I’m digging through my past for what started this whole writing shebang for me. That one book that kept me coming back to pester the poor librarian week after week for more of the same. This week I’m talking about Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
I believe it was in the seventh grade that I found this book. It involved a teach-supplied reading list and some dumb luck. And no, it wasn’t serendipitous enough to be the first one I picked on the list, maybe not even the second. However, it was the first one I chose that was available at the school library.
My imagination was captured from the first, ever-so clichéd, “It was a dark and stormy night.” **To my credit, I had no idea at the time that that line was clichéd and a literary no-no.**
I’ve recently reread this classic, and was pleasantly delighted on how it’s stood up over time. **Again, at the time of first reading, I had no idea that the story was already sixteen years old.** What I admire most about Ms. L’Engle’s writing, isn’t so much the subject matter. It isn’t even the way she makes her characters come to life, that includes the five year-old Charles Wallace who talks like a grown adult.
What I applaud her for is not dumbing down her material. This book deals with everything from quantum physics to religious implications of the fight between good and evil. L’Engle does all this without pulling punches in themes or vocabulary. At twelve, I remember coming across new words and doing something I never would have believed possible for myself.
I looked them up.
I know Science Fiction isn’t that prevalent in today’s YA. Fantasy has taken up the reins there. You won’t hear me complaining. I enjoy quite a number of them. What I do find lacking is a book that challenges its reader to learn more than he or she already knows. In fairness, they might be out there, and I just haven’t been fortunate enough to come across them yet.
Really, when’s the last time you picked up a non-fiction book because of something you read in fiction? I can honestly tell you that at age twelve I did. Madeleine L’Engle led me to quantum physics. I’m not touting that I’m some genius scientist now studying quarks and black holes. Truthfully, it’s all still a bit over my head.
I am saying it piqued my interest to want to learn more. What more can you ask for in an engaging piece of fiction?
Yes! Madeleine L’Engle was my first favorite…I started with these books (and the Austin series, too, specifically, A Ring of Endless Light) in 5th grade, and she has remained one of my favorite authors. We named our second dog Madeleine in her honor. (Our first dog, is Copper’s Son, Lewis…) She (the author, not the dog) was one of the reasons I started to write, and I’ve always dreamed of some day publishing a book at Farrar, Straus, Girroux, her faithful publisher…
I’m glad to hear you share in my enthusiasm, Eric. Let me know when that publishing deal goes through with F, S & G. I’d be happy to read it.