Book Review
by Rosangela C. TaylorA Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle
Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
My rate: ♥♥♥♥♥
A Wrinkle in Time is a sci-fi fantasy novel written in 1962, yet has plenty of non-fictional concepts worth observing and thinking about in our current times.
There have been two film adaptations of this book, one for television in 2003, and the other for the big screen in 2018. As a great fan of this book, I strongly recommend against the movies. Or, at least until you have read the book.
The reason is simple. Let your mind create the scenes and all the elements and conceptual messages as you read the book rather than having them pre-made and shoved into your perception.
Especially the 2018 movie production. It presents an agenda – about which I’m not going into details now – and it’s enough to understand that it comes with a twenty-first-century flavor, embedded in concepts of righteousness and social thought-forming elements. So, even if you love movies, read this book before you watch Disney’s adaptations of it.
“The only way to cope with something deadly serious is to try to treat it a little lightly.”
In case you don’t know what this book is about, A Wrinkle in Time tells us the story of a thirteen-year-old girl called Meg, her brother Charles, and their friend Calvin going on a fantastic otherworldly adventure after meeting three magical creatures, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.
Their mission is to rescue Meg’s father, a scientist who is working on a project mission and has been trapped on Camazotz for years.
Camazotz is a planet being controlled by an evil mental force named IT, or Dark Thing. Such dark force manifests itself in the fear and obedience of those inhabitants, creating a type of society where everyone conforms and lives as it is mandated (any resemblance with current events and leaders that take place on planet Earth is not mere coincidence; it’s a warning!).
No independent thought, creativity, or freedom is allowed in Camazotz. Everything is the same, from all kids bouncing their balls in uniform rhythms to adults living in tract homes and getting their milk in the morning all at the same time, the same way. Life is a pre-cut one-size-fits-all experience for all inhabitants of that planet and there is no getting free.
Other planets have already been fully enveloped by the Dark Thing. The kids see the planet Uriel completely dark; and Earth, partly dark. (Interesting point about Earth, isn’t it?)
Finding the strength to fight IT takes something special. It takes something that those beings in Camazotz haven’t learned yet. But it’s inside of every human. So, Meg just has to find it.
“If we knew ahead of time what was going to happen we’d be – we’d be like the people on Camazotz, with no lives of our own, with everything all planned and done for us.”
This book is a masterpiece. A book ahead of its time that was extremely controversial. This story is about universal love, faith, collaboration and freedom – freedom to think for yourself.
I can totally understand why this book has been challenged with so many attempts to be banned. Because many people are disconnected from the universal love and freedom, from personal magic, and ultimately disconnected from themselves, from their own capacity of thinking for themselves.
A Wrinkle in Time means time-space traveling or, in scientific terms, a tesseract. There is a good amount of scientific terms in this book, not intimidating, though. But I remember finding one section or two that slowed me down. However, all the rest of the story is so totally worth reading that a short boring passage here and there does not diminish the value of the book. Besides, boring or not is only a subjective point.
Is A Wrinkle in Time a children’s book or an adult book?
It’s categorized as a children’s book, being about an evil darkness consuming the universe, and three children determined to stop it. But it is more than that. The great message in this book is about universal love and personal freedom, especially mind freedom (all of which many adults are losing and not realizing it, and many kids may never know they were born with). So, I’d say this book is an adult book disguised as a children’s book.
A Wrinkle in Time is deeper than a fictional story. It poses some thought-provoking questions that should not be ignored, such as:
♦ Is it possible to become like those inhabitants in Camazotz?
♦ Who are we becoming, and who is controlling us?
♦ And is it possible to break free? How?
♦ Have you ever felt the sensation that there is a Dark Thing hovering over Earth?
♦ Do you feel angry a lot, and the more you feel IT the more things get worse?
♦ Have you ever noticed an external attempt to control your mind and the way you live and do things?
♦ Do you live in fear and in conformity to what’s being said?
♦ Have you ever felt like things you do or believe don’t make sense, but you accept them anyway?
♦ Have you ever had the sensation that you are being lied to, and it’s a beautiful lie, therefore you take it as truth?
Read this book – or re-read it – and let us know what you think today.
Rose T.
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