Goodreads Synopsis:
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.
"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".
Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?
Review:
What an odd little book! I have to say I did love it, even as strange and out there as it may be. There were a few things that were just a little bit odd but I made the decision early on to just go with it. Why not, right? For example, I was a little confused as to why the Mother would bring Mrs. Whatsit, a complete stranger, into the house with no questions asked, feed her and then let her just go on her way. A bit strange if you ask me.
As I continued reading – glazing over the questionable parental involvement - L'Engle's imagination really comes out and the story started to take on a tone similar to that of The Chronicles of Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia seems much more developed and sophisticated however both seem to have a deeper meaning embedded in the story that the author is trying to get across. Also, I love how L'Engle is not afraid to introduce difficult science concepts to children! The concepts in this book can be hard for adults to get but L'Engle does a beautiful job making them accessible to all age groups.
What a strange book. The deeper message in this book feels very Ayn Rand-ish to me. Its like a social or even political statement wrapped up in a story that is just an afterthought. It has my attention…I’m curious to see what other messages L'Engle has to convey. I will continue on with the series and report back.