Our little girl was sick, and unable to sleep. The only thing that calmed her was my reading to her. The book I chose was Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. I had never read it before, nor had Kate, but it was an adventure awaiting us on her bookshelves. I sat by her bed all night and read aloud the book cover to cover. A few times during the night I thought she was deep in sleep--finally--and I stopped reading. No such luck, startled Kate opened her eyes and moaned to me to keep on reading.
Kate remembers none of this, of course, including the details of the book, but the book remains one of my all-time favorites, and I am eager to see the movie, even though it is rare a movie measures up to the imagination inspired by a book.
I was surprised, therefore, when a dear friend, whom I respect and love, expressed strong dislike for this book. He had just read it as a book group selection and saw no merit in it. At all. I was stunned, so decided to reread it.
Well, I fell in love with it all over again. I love the characters and their struggles. I love how they discover their weaknesses and their strengths. I love the powerful female characters, mother, daughter, and the immortal trinity of women. I love how I, as the reader, am challenged to stretch my imagination. Perhaps what I think is real is not so real and what I assume does not exist, does. I love that LOVE is the answer, but it isn't always so obvious. And I enjoyed the intellectual challenge of finding connections between the story and its characters and the Christian story.
My friend didn't finish reading the book, but if he had, I wonder if these words would have changed his mind.
"We do not know what things look like, as you say,"
the beast said. "We know what things are like. It must
be a very limiting thing, this seeing."
"Good helps us, the stars help us, perhaps what you
would call light helps us, love helps us....We look not
at the things which are what you would call
seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But
the things which are not seen are eternal."
I love how Mrs Whatsit compares life to a sonnet. "You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you."
In the years that followed my introduction to L'Engle, I read many more of her books -- fiction, but also spiritual memoir. I even toured New York City's Episcopal Cathedral of St John the Divine where she had been writer in residence for many years. I remember standing in an aisle of the grand sanctuary and giving thanks for her ongoing expression of good living beyond evil.
So, dear friend, I am sorry this book is not one that speaks to you. Obviously, not every book is for every person. Choices must be made. So many books, so little time. But I also thank you, for your strong reaction led me to rediscover this book all over again. This time I read it for my own pleasure.
An Invitation
Is there a book to which you have reacted negatively, but everyone else seems to love? Do you wonder why? I would love to know.
I haven't read A Wrinkle in Time since I was a kid, so I don't remember it. I need to read it again. I heard the movie was lousy, but everyone is different...you might like it. The last book I did not like at all but a lot of people did was Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.
ReplyDeleteI admit I am a little nervous about seeing the movie, but I will try to remember that the movie is its own thing, just as the book is its own thing. I really liked the Ng book, and I liked her earlier book, too. We lived in Shaker Heights for three years and I so admire how the community became a character in the book. All that being said, wouldn't it be boring if we all liked the same thing?
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