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A Wrinkle in Time (平装)
by Madeleine L'Engle
| Category:
Adventure, Story, Award-winning Books, Ages 9 -12, Children's books |
| Market price: ¥ 88.00
MSL price:
¥ 78.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A Wrinkle in Time shows that all people have to preserver to get though those hard times. Depending on whether you’re scared or something's to difficult, you always need to break through those challenges. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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Orrin C., USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
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; no one 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 religion political lesson about the human condition and is great fun besides. I look forward to reading it with my kids.
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Joanna Daneman , USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
This is a children's book, but it isn't just an adventure story.
It has science-fiction; The Drs. Murray, parents of Meg, Charles Wallace and the twins) are scientists who are researching Time and Space. Dr. Murray takes a time trip and so do the kids.
There is also magic; a trio of "witches" shows up-Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, and they take Meg, her brother Charles-Wallace, and their new friend Calvin on an epic adventure.
It's also the story of a family with a deep trouble who nonetheless stay together, the story of a young girl who is just coming into adolescence with all the awkwardness and confusing feelings, and the story of a special little boy who is thought to be retarded by townspeople.
The symbology L'Engel uses is powerful and original; a giant brain who seduces those around it into surrendering their free will as an ultimate dictator; a shadow-like smog around planets that represents the presence of Evil, and a special young boy who is more than a genius; who is "something new" who nonetheless can be tempted to his own destruction by vanity.
Wrinkle in Time has a lot of fertile subjects for discussions between parents and children about good, evil, how we treat each other, and the choices we make. Ms. L'Engel often uses moral themes in her books and this one contains excellent subjects for discussions about kindness, good, evil, God, and being different, and about the destructiveness of gossip.
Wrinke in Time is like the Potter books in that it is about boys and girls in a magical or fantasy setting. It is unlike the Potter books because it does not focus on wizardry as a craft. Instead it presents the universe as full of wonder, and united by a titanic struggle of Good against Evil. Like the Potter books, there are sequels to Wrinkle in Time, and the story of the Murray kids continues. This was hands-down my favorite book as a child. I still have my copy almost 40 years later.
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Ashley Pocklington, USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
A Wrinkle in Time is a delightful science fiction, fantasy novel that revolves around three main characters: Meg Murry, Calvin, and Charles. Meg is a twelve-year old girl who doesn't think much of herself and does poor in school except in the areas of math and science. Calvin is a bright fourteen-year old teenage boy who is very popular at school and is great at sports. Charles is Meg's five-year old brother who most people think is stupid but Charles has extraordinary powers to know what others are thinking in their minds. Throughout the story, the children travel through time and distant planets facing good and evil to try to rescue their father who has been captured and held prisoner by an evil force named "It" on a planet called Camazotz. "It" is a creature described as being a living brain without a body that can control all of ones thoughts and actions. It is finally through the power of love that Meg destroys the creature and saves her father.
I feel this novel was not only influential to me, but many of us could also relate to the character Meg. Meg believed that she was neither smart nor pretty and what she finds out through the wrinkle is that she knows more than she thinks Meg just needs to have more confidence in herself.
Before I read this novel, I really didn't think it would be interesting or exciting in anyway. The only reason why I read it was because my teacher wanted me to; however, at the end of reading this novel my opinion changed and I thought it was a really interesting with many details.
A Wrinkle in Time shows that all people have to preserver to get though those hard times. Depending on whether you're scared or something's to difficult, you always need to break through those challenges. Lastly, love conquers all things.
What I have gained from reading this novel is that I should never give up and always do my best. I believe that this novel has helped me gain confidence in myself and to realize that I am smart and I can do it. . It showed me that there's always going to be a bump in the road and I just have to have the endurance to get over it.
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Blake Petit, Louisiana United States
<2006-12-21 00:00>
I've been a reader for as long as I can remember, but one of the first books I truly fell in love with was Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. I recently felt the urge to read through it again, and while I find I still love it as much as I did as a child, I now love it for different reasons. When I first read this book, I remember feeling as though I was embarking on some grand, epic adventure, the sort of feeling you get from Lord of the Rings. Reading it again as an adult, I'm surprised at how small a story it actually is. Oh, it's still a great adventure, spanning time and space, but for all its cosmic scope it's really the story about a family.
The Murray family is going through hard times - the eldest, Meg, is having troubles fitting in at school. The youngest, Charles Wallace, is an outcast and hides his incredible intelligence to such a degree that everyone outside the family thinks him a fool. And the children's father has been missing for a long time - exactly how long is never revealed, but it's been more than a year and long enough that five-year-old Charles Wallace doesn't even remember him. The world changes for the children when Charles Wallace befriends a trio of eccentric women in a nearby house, women who turn out to be agents of a much higher power that are about to send Meg, Charles Wallace and Meg's schoolmate Calvin on a quest to bring the children's father home.
Madeline L'Engle succeeded on virtually every level with this novel. She created unforgettable characters and and fantastic settings. She managed to explain complex scientific principles in a manner that young readers could comprehend. She took a cosmic conflict - the ultimate war of good versus evil - and showed it in a prism that a young reader could relate to - the struggle to save a father. And the descriptions of life on the dark planet Camazotz and the hideous creature IT frightened me more as a child than the goriest Stephen King novel or Freddy Krueger movie could ever hope to do.
Even now, this is still easily one of my favorite books, and when I have children of my own, I can't wait to share it with them.
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Mathew F., Honolulu, Hawaii
<2006-12-21 00:00>
I have always found that Newberry books-while written for children-can appeal to people of all ages, cultures, and ethnicities. While it may appear purely dramatic, purely cheesy, purely sci-fi, books that receive the Newberry Medal have something that other works lack: Symbolism and Moral Foundation.
While Dragonwings by Lawrence Yep; Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George; and the recent Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kodohata all seem worthy of their accolade, I hold the belief that Madeline L'Engle will be a celebrated author for many centuries to come-her Wrinkle in Time being seen as equal to the dramatic yet philosophical teachings of Shakespeare (who is quoted throughout).
A Wrinkle in Time takes readers on a journey through the universe. The story of a troubled young woman trying to find her father. The story of a triumphant fight against evil. The story of sacrifice, dreams, and hope. Readers will experience more than just science fiction, but will learn through Aunt Beast, that beauty can be found in the most unusual of places. Readers will learn through the planet Uriel, that places in the universe exist as an oasis to those who are engaged in a continuous fight, a fight against "The Black Thing." Through "The Black Thing" readers will learn there are people who decide to shun the negative entity of conformity. Through Camazots, readers will learn that evil forces lay not only in an entity, but in choosing to deplete individuality.
Even more moral teachings and literary symbol is nestled within the pages of this inspirational book. Certainly the only literary work classified as "Sci-Fi" that can make you laugh, think, reflect, and even cry.
Even the recent guru J.K. Rowling with her Harry Potter collection doesn't seem to capture the essence of Madeline L'Engle. While I must admit that Rowling has a talent for writing, I have donated all of my Harry Potter books to Goodwill. I would like to see J.K. Rowling write an autobiography, because she does have a rather inspirational story about the process of writing her Potter books-involving hardship, triumph, and hope.
It has been speculated by many experts in literature and book reviewers that L'Engles book may have religious foundation. What's so great is that it really doesn't matter; the literary symbolism is created by the reader. My counselor back in middle school enjoyed this reading because she lost her father at a very young age. The book can symbolize finding someone, it can symbolize defeating evil, and yes, a religious journey. I do believe, however, that L'Engle was only trying to write something that could apply to any situation-any day in age. I do believe A Wrinkle in Time had some degree of political theme from the Cold War era, but I don't think Madeline L'Engle's only intention was to warn society in this regard.
A Wrinkle in Time: A book everyone should read, certainly worthy of the 1960's Newberry Medal!
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1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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