A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet)
by Madeleine L'Engle
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Book Summary Information
Author: Madeleine L'EngleEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-05-01
ISBN: 0312368569
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Square Fish
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780312368562
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet)
Book Review: Don't Bother
Summary: 2 Stars
If you enjoy being confused, this is the book for you!
The plot is straightforward: a man is threatening to destroy the world, and it's up to Charles Wallace to stop him with the help of a pusillanimous time-traveling unicorn and his sister, Meg. Got that? Great, because the story isn't so straightforward. In fact, the story is downright confusing. It begins simple enough, a few names to keep track of, no big deal. However, the last third of the book is so convoluted you'll want to repeatedly kick yourself in the stomach.
Then of course there's the quality of the storytelling -- predictable, trite, cliche, corny, cheesy...should I go on? The story opens with the ridiculously successful Murry family: one of the twins is a doctor, the other a lawyer, Mother Murry has won the Nobel prize, and Father Murry is the president's closest chum. Meanwhile, Meg is pregnant and destined to be a housewife (by CHOICE, by the way, to put you feminists at ease). And as always, Charles Wallace is acting brilliant because that's what brilliant children do (he's building a model of a tesseract, in case you were curious). Calvin (Meg's husband) is in Europe delivering some speech at some medical convention (translation: Calvin is a successfully brilliant person too!)
Coincidentally, Calvin O'Keef's mother is there with the Murrys the same night a man declares war on the world (by the way -- if a man has just declared war on the world, do you really think the President of the United States of America would have time to call and give his "best science guy" a heads-up? This appeared to be the only reason the president called Father Murry -- what good would a theoretical physicist do at a time like that? Anyway, sorry for that long aside), and coincidentally possesses a seemingly-powerful rune to pass on to Charles who coincidentally must use it to stop the terrorist. Notice the pattern? THERE ARE TOO MANY COINCIDENCES FOR ME TO CARE ABOUT THIS STORY! This goes on throughout most of the book and makes it seem as if the plot elements are only loosely thatched together.
If this book had included a family tree of some kind (alla One Hundred Years of Solitude), I would have given it three stars (despite its confusing story, it DOES have some appealing originality), but since nothing like that is present I can only give it two. The storytelling doesn't help the situation, either.
I recommend leaving this book on your shelf. Don't even think of letting your kids read it -- they won't understand it anyway.
Summary of A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet)
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 sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."
A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.
"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."
A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.
Fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry, whom readers first met in A Wrinkle in Time, has a little task he must accomplish. In 24 hours, a mad dictator will destroy the universe by declaring nuclear war--unless Charles Wallace can go back in time to change one of the many Might-Have-Beens in history. In an intricately layered and suspenseful journey through time, this extraordinary young man psychically enters four different people from other eras. As he perceives through their eyes "what might have been," he begins to comprehend the cosmic significance and consequences of every living creature's actions. As he witnesses first-hand the transformation of civilization from peaceful to warring times, his very existence is threatened, but the alternative is far worse.
The Murry family, also appearing in A Wind in the Door and Many Waters, acts as a carrier of Madeleine L'Engle's unique message about human responsibility for the world. Themes of good versus evil, time and space travel, and the invincibility of the human spirit predominate. Even while she entertains, L'Engle kindles the intellect, inspiring young people to ask questions of the world, and learn by challenging. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter
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