A Wind in the Door

Meg Murry worries when her little brother Charles Wallace announces that there are dragons in the twins garden. She is already worried about him ... hes so bright and intelligent and having trouble at school. And he is strangely ill ... so Meg and Calvin are on another adventure ~~ this time to battle Charles Wallaces illness. Along the way, Meg learns about patience and love while battling the forces of evil that is trying to take over the universe.

While lots of people scoff at these books because of the fanasty theyre written in ~~ I find that its a classic book between good and evil. LEngle always write with a moral ~~ and she writes in such a fun way, you cant but help apply the lessons to your life. It doesnt matter how old you are ... you are never too old to read these books! And I highly recommend this one to everyone ~~ whether or not they have children in their lives. Its just a good read with well-written story plot. And Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace stay with you for a long time.

1-23-02

In the end, all this talk about mitochondria and farandolae gets a bit much, and the idea of travelling inside someones body just doesnt have the same magic as travelling to distant galaxies. The concept of kything (being able to communicate with thoughts, like ESP) had a somewhat new-age flavour that I was not entirely comfortable with. The idea of Naming (The first of three quests that faces Meg is to Name the school principal Mr. Jenkins) is never entirely fully developed or explained. The need for a farandola called Sporos to "Deepen" simply lacked charm. And the plot is rather complex and weighed down by scientific techno-babble, which many children may find rather frustrating. As such, this book doesnt come close to matching the fantasy and power of the first novel.

But those weaknesses aside, there is also much to commend this book. There are profound thoughts about the significance of everything having a name, and that the Creator "knows them all by name." "The stars dont need to be counted. They need to be Named." In this context, ones size doesnt detract from ones significance, because the tiny elements of the universe such as farandolae are just as important. The hostile forces are described as echthroi who want to X (annihilate) creation, and LEngle uses them to picture a cosmic conflict between fallen angels (echthroi) and good angels (such as the dragon-like cherubim Proginoskes). The implied connection, however, between schizophrenia and demon possession (p123) will always be a controversial one. There are also several profound observations about life and faith. Memorable quotations that stand out in my mind include these: "Love isnt how you feel. Its what you do." (p116) "You have simply been faced with several things outside your current sphere of experience. That does not mean that they - we - do not exist." (p122). And the description of immature pleasure-seekers: "When we seek our own pleasure as the ultimate good we place ourselves as the center of the universe. A fara or a man or a star has his place in the universe, but nothing created is the center." (p172). And in the middle of all this seriousness, there are also moments of subtle humour, such as one instance where LEngle pokes fun at Charles Darwins theory of evolution: "What I really need are lessons in adaptation. Ive been reading Darwin, but he hasnt helped me much." (p71) This book might not be the best in the series and might not be as captivating as "A Wrinkle in Time", but its still a fantastic adventure worth travelling.