A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeline L'Engle
I'm fudging this one a little. The challenge says Christmas, but I read one that takes place Thanksgiving Day instead. Sue me.
Planet is the third in L'Engle's Time Trilogy, which became a Quartet then Quintet. But the central characters of the first three are the same, those of the following two are not.
It's been years since we last met Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace. Meg and Calvin are now married and Charles Wallace, a teenager, is constructing models of a tesseract. The whole Murray family has convened for a traditional holiday dinner together, when father gets a disturbing call from the president.
Thus begins Charles Wallace's journey through time to see if it is possible to change one moment to affect change in the future. Unlike butterfly effect theories, Charles Wallace, with the help of Meg via kything, seek to pinpoint and alter one tiny moment to save the future without changing everything else.
Through their mental and spiritual connection, Meg watches as Charles Wallace travels through the genealogy of Mad Dog Branzillo, looking for the right moment to rescue the future. For now I will ignore the moral and ethical criticisms of the novel and just focus on what I specifically liked and disliked.
Well, of course, there is Meg. She's not the same kickass teenager that I love. She's become pretty and content and lacks all the angsty fire I used to love. She's no longer blazing, just some glowing embers. Which, you know, is actually a fine way for a woman to grow. I just don't find much to cheer her for now that she's all mature.
I like that L'Engle blends science and religion without putting them at odds. In this episode, she adds some Paganism to the mix, which is like seasoning an already delicious dish. So many times, I think we get caught in a fallacy of mutual exclusivity, that we miss the duality in nature of the world around us. (There will be more discussion of this at a later date because it ties in to another theme of a different novel.)
I like the family histories. Even when the oft repeated names became confusing. The mystery of which branch the final antagonist will come from is an interesting exercise in word play.
As someone with vertigo, I love the title. It perfectly describes those moments.
It's not my favorite in the series, but I'm sure I'll read it again (and again). Meg's transformation and weak role don't help this one earn any extra Marias. Planet ties up this trilogy with just 3 Marias.
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