Short Stories, Irish literature, Classics, Modern Fiction, Contemporary Literary Fiction, The Japanese Novel, Post Colonial Asian Fiction, The Legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and quality Historical Novels are Among my Interests








Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (1962, 232 pages)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (1918 to 2007-New York City) won the very prestigious Newberry Award for best children's literature in 1962.    You will also find it mentioned by many book bloggers as among their very favorite books of their youth.    I have been wanting to read it for some time now and I was very happy to find it in National Book Store in Trinoma Mall.    It is very much a "feel good book".    

A Wrinkle in Time is a cross between science fiction and a Christian fable.    It plays with the conventional notions of time and space and solid objects.    It takes us to strange planets (places besides earth at least) and  introduces us to aliens with names like "Aunt Beast", "Mrs Who",  "Mrs Whatsit" and "Mrs Which".   They may look strange but in the end they are kind of like alien Mary Poppins.   

There is an excellent post at Things Mean a Lot  that goes into detail about the plot and the themes of the book.    There are links on that post to other reviews.    

A Wrinkle in Time is a book for children but it also has the power to make adults think.    It is well written and easy to read.    With the qualification that this is almost a child's book rather than a Young Adult book, I would recommend it for adults who like an occasional Young Adult book.    I would be happy to see my 12 year old daughter reading this and I think she would like it a lot.    A Wrinkle in Time supports the kind of values a parent of almost any creed or religion would like to see their children learn.  


Mel u



6 comments:

Astrid (Mrs.B) said...

I would have loved to trade this too as I haven't read it yet. Maybe next time.

Tanu said...

I listened to the book and I was disappointed. Good to see that you enjoyed it. I felt that the book was choppy and the author left many loose ends.

I like how you compared 3 Mrs. Ws to Mary Poppins. I hadn't thought of that.

Suko said...

Mel, I am pretty sure that we have this book in a bookcase. I'm also pretty sure that I'll read it before too long. Excellent, concise review of this book!

Unknown said...

I'm curious about this one too.

Mel u said...

Mrs B-next time for sure-

Suko-my prediction is you will like it

Kah Woei-thanks for stopping by my blog

Tanu-I can see how the book might have been almost too much of a child's book for many readers

Patrick said...

I read this last year and I loved it. My sister didn't like it though and I can totally understand why. It's not an ordinary children's book so you'd really have to think deeper to "get it" I guess.