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Conference noted::sf

Title:Arcana Caelestia
Notice:Directory listings are in topic 2
Moderator:NETRIX::thomas
Created:Thu Dec 08 1983
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1300
Total number of notes:18728

765.0. "L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time" by DEMON::REID () Tue Mar 28 1989 17:48

    
    I'm trying to track down some books that I read years ago, and would
    like to read again this summer.  I have titles, but can't remember
    the authors.  The books are:
    
    "The Gormenghast Trilogy"  - 3 seperate volumes.  Very large.  About
     a young mans wanderings through an enormous castle which, in fact,
     is it's own universe.  Very Gothic, dark, and spooky.
    
     "A Wrinkle in Time" - if I remember correctly (I was only about 12
      when I read this in the mid 60's) was about a parallel universe and
      the children that inhabited it.  This book won some sort of award
      back then....I just remember it made me cry.
    
      thanks, Marc.
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765.1pointer and moderator actionDDIF::CANTORThis is not all rock and roll, dude.Tue Mar 28 1989 18:386
See note 237 for discussion on the Gormenghast Trilogy.

I've retitled this topic to be the place to discuss A Wrinkle in Time.

Dave C.
moderator
765.3L'Engle (or some such spelling)MINAR::BISHOPTue Mar 28 1989 19:092
    Re .2:
    		Nope, Madeline L'Engle is the author.
765.4ACE PublishersCOMET::EAGERTue Mar 28 1989 19:455
    
    	I believe that is Andre Norton. All of her books were published
    by Ace during the 60's.
    
    							Mark
765.5Actually, it has sequels, tooAIAG::LUTZTue Mar 28 1989 22:3814
    re: .4  Do you mean to say that Madeline L'Engle is a psuedonym of
    Andre Norton's?!  That's the first time I've heard that suggested.
    
    re: .0  The author is Madeline L'Engle.  She has written four books
    directly about these characters --
    	A Wrinkle in Time
    	A Wind in the Door
    	A Swiftly Tilting Planet
    	Many Waters
    
    You can generally find her books in the Young Adult section of the 
    book store.
    
      Scott
765.6RUBY::BOYAJIANStarfleet SecurityWed Mar 29 1989 05:1318
    Andre Norton and Madeleine L'Engle are definitely not the same
    person, and A WRINKLE IN TIME is definitely by L'Engle, not Norton.
    I'm a big L'Engle fan myself, and actually, I consider AWIT and
    its sequels (well, the first two anyways) to be among her lesser
    books.
    
    In addition to the more direct sequels mentioned in .5, related
    books include:
    
    	THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
    	DRAGONS IN THE WATERS
    	A HOUSE LIKE A LOTUS
    
    These three books are about the children of Calvin O'Keefe and Meg
    Murry from the "Time" books. Actually, almost *all* of L'Engle's
    novels are part of one big happy interconnected universe.
    
    --- jerry
765.7Good authorWECARE::BAILEYCorporate SleuthWed Mar 29 1989 19:396
    I agree with Jerry.  By the way, I think AWIT or maybe ASTP won
    the Newberry Award for Children's Literature, kind of a junior Pulitzer
    or something.  I keep trying to imagine myself inside a tesserect
    (sp?), but so far no luck!
    
    Sherry
765.8RUBY::BOYAJIANStarfleet SecurityThu Mar 30 1989 05:1510
    re:.7
    
    WRINKLE won the Newbery Award, and some of her other books are
    Newbery "Honor" books ("honorary mentions", as it were).
    
    For what it's worth, my single favorite L'Engle is A RING OF
    ENDLESS LIGHT. A close second is a non-sf novel for adults, A
    SEVERED WASP.
    
    --- jerry
765.9Who else did she start?DWOVAX::YOUNGSharing is what Digital does best.Thu Mar 30 1989 16:018
    Yes, AWIT is one of my all time favorite books, though I am ashamed
    to admit that I have not read any of her other books.
    
    I read AWIT in the third grade, and I credit it with getting me
    interested in SF.  In fact I would probably credit it with getting
    me interested in Science itself.
    
    --  Barry
765.10WARNING - getting nostalgicDEMON::REIDOver One Billion MAIL messages sentThu Mar 30 1989 16:3121
    
    ..thanks to evryone for the info on AWIT.  I found it at the library
    last night.  Also, reading the comments about the Gormenghast Trilogy
    in note 237 reminded me just how ponderous (but satisfying, once I 
    finished them) those books are.
    
    re: .9 - AWIT was also the very first SF book I ever read, except for
    Tom Swift, Jr. which I consider more adventure than science.  I was so
    captivated with A Wrinkle that I spent the whole rest of that summer
    feverishly devouring every SF book that the tiny Mechanicsburg, PA. 
    library had (and there weren't many).  Another book that I got real
    attached to was a book about some rebels who were fighting against a
    dictatorship.  One guy was a pilot, but the only planes the rebels
    could get were 200 year old museum pieces which the rebels got back
    into fighting condition and then used them against the government
    forces who controlled the world from giant floating platforms.  The
    name of the book and author is now lost in the ozone, but I remember
    the cover had a picture of the hero pilot and his girlfriend who, of
    course, was wrapped in a tight, transparent sarong.  Being 11 or 12
    at the time, I considered that cover to be very cool and the best part
    of the book....
765.11Warning --- Syncronicity in action.DWOVAX::YOUNGSharing is what Digital does best.Fri Mar 31 1989 03:4411
    Re .10
    
    Thats funny, I read AWIT in the Carlisle, PA. library.  And then
    a few years later I moved to Mechanicsburg, were I frequently borrowed
    SF and Fantasy books from the public library (I read Lord of the
    Rings there).
    
    Hmmm...?  Theres not THAT many people from Mechanisburg, who the
    heck are you anyway?
    
--  Barry
765.12small worldDEMON::REIDOver One Billion MAIL messages sentFri Mar 31 1989 17:497
    
    re: .11
    
    ...just a fellow traveler through space and time.  Formal introduction
    in note 122.59
    
    Marc
765.13another vote...LEZAH::BOBBITTinvictus maneoFri Mar 31 1989 18:588
    I liked A Wrinkle In Time, and I LOVED the sequel, "A Wind in the
    Door", although it got kind of far-fetched at times.  Interesting
    themes are also in her "A Swiftly Tilting Planet", which isn't as
    exciting as the previous two (and is I think unrelated, although
    it's been a while....), but also good.
    
    -Jody
    
765.14RUBY::BOYAJIANStarfleet SecuritySat Apr 01 1989 04:009
    re:.13
    
    Yes, A SWIFTLY TILTING PLANET *is* related tot he other two via
    common characters, but one of the things that bothered me about
    the sequels is their lack of consistency with the previous book(s).
    In each one, the characters act as if they've never encountered
    anything unusual before.
    
    --- jerry
765.15But there are always new surprises.ATSE::WAJENBERGKeep up the disinterested work.Mon Apr 03 1989 13:0311
    Re .14
    
    I did not get the impression that "the characters act as if they've
    never encountered anything unusual before."  For instance, Meg and
    Charles become more and more adept at "kything" as the sequence goes
    on.  But they DO get thrown a new loop every single book, so it is, in
    it's way, "realistic" that they are always being floored by the (new)
    special effects.  ("Okay, you've mastered the fourth dimension and
    telepathy.  Now for time-travel.")
    
    Earl Wajenberg
765.16You have to start somewhereANOVAX::WHITEFm the rolling hills of PennsylvaniaTue Apr 18 1989 18:0912
    
    
    	I agree with .9, etc. AWIT is I probally the first SF book that
    I ever read way back in grade school in Hamburg, PA. I still remember
    the story line and characters and how much I enjoyed reading it.
    And as .9 said I do beleave that AWIT is what got me intrested in
    SF and science as a whole. 
    (I think that after this gets big enough that someone should send
    this note to the author as a gift. Probally make a big impression)
    
    
    			Joe   (who read this about 20 eeek years ago)
765.17RUBY::BOYAJIANStarfleet SecurityWed Apr 19 1989 03:506
    re:.16
    
    I'm sure that there isn't anything being said here that she hasn't
    heard thousands of times already.
    
    --- jerry
765.18She only heard it recently, though...SKETCH::GROSSHuman Factors and much, much more.Wed Apr 19 1989 16:286
    L'Engle went to her first SF convention (Lunacon) just a couple
    of years ago.  She was (pleasantly) surprised to hear all of this
    stuff from hundreds of fen that weekend.  I believe she's going
    to cons pretty often now.  A little egoboo never hurts, eh?
    
    Merryl
765.19Top 20 listing - B D'Alton'sWEIBUL::FARRINGTONstatistically anomalousWed Apr 19 1989 16:367
    Never read the story, but was interested to see it listed as being
    in the top 20 (10 ?) children's fiction in B D'Alton's.  Was a
    published list from some newspaper or Corporate 'rag'.  Saw the
    list on the wall at the Greendale Mall store (Worcester, MA), on
    15 April.
    
    Dwight
765.20RUBY::BOYAJIANStarfleet SecurityWed Apr 19 1989 22:1715
    re:.18
    
    Actually, Lunacon was her second sf con -- her first was a Darkover
    convention on the West Coast. I haven't heard of her attending any
    other cons since, though. She was amazed when she encountered me.
    Almost everyone asking for autographs had copies of the Time Trilogy,
    some with a couple of the other marginal sf books. Me, I had *all*
    kinds of old and obscure books of hers with me. She and her (now
    late :-( ) husband couldn't figure out where I got some of them.
    
    Anyways, hearing "this stuff" from fans doesn't necessarily have
    to mean "in person". What I was getting at was that she's almost
    assuredly gotten tons of fan mail over the last 25+ years.
    
    --- jerry
765.21DWOVAX::YOUNGSharing is what Digital does best.Sun May 14 1989 02:321
    That doesn't mean it isn't worth saying again, Jerry.   :-)
765.221st for me tooTFH::MMARTINWed Jun 14 1989 17:027
    also my first SF book.  Sometime in grade school.  I remember some of
    the plot and enjoying it very much.  And I seem to remember - can
    somebody verify this? - that it begins, "It was a dark and stormy
    night..."
    
    -Michelle
    
765.23RUBY::BOYAJIANProtect! Serve! Run Away!Thu Jun 15 1989 07:5011
    re:.22
    
    Yes, it is one of two novels (not counting Snoopy's opus :-)) that
    starts that way. The other is the Bulwer-Lytton one (title forgotten)
    that was the inspiration for the Bulywer-Lytton Contest for most
    creative openings for unwritten novels. Winners and other contestants
    for these contests can be found in the books IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY
    NIGHT, BRIDE OF IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT, etc. These are
    hilarious reading.
    
    --- jerry
765.24TCC::HEFFELAliens made me write this.Fri Jun 16 1989 01:476
    	Don't forget SON OF IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT...
    
    tlh
    (I can't believe that I know about a book that Jerry didn't know
    about!)
    
765.25RUBY::BOYAJIANProtect! Serve! Run Away!Fri Jun 16 1989 05:275
    re:.24
    
    Well, I didn't want to list them *all*...
    
    --- jerry
765.26Another "Time" book by Madeline L'EngleABSZK::SZETOSimon Szeto, ISEDA/US at ZKOSat Oct 20 1990 02:1210
    Seen in a college bookstore last weekend, "An Acceptable Time" (or
    something like that) by Madeline L'Engle.  Didn't have a close look at
    it (was pressed for time...) but saw a fairly long list of books by the
    author; not sure how many of them are related to this theme.
    
    At $13. something (it was hardcover, of course) I passed it up.  Has
    anybody else seen it, or better still, read it?
    
    --Simon
    
765.27RUBY::BOYAJIANOne of the Happy GenerationsSat Oct 20 1990 03:4719
    re:.26
    
    Yes, I have it and read it, and it's quite good. Far better than
    any of the earlier Time books (but then, I seem to be the odd man
    out in that I consider the Time Trilogy to be among the least of
    her books). It came out the end of last year.
    
    Actually, there is only a moderate connection with the others. The
    main character is Polly O'Keefe, eldest child of Calvin and Meg,
    and a principle character in three other L'Engle novels: THE ARM OF
    THE STARFISH, DRAGONS IN THE WATERS, and A HOUSE LIKE A LOTUS (only
    the first of these three is even borderline sf).
    
    In AN ACCEPTABLE TIME, Polly is visiting with her grandparents and
    finds herself crossing back and forth through a time gate to the
    area as it was a few thousand years ago, and getting involved in
    a struggle between two tribes that live then.
    
    --- jerry
765.28TALLIS::SIGELWed Oct 24 1990 15:4117
Re .26, .27

If you haven't read L'Engle beyond the original Time Trilogy, you might well 
enjoy this book.  She deals with themes and characters you haven't seen too 
much before, except a bit in A SWIFTLY TILTING PLANET.

For someone who has read all of L'Engle's YA novels, and a smattering of her 
adult novels, a dissenting viewpoint from Jerry's:

There wasn't anything in this novel that L'Engle hasn't done in other books.  
Tribes of wise native people, trouble in this paradise, time travel, Zachary 
Gray as the bad influence for a confused adolescent heroine (she's used him 
on both Vicky Austin and Poly O'Keefe)...  I could go on, but you get my 
point.  It isn't a bad book, it's just the same old stuff seen in the other
O'Keefe novels (and one or two Austin books), repackaged.

				Andrew