Thursday, July 23, 2020

Madeleine L'Engle: The Time Quintet

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle. I remember watching a filmstrip of this book in Briesemeister, so I have been at least aware of it since middle school. The movie adaptations of it have just gotten worse and worse over time. I can’t say exactly when I first read it. It is a classic tale and became the first in a series now called The Time Quintet. I think I bought the first three in high school, before the last two were even written. Ranking: Essential. File Code: Children’s Book. Fantasy. Classic. Paperback.
A Wind in the Door, by Madeleine L’Engle. The second book of The Time Quintet. I sometimes think the best thing about this book is the cover of the cherubim in the middle of the wood. I’m afraid the whole series suffers from diminishing returns. Full of nice concepts like kything and Naming, of course, but the stitching is a little loose. I’ve read it maybe twice, compared to the multiple times I’ve read ‘Wrinkle’. Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Children’s Book. Fantasy. Paperback.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet, by Madeleine L’Engle. The third book of The Time Quintet. Most notable for introducing me to the incantatory verse of “St. Patrick’s Breastplate”. Other than that, eh. Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Children’s Book. Fantasy. Paperback.
Many Waters, by Madeleine L’Engle. The fourth book in The Time Quintet. Two boys travel back to the time just before the Flood. Angels, nephilim, little mammoths, and Noah’s family mingle in a tale of how this fabled time could have played out. A slight rising blip on my screen, but otherwise, the series decay (in my opinion) continues. Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Children’s Book. Fantasy. Paperback.
An Acceptable Time, by Madeleine L’Engle. The fifth book and nadir of The Time Quintet. I’m not surprised she stopped after this. Celtic Indians. Kind of New Age Christianity. I read this one time and never again. Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Children’s Book. Fantasy. Paperback.

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