"It was a dark and stormy night."
Yes. It begins that way. And it's perfect.
I know, I know. I can see you over there--arching your brow. No, I did not read this in grade school. I can recall the topic rising in a discussion, though the memory's fleeting and a bit hazy. Probably because it was a dream. That being said, I've always been curious about that little wrinkle and have finally, as an adult, read it for myself. And I'm so glad I did. What an enjoyable read!
A brief (very) summary:
Margaret "Meg" Murry is equivalent to the school's reject. She's so brilliant she's odd, wears glasses and braces, and can't seem to control her tongue. What a delightful person. She can't help it; her parents are scientists. Her father's gone strangely missing, and her mother--she doesn't seem concerned about him in the slightest.
Then one day Meg's brother, the 'prodigal' Charles Wallace (who didn't start speaking till age 4, and once he opened his mouth, started using words like 'exclusive'), leads her to Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. Mrs. Whatsit is the most talkative (to the annoyance of her other two companions), Mrs. Who only speaks by quoting other novels, in their native tongue (Latin, German, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.), and Mrs. Which who is the most guarded, most wise. Those three eccentric, funny women explain the 'tesseract'--sort of like a wormhole you squeeze through to travel through space faster than light-speed. According to the three women, that is where Mr. Murry has been. And it is because of this 'tesser-ing' he's trapped in 'The Black Thing'--a dark cloud of evil threatening to infiltrate the galaxy.
On a fantastic adventure where things--and people--aren't really as/who they appear, Meg learns to use her inner strength to rescue her father and save her brother Charles Wallace from evil.
Would I recommend? Absolutely!
I'm embarrassed to say how many years it's been since I read this book. I read it then, and I should pick it up again!
ReplyDeleteHi Beth,
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you ;)
Isn't it true how education seems to be wasted on us when we're too young to appreciate it? Although, I'm constantly amazed when I do reread things that the themes I understand as an adult are SO different than when I read as a kid. It's almost like reading it for the first time! So if you read it again, please let me know what you thought. I LoVE talking about books.