Fiction
Winner of the Newberry in 1963, A Wrinkle in Time is the
rare sort of book that manages multiple threads on multiple levels seamlessly
while following a perfectly linear arc. The book opens on a “dark and stormy
night” with misfit Meg Murry having hot chocolate with her mother and brother,
Charles Wallace, an uncanny four-year-old savant. When a stranger comes in from
the storm, the stage is set for what becomes an extraordinary journey through
time and space to save Meg and Charles Wallace’s missing astrophysicist father.
On one level, A Wrinkle in Time is a beautifully executed, if unsettling,
adventure featuring a disturbing set of antagonists, including a repulsive,
disembodied brain with the power of mind control. On another level, it is the
story of Meg’s coming of age as she realizes that her beloved father is not
omnipotent, and that she herself is more capable than she realizes. It is a
sophisticated masterpiece with science, mathematics, philosophy and religion
sprinkled throughout. L’Engle expects much from her readers and more than
rewards the effort. The first in L'Engle's celebrated Time Quintet, A Wrinkle in Time is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary this year. It deserves quite a party, I think.
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