B-log: A Wrinkle in Time

I recently (for a given definition of the word) reread Madeleine L'Engel's A Wrinkle in Time as a sort of tribute to her passing. And to see if my friend's assertion that the book did not hold up well is, in fact, true.

Well...yes and no.

A Wrinkle in Time was one of the first books I'd ever read in the sci-fi/fantasy genre and I, at the age of 10 or so, was absolutely captivated by it. It chronicles the story of Meg, a teenaged outcast and geek who sets off to rescue her father, along with her frighteningly brilliant little brother and Calvin, the obligatory object of her affections. Like most stories of the genre (and age group), Meg's interstellar journey is more about becoming herself and proving that she has the power to save those she loves, rather than the actual doing of the deed. But I was willing to tolerate Meg in order to meet the supporting cast of characters.

This is where L'Engel really shines; her minor characters are incredibly well delineated and far more lovable than Meg. And she succeeded in creating a villain who is utterly and clearly evil without being a genre cliche. In this manner, the book is part dystopic novel and L'Engel's light touch works extremely well. Science fiction is often a vehicle for such novels, but L'Engel chooses wisely when she does not make that part the focus of the book, but allows the dystopic evil to become the fantasy villain and, most importantly, allow it to be vanquished.

The other characters, specifically the three mentoring characters, have always been my favorite part of the book. They are a little strange and one of them only speaks in quotations (a little touch that I appreciated much more this time than when I was 10), but they are the ones who really make the novel. When they speak, you listen.

L'Engel's gift lies, in part, in her skill at transmuting science into fiction. I understood her explanation of time travel and the dimensions the first time I read the book, when my comprehension of three dimensions was limited to what could be done with 3D glasses. And on rereading it, with a bit more knowledge of physics behind me, I could still appreciate the simplicity of it without feeling as though it was "dumbed down" for a young audience. The different planets and the rules of time travel held up the best, as far as I could tell.

Though the book does feel a little dogmatic at times, almost as if L'Engel is trying to brand "you are a soldier in the battle against evil" on her readers' brains, I'm willing to forgive that as a, dare I say it, necessary evil of the dystopic genre. The book's biggest problem, on this reread, is Meg. She is not a particularly impressive heroine and she takes much longer than necessary to learn her lessons and grow up. While the archetype of the bright but academically challenged character is one that many of her readers know all too well, Meg's sheer persistence in being an idiot did not endear her to me. Especially if L'Engel wants her readers to feel a kinship with Meg, the girl should have been portrayed a little more favorably. A female heroine in a science fiction novel was a rarity when this book was first published, it seems such a shame that it had to be Meg.

Still, I enjoyed the book very much and it certainly held up better than many other novels through which I wandered in my youth.