do, is say this, if you have any interest in fantasy or science fiction, or just want to read something astoundingly creative and (I only use this word when I really mean it) unique. this is an absolute must-read.
One thing I will comment on, and I really love this, is that the book has a constant Christian perspective on things. I regret to say that Madeline L'Engle had many personal views that conflicted with biblical truths despite her professed Christian faith, but as far as A Wrinkle in Time is concerned, that perspective and the many nuggets of wisdom it provides did nothing but enhance the enjoyment of the novel and its story.
Hymns and praises to the same God I know being sung on another planet is something that you rarely see in these kinds of stories, and when a character pep talks the others using Romans 8:28, I thought it was just awesome.
These things also tie directly into the well-expressed, if common, themes of the story. Love, friendship, good vs evil, redemption, all that good stuff.
The book is certainly no Narnia in that department, to be sure, but they definitely give its philosophy a nice edge, and provides its readers with brilliant conversation potential.
A Wrinkle in Time was followed by many sequels, of which I'm afraid I only read one. The second book, A Wind in the Door, had many interesting ideas such as other worlds existing in human mitochondria, and possibly the most unique cherubim I've ever read about, but it certainly didn't stick with me like the original… Perhaps I should reread it and catch up on the other sequels as well. Chalk those up as potential future reviews.
I do apologize for this being more of a prolonged raving session rather than a coherent review, but it truly does boil down to this: A Wrinkle in Time is one of the greatest science fiction stories I have ever read, let alone children's novel; I don't think there's much you could want out of such a tale that it does not provide. Philosophy, mystery, friendship, humour, suspense, a hint of tragedy and OH, MY GOODNESS THE CREATIVITY. (Sorry). I cannot recommend it enough.
I thank you very much for swimming through my wee-morning hour ramblings, and I bid you cheerio, pip pip and all that!
"It seemed to travel with her, to sweep her aloft in the power of song, so that she was moving in glory among the stars, and for a moment she, too, felt that the words Darkness and Light had no meaning, and only this melody was real."
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