srz jurnlst ([info]bellichka) wrote in [info]lost_bookclub,
@ 2007-08-05 19:23:00
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Entry tags:discussion post, wrinkle in time

Book #5 - A Wrinkle in Time (discussion post)



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A Wrinkle in Time


Your thoughts? Any of you read it as grade schoolers? How does it stack up now that you're older? And how do you think it fits into LOST?

And catch up on the past 4 books - Lord of the Flies, The Mysterious Island, Watership Down, and Alice in Wonderland!

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[info]bellichka
2007-08-05 11:39 pm UTC (link)
I'll start off by just saying that this was sooooooooooooo hard to get into. It didn't really pick up till maybe the last quarter, and then I couldn't put it down (maybe once Meg found her father? Idk). Also, I didn't particularly enjoy L'Engle as an author.... themes and relationships that should have been fleshed out more were very two-dimensional... like when Calvin finally kissed Meg, I don't think it really had the emotional impact that it should have. We're meant to understand they come from completely different worlds, and yet we're just sort of told over and over again that "Calvin is popular and an athlete" and we're supposed to take it at face value and just accept it. Seeing their social interaction (or lack thereof) in school would have provided a bit more character development, I think. Just like Meg was meant to be awkward and hot-headed, and the only glimpse we get of that is in the beginning. L'Engle actually reminds me of JK Rowling in that she tells a good story but she's not necessarily the most talented author in the world.

As far as its connection to LOST.... I thought it was interesting that IT was continually trying to convince Meg/Cal/CW that they weren't evil, and that it was really the three Missuses (Missii? idk) who were evil - of course, this is not true, as IT is pure evil. But it reminded me of Benry continually saying "we're the good guys" and what not. Just like on the planet Mr. Murray was being held on, on the LOST island you don't know who to trust and you don't know who is on your side and who is lying to you... you just have to trust your gut, like Jack did with Juliet.

Also, loved the "white rabbit" reference, when the three children were originally entering the CENTER! Shout-outs to Alice in Wonderland are awesome, and literary allusions (especially ones that have such relevance to the book club) are great!

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[info]snowystingray
2007-08-06 02:12 am UTC (link)
themes and relationships that should have been fleshed out more were very two-dimensional

I know how you feel. It definitely read as a children's book, and I was disappointed that it seemed to miss out on a lot of opportunities to dig a little deeper. It seemed to hover between adventure story and moral tale, but never really went enough either way to be fully satisfying.

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[info]bellichka
2007-08-06 02:22 am UTC (link)
It seemed to hover between adventure story and moral tale, but never really went enough either way to be fully satisfying.

Seriously! I was like, wtf is this supposed to be - pro-religion, "love conquers all," or a story about acceptance and appreciating those around you? I had no idea. It's a cool story, but the idea that the woman wrote other books and is a celebrate children's author is baffling to me.

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[info]snowystingray
2007-08-06 05:50 pm UTC (link)
It's a cool story, but the idea that the woman wrote other books and is a celebrate children's author is baffling to me.

I know! It was not what I was expecting, considering the fact that both of my older sisters were huge fans when we were kids. Like I said, maybe I would have liked the book better if I had read it back then, but I wasn't overly impressed. I haven't read any of the sequels, so maybe it gets better, but after this book I'm not really that motivated to read them.

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[info]krysteener
2007-08-06 01:05 am UTC (link)
I read this one a while ago. It was hard for me to get into it too.

While I was reading it I kept thinking whether the island is in control of everything, or in control of Jacob. Like when Jacob said "Help me" is it because the island is keeping him there? I don't feel like Ben is doing it for some reason.

It also made me think of Desmond's time issues. Or everyone's time issues really. I was wondering if Desmond was in a different plane or something when he supposedly went back in time. And if the Losties are on a different plane (planet?) than the rest of us.

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[info]bellichka
2007-08-06 02:21 am UTC (link)
So what would you compare the Island/Jacob relationship to as far as the book goes? The Camazotz/IT relationship, or...?

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[info]snowystingray
2007-08-06 05:57 pm UTC (link)
I think it fits better as Island/Jacob = IT/the man with red eyes. Meg notices that the man isn't really in control of anything, and it is simply IT acting through his body. I guess we don't really know enough about Jacob yet, but it seems like he has become merely a figurehead with somebody else, presumably the island, working through him and taking advantage of his authority.

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[info]snowystingray
2007-08-06 02:09 am UTC (link)
I literally just finished reading about ten minutes ago; I was afraid that I was going to be behind, but I just made it! I do wish that I had read it when I was younger, because I think I would have enjoyed it more. I agree with [info]bellichka that although was an interesting story, it suffered from rather bland writing, and a lot of the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more. I did actually like the Meg/Calvin relationship, but I wish, for instance, that there would have been more of Mrs. Whatsit/Who/Which. I also think the world building was a lot more interesting than the story itself. Talk about an anticlimax! My sister joked that that was how Harry Potter should have ended, what with the emphasis of love as the "power the Dark Lord knows not" ("I love you, Tom Riddle! I love you! I love you!"). Hmm, maybe not.

As far as connections to Lost... Possible similarities between Walt and Charles Wallace? Both are "special" children who seem to have unique communication abilities. The book might also fit into Lost theories that time on the island is different from the outside world, just as they are unsure how time passes on Camazotz in relation to other planets.

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[info]bellichka
2007-08-06 02:20 am UTC (link)
Yay! I just finished it today as well.... I sort of forced myself to finish, especially since I felt bad that I skipped over Mysterious Island and sort of skimmed Lord of the Flies. *halo*

Definitely didn't think of the similarities between Walt and Charles Wallace, but that's really cool! They both are special/different.

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[info]snowystingray
2007-08-06 06:03 pm UTC (link)
They both are special/different.

I especially thought of it during this passage from chapter three (Mrs Which), when Meg and her mother discuss Charles Wallace.

"'Charles Wallace understands more than the rest of us, doesn't he?'
'Yes.'
'Why?'
'I suppose because he's -- well, because he's different, Meg.'
'Different how?'
'I'm not quite sure. You know yourself he's not like anybody else.'
'No. And I wouldn't want him to be,' Meg said defensively.
'Wanting doesn't have anything to do with it. Carles Wallace is what he is. Different. New.'
'New?'
'Yes. That's what your father and I feel.'"

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[info]lavenderk5
2007-08-06 03:26 am UTC (link)
I'm trying to remember if I read this one or not. If I did it didn't make much of an impact.

Anyway, that's my big contribution for this week. Mostly because I didn't want to feel left out simply because I forgot to re/read the book :D

A few months ago I had a really cool theory about the time thing on the Island, and if I can remember what it is I will share it.

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[info]bellichka
2007-08-06 12:16 pm UTC (link)
Haha, that's an awesome contribution!! If only the other members were as dedicated as you :)

And if you have a time-travel theory, and can maybe relate it to the book, go ahead and post it!

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[info]staplerinjello
2007-08-06 07:02 pm UTC (link)
I'm surprised no one's mentioned the tesseract, especially since a lot of people have been tossing around time travel and alternate dimension theories. Tesseracts/hypercubes are supposed to distort space and time.

From Wikipedia, some examples of tesseracts in popular culture:

--The movie Cube 2: Hypercube takes place in a tesseract - "No fixed concept of time and space means that some events happen repeatedly. Also within a tesseract, people can meet themselves."

--"Lewis Padgett's classic short story, 'Mimsy Were the Borogoves' features two children who construct a tesseract using information from the future. They ultimately disappear into another dimension." (The movie 'The Last Mimzy' was based on this story.)

--In the short story 'And He Built a Crooked House', some people are trapped in a 4-D tesseract, and find that "the stairs seem to form a closed loop... there appears to be no way to get back out."

--"The DC Comics crossover DC One Million showed a future Earth in which cities occupied extradimensional areas called tesseracts, leaving the planet's surface unspoiled. Similar technology was used for Superman's current Fortress of Solitude.."

Of course, since no one *really* knows what happens in a tesseract, I'm sure on Lost they could use it to explain a number of things. Like if the island is within a tesseract, that could explain some of the weird time/space things as well as why nobody can find it. (Since it would be in a different dimension.) Of, if the smoke monster is some kind of tesseract, it could explain why it's able to take on shapes from people's pasts, or show them their pasts.

And I just have to say.. I used to love Madeleine L'Engle when I was younger, I've read all of her books. I noticed a lot of people criticizing her writing, but when you're a kid you don't notice things like that. It's all about the ideas (or at least for me it was).. and compared to other children's books, A Wrinkle in Time had some pretty cool ideas.

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[info]bellichka
2007-08-06 08:31 pm UTC (link)
The tesseract is really something that's hard for me to wrap my mind around, so thanks for posting the examples that you did!

And I think if I had read this book as a kid/young adult, I would have enjoyed it immensely. Damn college and academics for ruining my childhood sense of wonder! :( hehe.

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[info]mynameissnuffy
2008-06-10 05:01 pm UTC (link)
If I may*:

Yeah, being an adult makes me sad sometimes when I realize that I imagine less, and am generally harder to impress or shock.

Also, I read this when I was 10 and it went so over my head.

*I'm a joiner for round two, but catching up on postings from round one. These posts are very helpful and also make me want to read/reread a lot of these books. Definitely reading Alice to prep for Looking Glass.

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[info]bellichka
2008-06-10 05:45 pm UTC (link)
Woohoo for Round 2! And a lot of volumes have Alice/Looking Glass combined (I know mine does, and others I've searched for did as well), so neither should be hard to get. It might even be public domain so you could search for it online - I'll have to check.

And your icon is all kinds of delish. mmmmm Nestor.

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[info]mynameissnuffy
2008-06-10 06:54 pm UTC (link)
It's the perfect combo of hot guy + super freaky character. Like I needed more reasons to watch Lost.

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[info]bellichka
2008-06-10 06:20 pm UTC (link)
Alice in Wonderland

Through the Looking Glass

:)

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[info]mynameissnuffy
2008-06-10 06:55 pm UTC (link)
THANKS!

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