Imagine that we are all ants on an endless sheet of paper that we call
the universe. What if we could fold this paper and walk across, moving to a
vastly different place without even moving? This is the baseline for this
intense 1962 Science Fiction book, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. I
thought very highly of this book and I would rate this book 9/10 stars.
In this book, the main characters are a pair of siblings named Meg and
Charles, who are considered outcasts. Charles is "abnormally shy" and
society thinks he is dumb when his family knows he is a prodigy. Meg is a
misfit and resorts to violence in disputes. They meet three superior beings
named Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. They are able to tesser or
teleport through time and they lead Meg, Charles, and their friend named
Calvin on an intergalactic quest to find their lost father. They explore the
galaxy and locate him on a "evil" planet called Camazotz. A being called
"It" holds the planet hostage and all the innocent citizens have to act in
unison. Girls jump rope at exactly the same time and boys throw balls at
the same time with fake grins. If they fall out of line, they are severely
punished by It. Charles tries to combat It but he also falls into a trance. Meg
is forced to combat him alone with a special skill.
I enjoyed this book so much because of the overall themes and morals
that are echoed as well as the well-constructed plot. In the book, they
accidentally go to a planet where the inhabitants are monstrous creatures.
Charles and the "Mrs" are separated from the others and Meg is severely
injured. The inhabitants offer to help them and out of desperation, accept.
Meg is very suspicious but eventually gives them her trust. They heal her
and give her extra strength. Delved into this experience is the theme of
trust. Always trust someone with good intentions. Another major theme is
individuality as oppose to conformity. In the beginning, Meg is insistent on
being normal but after she visits Camazotz, she realizes the complete
conformity is boring and makes the world dull and lifeless. Also, there is an
intersection of faith and reason. Mrs. Which says, " The heart has its
reasons, whereof reason knows nothing". The quest is driven by both the
reason of science and logic and the faith in family. "It" corrupts people to
lose their faith and be controlled only by reason. These are some of the
many themes and morals in the book.
There are many books that are based off of this book as well. Some of
these titles include books in L'Engle's very famous Time Quintet that won a
Newbury Award and other works. The book I will compare and contrast this
to is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. In both books, they travel to
a weird land by a mystical force and both are filled with puns and allegorical references. A difference is that the Tollbooth takes place in a different world
and is more silly and lighthearted whereas a Wrinkle in Time takes place in
the far reaches of the universe and is more serious and dark. Both books
are stellar beyond words and touch the hearts of many people.
In conclusion, this book is incredible. Anyone who enjoys science and
has a great imagination would love this book. I recommend that you read it someday.