A Wrinkle in Time discussion

(Context: 28 yr reading this book for the first time) I've started reading A Wrinkle in Time a few weeks ago. It's taking me so long to get though it! I can't even place my finger on a direct reason for not liking it. I find Meg and Calvin so annoying. There has been a couple of lines by Calvin that just kind of rub me the wrong way. I know this book was published in 1962 and I'm trying to keep it that perspective as I read it. https://solitaire.onl/ https://9apps.ooo/ https://bluestacks.vip/

No, you’re not. I didn’t care for it either. I found it very disjointed, like we are seeing many glimpses of different stories, none of which feel complete, and are all jammed together.

Like you, I read it as an adult. I have heard you need to read it as a child to enjoy it, but I seriously doubted I would have even finished this as a kid, let alone enjoyed it. It was boring and repetitive at times.

I read this book in the early 70's and I was fascinated about the concept of folding time. Since then I started reading so many things about quantum theories. Maybe the book just isn't for everyone. I have enjoyed all Madelaine L' Engels books ( the other 2 books in the series, A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet)

I hated this book and I am so made at myself for buying the whole series because I thought it would be about time travel, not a confusing nonsense.

Mohammed, that sucks. I borrowed from the library, so I didn’t waste any money on it.

Callie, I probably would have dropped it too if it wasn’t the audio version.

I didn't like it, either. It didn't seem to make a lot of sense, even within its own terms.

Read it twice as a teenager. The second time was to reaquaint myself before I watched the movie.
(The movie was better, which is something I don't say very often.)
Even now, I only vaguely remember the book, so I think it was kind of boring. But it's one of those things that varies from person to person.

Michelle, I am so glad you didn't wast money on this book :)

I read the book cover to cover within four or five days and thought it was okay. Yes, there are a lot of things in it that annoyed me; but if I had to pick the one thing that drives me up the walls it would be that the characters emotions are so wooden and unrealistic.
I was cool with everything else, just the thing about the emotions.

In the first place, I was never interested in reading A Wrinkle In Time, I only read it because I was gonna see the movie (which, personally, wasn't the greatest thing). I never had the urge to pick it up and read it, but I was told reading it before watching the movie was better. So I did. To be honest, I'd say it was just plain boring for me. It wasn't really 'bad' per se but it definitely left me with absolutely no intention of reading the next books.

It was my favorite book when I first read it when I was 14 but I just reread it again (audiobook) and it was soooo annoying lolz

We just read it in class. It sucked butt. It is sooooooooooooo lame. Its the classic Disney Love can fix anything book.

I think that some people like it some people don't, but if you read it when you're younger its definitely not as good.

I, too, read it as an adult. Maybe if I'd read it as a child, I might have enjoyed it more. But all I could see were the abundance of cliches and tropes. Not to mention syntax errors that should have been caught by now after so many reprints.

Like several other folks, I read this as a child and I remember liking it quite a bit. I've reread it as an adult and... not so much. Of course, that's not a particularly profound thing. It's definitively a book for a younger audience. When one leaves that audience, it's not particularly notable that it's not going to work as well for you.... So, as an adult I can pick out a lot of the references and philosophical ideas, and the crypto-religiosity is more evident and agenda-driven. Names like Which, Whatsis and Who struck me as funny as a kid rather than broad, and the witches coven is maybe a bit tired. Still, I'd recommend it to a precocious 6- or 8-year-old.

Does anybody know what the whole Netgalley thing is? People have been commenting about getting advanced reading copies from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Also, I read Wrinkle in Time a little bit ago and I wasn't disappointed at all. I actually saw the movie first, so I am probably biased as I faced reading the book with some preconceived notions of what it was going to be like, and I probably read it with a rose-colored lense, but I would definitely recommend it as a good read :)

I read it when i was younger, maybe 11/12-ish? I LOVED it and read it multiple times. Reread it recently and yeah, I can remember why my awkward pre-teen self loved it (well, i'm still awkward, but I've been out of my teen-years longer than I was in them), but yeah, it's certainly for kids. I didn't want to see the movie though. The previews just showed that they can't really make this into a film and I knew I wouldn't appreciate it as much anyway.

I read it as an adult. I didn't hate it, but I had no desire to pick up the second book afterwards either.

It's not the best. I even doubt if they updated it it would be any better !

I saw the movie and read some of the book, but I thought the part I was reading was wierd; that is, it gave me a wierd feeling.

Christine, what did you think of the movie? I read the book, planning to watch the movie after. The book made me lose interest in the movie.

Book: great(it’s been a while since I’ve read it, though)
The other books in that series: wonderful, I liked them better than the first(you should read them! A Swiftly Tilting Planet is the best)
The movie: don’t get me started. It’s an abomination.

It was one of my favourite books as a 10 year old. I am now a Grade 6/7 teacher and was so excited to read it to my class. I was so disappointed. I found the characters annoying and the story less than thrilling. As a child I remember thinking how weird it was and scary. Now, meh. I have re-read other childhood faves, such as Where the Red Fern Grows and The Hobbit, and they have stood the test of experience. For me, AWIT does not.

I'm going into the 3rd book now, but now I'm not sure if I'll finish it. It felt good and nice when you were able to finish until the end (finished the 1st and 2nd), but got to admit, it was a little hard to go all the way. I wish I could point out exactly what was bothering me. Perhaps it felt a little jumpy and difficult to follow...

I loved A Wrinkle in Time. It was an awesome book. Very adventurous.

Hated it, and I love science fiction. After 5 year old Charles Wallace is excruciatingly tortured by IT, the evil that has taken over the world and is holding both Charles Wallace and his scientist father prisoner, I lost interest and wondered how this could be a children’s book. I’ve read and enjoyed many of L’Engel’s other fine books, but this one is just awful.

I don't really like it much. There are a lot of unnecessary scenes and characters in it, and I often feel as if if I skipped a few pages, I could still get what's going on... Also, the sci-fi bits are awful - no real science in it, no laws, no order!
But still, it's very imaginative and sweet.

No. Honestly, I thought the movie was way better than the book. The book wasn't engaging at all, and what little enjoyment I might have gleaned from it was ruined when I was forced to read it for a book club in 8th grade (plus I had already read it by then and disliked it)

Applsd wrote: "Read it twice as a teenager. The second time was to reaquaint myself before I watched the movie.
(The movie was better, which is something I don't say very often.)
Even now, I only vaguely remember..."

Yes, the movie was way better. I was actually forced to read it for a book club in 8th grade English class. I had already read it (and disliked it), so I hated the book club even more because I was bored.

I was underwhelmed with this classic also. Granted, it may have been on the edge at the time it was first published, but now, those concepts are a bit hackneyed. Disappointing

The story wants to be read as a classic, innovative for its time. I don't think L'Engle can be blamed for not seeing all the tropes and modern clichés coming. It's sort of like the old "Shakespeare is full of clichés" thing.
But yeah, it's full of clichés from her time, too, and isn't a particularly comfortable read. It definitely doesn't fit the rules of modern commercial fiction.

I'll be honest - I flat out did not like this book. I even disagree with those who defend the book by saying it was "ahead of its time". It wasn't, IMO. When looking at children's fantasy books, the entire series of the Chronicles of Narnia had been published well before Wrinkle was, which addresses the tropes and character development that Wrinkle does but in an infinitely better way. Then when it comes to high fantasy, the entire Lord of the Rings series had been published well before Wrinkle, which again addresses the tropes and character development infinitely better than Wrinkle does. Both those series address characters better, have better villains, present the plot better, present their endings better, and develop their characters better. So no, I don't think the book was even "ahead of its time". It just falls flat, even when compared to its peers.

The Charles Wallace stuff was laid on so thick you could drown in it - the first half of the book was basically spent gushing about how amazing Charles Wallace was. But that was all a waste of time, since in the end, his smarts and giftedness and amazingness didn't even matter to the plot and to the ending. Then the primary villain is just a soccer ball sized brain that tries to "think" people into obedience. The ending didn't really end anything, even if the characters acted like it did, and the finale felt so rushed that I was kind of left in a state of disbelief.

I think the main issue is people are too scared or think its too taboo to speak ill of the classics. I don't have that kind of issue. I will happily judge a book how I see fit - independent of it being a classic or loved by everyone else or not. A book achieving "beloved classic" status should not give it armor against criticism.

No, I personally didn't love the book because it was a little slow paced and not engaging to me. Probably because it just isn't my preferred genre. I also had very high expectations for the book and I found it was not my favorite book.

Honestly, I read this book because the movie was coming out and the trailer looked amazing but now that I've read it, it didn't live up to my expectations. Didn't even watch the movie afterword.

You're not the only one who doesn't really love it. When I read it last year as a ten-year-old, there was a certain combination of thrill and fear, as well as enjoyment. It's not my favorite book but for me, it was exciting to read. If you don't like it, that's okay and normal. If you do like it, that's great! You'll be like those awesome people who like pineapple on pizza or have a loathing of cheesecake. (I'm both, hehe.) There are elements that scared me a bit, but I'm a little too sensitive when it comes to those sorts of things and am not exactly the best person to consult about that. Go ahead and read it; you'll be glad you did, even if you didn't particularly enjoy it.

I really didn’t appreciate this book! Granted, it was unlike anything I have ever read before (which should be a point in its favor), but it was so off the wall I disliked it. I think my problem is just that I can’t fathom the sci-fi stuff so I don’t enjoy it!

I just didn't really enjoy the book

I never understood the hype for this book. It was kind of a weird blend of science fiction and fantasy, and I found Meg a bit irritating. I found the book a bit too strange.

This book was life changing for me when I read it in early adolescence in the '70's, and I re-read it multiple times. However even in my naive youth I found the 3rd book (Swiftly Tilting Planet) disturbingly raciest.
Later I tried to read it aloud to my children and was very disappointed to discover it is a TERRIBLE read-aloud book.
As an adult, I did find the plot set-up contrived, and Meg's natural friendliness with Calvin was weird, considering what a dork she is. Maybe things were different in small town 1960's, but no one behaved like that where I grew up ! I approve of how the movie changed things to update the source of alienation from sexism to multiracial identity.
I think the book's popularity is grounded in the fact that there was almost NOTHING like it during the '60's, & '70's. except comic books, unless you could read adult books like LOTR.

Yeah, this book was very different and original for it's time. I think that's one of the reasons it was (and is) popular. Because no one saw anything like it.

I mean, I thought it was... fine, I guess. It wasn't my favorite but I didn't hate it. I can see the appeal to younger readers but I wasn't thrilled with the ending and how the last few chapters were written but I finished it. Since reading it, I've made no attempts to even peruse the sequels. It's not great but it's a quick and easy read.

How is this book so praised? It's bad writting. I wanted to like it I really did.

I will say this the book was really boring I gave it 3 stars being generous but I could have fell asleep from reading it. It seemed like just bad things happened to the main character and they would be moody and sad etc. I really felt bad for them and things never got interesting not even a little bit.

Gave it 3 out of 6. I think this is one of those cases where you have to grow up with it to love it. I also read it as an adult and was not impressed.

Because the book is always better than the movie, I read A Wrinkle in Time just prior to the movie's release. I read it because I was supposed to love it from my childhood. I guess I was deprived because I had never heard of the book. I tried to give it a fair shake and imagine my 8-year-old self reading it. Just couldn't get into it.

I liked it because of the quirkiness of the characters and world building. Although it was a little random, I still thought it was a great book.

Update: Even if you did like the first two books, I would not recommend the rest of the series because it gets exceedingly more random, and the characters take about an eleven year jump in age.

Susan, I’m the exact same way. My parents took me to bookstores all the time, and I never heard of, or at least, never noticed this book until I was an adult.

I have also heard that you need to read it as a child to love it or maybe even appreciate it. Nope. I got bored at times as an adult. I seriously doubt I would have even finished it as a child.

Susan, the book is not always better than the book, and this is an example. I can say The Last Temptation of Christ was a better movie than book, as well. Perhaps we should start another thread: Books where the Movie was Better.

Justin W, you hit the nail on the head.