#the wrinkle in time quintet

[buttercuparry]

I truly cannot thank you all enough for helping my friend Siraj get away to relative safety!

The $10k CAD would help funding his family's immediate needs in the new camp, and not to forget would help with the transportation costs as well. This means that the fundraiser which was initially set up to help Siraj rebuild his family home, would suffer as it is being dipped into, to survive through the genocide.

Remember, that the cost of living is exorbitantly high in Gaza right now! From food prices to medicines to feminine hygiene products, everything costs 10 times more than it initially did. There is also a high commission rate charged during every transaction, that is to say by the end of it all there would be very little left with Siraj that he can invest in rebuilding his house.

Siraj's next short term goal is hence to get to $20000 CAD . He wants to invest the whole of it in securing basic building materials for his house. We are approximately $9444 away from the next goal! Please donate to his and boost his fundraiser!!

There are 2 raffles going on for Siraj at this moment:

One is conducted by @sheplaysbassdotmp3 and it is a digital art raffle you can participate in for only $10 dollars

The other raffle is being conducted by @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness and it is for the Collector's Edition of the Time Quintet

Please remember that when we chant Free Palestine it doesn't only mean the destruction of the occupying entity. It doesn't only mean the destruction of the empire (s) that are funding the said entity, but it also means rebuilding Palestine. And it is Palestinians who are going to rebuild their home, their country. So please do not overlook Siraj now! Do not overlook his determination to rebuild his home that was bombed in this genocide after it was finally finished after 10 long years of hardwork!

Keep supporting him!! Keep donating and boosting!

Tagging for reach under the cut

Please forgive me for disturbing again

@meaganfoster @briarhips

@mazzikah @mahoushojoe

@rhubarbspring @pcktknife

@transmutationisms @sawasawako

@feluka @terroristiraqi

@irhabiya @wellwaterhysteria

@deepspaceboytoy @junglejim4322

@kibumkim @neechees

@mangocheesecakes @kyra45-helping-others

@marnota @tortiefrancis

@toiletpotato @fromjannah

@omegaversereloaded @vague-humanoid

@criptochecca @aristotels

@komsomolk @riding-with-the-wild-hunt

@heritageposts @ot3

@amygdalae @ankle-beez

@communistchilchuck @dykesbat

@watermotif @stuckinapril

@mavigator @lacecap

@socalgal @chilewithcarnage

@ghelgheli @northgazaupdates

@dualdeixis

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[esotericreason]

A Wrinkle in Time, anyone? Yes, I'm 16. Yes, I'm reading books for children.

[canniefish]

the mrses, for multifandom doodle

[adaptations-polls]

Which version of this do you prefer?

[iviarellereads]

A Wrinkle In Time, Chapter 12 - The Foolish and the Weak

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index for the Time Quintet, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

In which sometimes you can go home again.

The three Mrs aren't quite as they were when Meg last saw them, and shortly it comes about that they aren't fully materialized, but they're here because they were called. Meg says her father left Charles on Camazotz, and Mrs Whatsit asks coldly what they're supposed to do about it. Meg pleads with her to save her brother, but Mrs Whatsit says they can't do anything on Camazotz. Meg asks if they mean for Charles to be trapped there forever, and Mrs Whatsit asks if she said that, but it's not their way to act themselves.(1)

Mr. Murry interrupts to bow to the Mrs, and Mrs Whatsit requests an introduction. Meg impatiently does the bare minimum of formalities. Mr. Murry says he'd like to learn enough about tessering to go back to Camazotz. Mrs Which says, even knowing he can't succeed? He says he has nothing left if he doesn't try. When Mrs Whatsit says he can't go, Calvin offers, but she forbids him, as well.

There was a long silence. All the soft rays filtering into the great hall seemed to concentrate on Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and the faint light that must be Mrs Which. No one spoke. One of the beasts moved a tendril slowly back and forth across the stone tabletop. At last Meg could stand it no longer and she cried out despairingly, “Then what are you going to do? Are you just going to throw Charles away?” Mrs Which’s voice rolled formidably across the hall. “Ssilencce, cchilldd!”

Silence, however, is not one of Meg's virtues. She cries that she can't go. Mrs Which asks if anyone asked Meg to go, and she starts crying-crying, having a full tantrum on Aunt Beast, who tolerates it. Sobbing, Meg says she'll go, but Mrs Whatsit says they don't want her to go unwillingly, or without understanding.

Suddenly, Meg's tears stop, and she says she does understand. She feels tired, and peaceful, but no longer cold. She even looks at her father and feels no anger, only love and pride.(2) Mrs Which asks what she understands, and Meg says, she knows it has to be her, because she's the closest to Charles.

Mr. Murry, however, will not allow Meg to go into this danger alone, especially not after being so injured by the darkness. Calvin says he needs to go, because he's only on this adventure to take care of Meg and Charles. Aunt Beast offers to go as well, but Mrs Whatsit cuts her off before she finishes saying it. More argument, more accusations of the Mrs being in league with IT. Mrs Whatsit explains that life is a little like a sonnet: there are rules, and defined limits, but there's also so much freedom within those restrictions. They don't know the absolute future, but they can act within the rules.

Meg says she'd like to go and get it over with, and Mrs Which agrees that it's time. Meg thanks the beasts, and AB in particular. She starts to say Calvin's name, but he rushes in and kisses her before she can even finish, but turns away before he can see how happy it made her.(3) To her father, Meg apologizes, because she wanted him to do everything and make it so her way was easy. He says that's what he wanted to do, what any parent wants for their children.(4) He tries again to go in her stead, but is again shut down.(5) Instead, he tells her not to be afraid of being afraid. She starts to give him a message for her mother, but stops and says she'll say it herself after.

This time, the Mrs' gifts are not things Meg can touch with her hands at all. Mrs Whatsit gives her love, Mrs Who gives 1 Corinthians 1:25-28(6) in hopes that Meg will understand it when the time comes, as she understood the tesseract. Mrs Which pulls Meg through the tesseract, and as she stands on a hill on Camazotz, she gives Meg her gift: the knowledge that Meg has something IT doesn't, but she'll have to find it for herself.

Meg walks through Camazotz again, alone, toward the domed building, wondering what she has that IT doesn't. She remembers what her father said, about how IT isn't used to being resisted. She keeps in mind that she's going to save her brother. Soon, she's in front of the domed building, and then suddenly within.

Charles is there. When Meg thinks about what she might have that IT doesn't, he tells her the answer is nothing. He says it's nice to have her back, that Mrs Whatsit is a friend of IT, and tries to take her over again. She says he's lying, about there being nothing and about Mrs Whatsit. He says Mrs Whatsit hates Meg, but that's where IT fails. Meg remembers that Mrs Whatsit loves her, unconditionally, and love is what Meg has that IT hasn't.

Meg stands there, and she thinks her love at Charles, so hard that it calls him back to her. He runs into her arms, and immediately, she feels herself swept away, tessered back out. She, and Charles, and Calvin and Mr. Murry are all back home, in the vegetable garden. Dennys and Sandy come out to call Meg and Charles in for bedtime, and Mr. Murry is off like a rocket across the lawn to hug them too. Soon, everyone is in a hug pile, even Calvin.

Meg knew all at once that Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which must be near, because all through her she felt a flooding of joy and of love that was even greater and deeper than the joy and love which were already there. She stopped laughing and listened, and Charles listened, too. “Hush.” Then there was a whirring, and Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which were standing in front of them, and the joy and love were so tangible that Meg felt that if she only knew where to reach she could touch it with her bare hands. Mrs Whatsit said breathlessly, “Oh, my darlings, I’m sorry we don’t have time to say goodbye to you properly. You see, we have to—” But they never learned what it was that Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which had to do, for there was a gust of wind, and they were gone.(7)

=====

(1) Some people have the ability to go out and risk themselves and march in protests and join sit-ins, but not everyone has the endurance or the resources. Some of us sit in the back, cooking and mending and caring for those who need to fall back before going back out there. We need all sorts working together to accomplish the greatest of goals. (2) I don't know how this would've been better done but I know it feels far too quick and convenient. (3) Less than ideal circumstances but I'll refrain from complaint about potential teen age gaps and consent. (4) Pretty sure Calvin's mom proves otherwise but sure, it's what parents SHOULD want to do for their children. (5) We're spending this much time on the same argument and none on how Meg came around to the right side so fast? Sure Jan dot gif. (6) The verse is about how God's foolishness and weakness are still superior to the best of humanity, but God made the foolish and the weak to shame the wise and the strong, and God chose the "despised things of the world" to humble those who would make themselves out to be great. She carefully leaves off the verses that finish the section: that this choice was made so that no one would be able to boast in God's presence, and it's those choices that make everyone children of God. I go back and forth on whether it's with the intention of making the verse feel less Christian-God-ish, or if L'Engle intended the rest by inference. (7) This whole final chapter has no room to breathe at all, but this is the perfect moment to leave it off, I think.

[the-last-kenobi]

the wrinkle in time series (time quintet) should only appear on the screen as a tv series that is also somehow directed by Greta Gerwig and only people who have read the books know this

[ladysparrow01]

The Time Quintet is one of the strangest sets of books I've ever read. Everytime I think I've figured out where this story is going, it takes the sharpest turn imaginable and leaves me scrambling to catch up.

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

Madeleine L’Engle: and these space aliens quote the New Testament, naturally

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

You know who should direct the next version of A Wrinkle in Time? Taika Waititi. Not only does he have the right creative sensibilities to adapt a story so 1960s-weird, but an Indigenous creator could make the Camazotz plotline even more poignantly disturbing.

[the-sample-from-the-petri-dish]

Throwback to that time my friend lied about reading a wrinkle in time and when I asked him who his favorite character was he panicked and said “the wrinkle”

[none-ofthisnonsense]

Okay time to get to the REAL debate

(there is a right answer)

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

A Wrinkle in Time deserves an anime adaptation as it would allow them to avoid a lot of the limitations of live action filmmaking that previous adaptations struggled with. The visuals could be as good as PMMM or a Shinkai film.

[iviarellereads]

A Wrinkle In Time, Chapter 8 - The Transparent Column

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index for the Time Quintet, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

In which we achieve half the plot's stated goal!

Meg demands the man tell her what he did with Charles Wallace. He pretends he's done nothing. Meg gets shouty, but Calvin says they should focus on tethering Charles Wallace's true self to themselves, hold on to him so he's not lost somewhere. They try to physically restrain Charles's body, but he's stronger than he should be, and the red-eyed man's attendants cut in when they get too rowdy.

Charles, who until further notice is really just the entity speaking through Charles, says they had it all wrong, they've been fighting a friend, even their father's friend. Meg says if her father says the man is a friend, she might accept that, unless he's under a spell like Charles. Charles scoffs at the idea of spells.(1) He uses a term that sets Meg off further, because he's never called her "dear sister".

Calvin asks that the entity stop speaking through Charles, as they already know it has him hypnotized. The man calls that word primitive, but allows it, and has his attendants release Meg and Calvin. Calvin asks what he is, but the man says that's not important. Calvin asks if he'll escort them to Mr. Murry, but the man can't leave this place, it will be Charles who guides them. When Calvin asks when, the man replies, "it might as well be now."

Charles indicates for them to follow, and starts walking, clearly not his own gait. Meg hesitates, but Calvin follows, so she must as well. She half wants to grab Calvin's hand, but she's done nothing but look for hands to hold since this journey started, so she balls up her fists and puts them in her pockets.(2)

On the way, Calvin tries to focus and telepathically draw Charles back, but the entity speaking through Charles suggests he not try that again if they want to see Mr. Murry. He doesn't even call him that or father, simply "Murry". Meg asks if that's what he'd call his father now, and Charles says if Meg needs a father, better to look to IT. Meg finally asks what IT is.

"All in good time," Charles Wallace said. "You're not ready for IT yet. First of all I will tell you something about this beautiful, enlightened planet of Camazotz." His voice took on the dry, pedantic tones of Mr. Jenkins. "Perhaps you do not realize that on Camazotz we have conquered all illness, all deformity--"(3) "We?" Calvin interrupted. Charles continued as though he had not heard. And of course he hadn't, Meg thought.

Essentially, if anyone gets so much as a cold, they're murdered. Before the story can deal with that, Charles makes a wall flicker and grow transparent, for them to move into a small room. Calvin asks how he did that, and Charles says, he just rearranged the atoms. Matter is mostly space, so if you convince it to move in closer, you create spaces.

Meg realizes the small room is an elevator, and it's just starting to move.

Charles says they've conquered difference, and Meg should be able to relate to that: her differences are what make her so unhappy at home. Calvin protests, he's different and happy, but Charles points out that Calvin pretends he isn't different. Meg says she might not like standing out, but she doesn't want to be like everyone else either.

The elevator stops, letting them out, though Calvin barely makes it out before the wall rematerializes. Meg accuses the thing in Charles of wanting to leave Calvin behind. Charles just says he's teaching them to stay on their toes and discouraging them from causing more trouble, so he won't have to bring them to IT.

This time, when Meg asks what IT is, Charles answers.

"You might call IT the Boss." Then Charles Wallace giggled, a giggle that was the most sinister sound Meg had ever heard. "IT sometimes calls ITself the Happiest Sadist." Meg spoke coldly, to cover her fear. "I don't know what you're talking about." "That's s-a-d-i-s-t, not s-a-d-d-e-s-t, you know," Charles Wallace said, and giggled again. "Lots of people don't pronounce it correctly."(4)

Charles goes on to say that Camazotz is perfect because it's a hive mind, one mind to rule them all, IT controls everyone and they can all be happy and not cause each other pain or hardship. Meg says Earth isn't perfect, but forced conformity can't be the only other solution. She wants to go home, but Calvin says they can't leave yet, but she's right, this place is Evil.

They continue onward, and Charles shows them the boy who bounced his ball wrong earlier, bouncing it perfectly in time now, but screaming in pain with every bounce.(5) A little further down, he makes another wall transparent, showing a room with a glass column in the middle, in which stands Mr. Murry.

=====

(1) Much as I abhor Joss Whedon, the "dear, we live on a spaceship" scene is one of many from Firefly that lives rent-free in my head. (2) There's nothing wrong with wanting reassurance that you're not alone, Meg. (3) Again, kinda nice to see this in the text of a children's book, considering how frequently ableism can creep in from the sides. This one's not getting everything as right or as consistent as you might like (see: Calvin's mum) but, I think L'Engle tried as best she could for her own framework. (4) While technically derived from the Marquis de Sade (which is pronounced "Sad"), "say-dist" is quite the more common and acceptable pronunciation in modern English. I don't know if or when there was a transition from one to the other, it's possible that "sad-ist" was more common or considered more acceptable when this was written. But, it amuses me that the prescriptionist in the room is incorrect. I wonder how many kids took this entity at its word, though. (5) Processing, one assumes. Reconditioning. Whatever you might want to call it besides evil.

[booksopandah]

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (The Time Quintet 1)

I don’t know how to feel about this book. On the one hand, I think I am too old to fully appreciate its magic, which is a shame, as that caveat likely applies to many fine books aimed at a younger audience. I doubt I can recapture being in the mind of a young teenager, or even a child, possibly at all, much less effectively enough to enjoy it as I think it might deserve.

The book is good. Quite good. The characters are distinct in such a way as to make them characters, beyond mere people, the worldbuilding is fascinating and strange, and the plot is clear enough that it’s a breeze to read. It took all of about 2 hours. Another thing worth mentioning is that the book is very short. There are others, and I think I would enjoy them enough to read them, but for now I have just read the one.

On the whole I don’t feel disappointed in the book, or frustrated with any choices from the author. On the contrary, everything actually fits in a rather unique and interesting way, even if the villain is simply referred to as “Evil”. I think my only real issue comes from the implications of the worldbuilding, and that’s an issue that is more fundamental to the story than any of the other pieces. Spoilers below:

The book is set more or less in our real world, with the main difference being that there is much more magic than ours has. The magic is secret and not well understand or widely known, so it could very well be our own world. The story then goes on to describe our world as a “shadowed” one, where the evil darkness has begun to spread, but has not yet finished. I think that’s where my problem with it lies. I understand why people so often externalized that evil that they saw: The World Wars and the Cold War would make any rational being assume there was something in the water. But it feels uncomfortable to me as a solution, or at least an explanation.

The hatred and fear and greed that made those wars possible and horrific were all too human traits to other, and I don’t like media has to. One of the same big problems I had with the Wonder Woman reboot. But I think where this book succeeds, and others tend to fail, is that love and kindness is the winning factor. It does not end the Evil. It barely even hurts it on its home turf, but it is enough to save a child, and maybe that’s a start.

It’s not a perfect book, but it is one worth reading, and I wish it was one I had read before, because I fear I have missed my window, but that is no reason to not recommend it. If you have the spare time, I do recommend it, to children or otherwise. Happy Reading, and Happy New Year.