Did you read this book when you were young? Did you love it?
I was a fantasy child, and I read every Madeline L'Engle book I could get my hands on. When I think of my childhood, the images from her books, and the emotions, are among the most vivid for me.
At last Theo is reading real books, and I can pick great books, and he can read, or listen, and delight.
Sometimes he disappoints me, and I find it hard to not take it personally. He did not like the Narnia books, which I lived in, from age 8-11.
"I like them, Mommy," he said, trying not to hurt my feelings. "It's just that when I stop reading, I don't really want to go back and keep going."
But when I started reading him Madeline L'Engle, he was hooked. And so was I, all over again. In fact, I confess here, that the other night, after reading a chapte, it took all my self control to not continue reading on without him after I tucked him in.
I indulged my L'Engle mania by logging in and reading her biography, and her quotes, and everything I could find. In the end, think I just loved her spirit. I loved her obsession with God, with good and evil, with love, with science, with adventure. In her I find all the passions that drive me. I love that she chose to write these highly complex stories for children, because as one of her quotes said, If your subject matter is too difficult for adults, write for children instead.
With all the talk of tesseracts and time travel, I wondered if Theo would dig it. But he is as hooked as I am. And how I love him for it. What a wonderful thing when you finally hit a book that delighted you as a child, and you see it delighting your child. Did my L'Engle reading experiece leave a genetic imprint, passed on to him?
Madeline L'Engle would say it could. And she would find the science to back it up. Then put it in a book you could not put down.
December 10
8 years ago
5 comments:
I confess, I've never even heard of her, but I feel an Amazon moment coming on. Ruth did love Narnia, but to my great disappointment she read almost all of it without me and it was a gaping hole in my childhood that now I have to fill without her. Incidentally, the secret passage in our house not only did not lead to Narnia, which was disappointing, but it turns out to lead to the soil stack - could there be a duller destination?!
o try her! she is divine. her american is so english it sounds british. but she is just fantastic. i am loving the chronicle of p is for potential. J said you sounded soooo happy. which is true. but also a great and delightful story--with ice cold swimming pools and secret passages to soil stacks!
So where do I start? Which would you recommend for young Ruth?
Ruth has earned another book with her big swim so I think we'll start with a Wrinkle in Time. I am very happy, though next blog could be D is for Divorce if Ian doesn't deal with some of the boxes of files and wires... or, for that matter, make enough space in the cupboard for even one hanger of my clothes!
wrinkle in time is her classic of classics, so try her out on that. if she likes it, there are 60 more books. if she doesn't, try it again in a couple of years. and read it yourself in the meantime :-)
as for ian--throw him in the swimming pool :-)
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