Madeleine L'Engle has died

[larper]

Just saw it on CNN. "Wrinkle in Time" was probably the first SciFi book I read that actually made me think. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Vote </font><font color="#3366ff">Libertarian</font></strong></p> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

A thoughful, inspiring and sometimes provocative writer, her contribution lives on. <br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[lampblack]

She was a beautiful lady -- creative the way Tolkien was creative, in a thoroughly ground-breaking sort of way. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#0000ff"><strong>Just tell the truth and let the chips fall...</strong></font> </div>

 

[vogon13]

Now she knows how the tesseract works . . . <br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

Wow; the world has lost one of its literary masters.<br /><br />She had an interesting and fantastical approach to science fiction, which lent many of her books a strange, dream-like atmosphere. She'd take elements from myth, legend, and current science and mix them in a way you wouldn't expect. She also had a way of introducing elements that normally would make you go "yeah, right, like anyone would buy that in a story" and making it so matter-of-fact that not only do you believe it within the story, but you don't even think it strange. A truly gifted storyteller.<br /><br />"A Wrinkle In Time" was my introduction to science fiction literature as well. I also loved "A Wind at the Door", "A Swiftly Tilting Planet", and "Many Waters". I also read some of her less fantastical stories, but honestly I liked these the best. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[kauboi]

A nice interview, she was a pretty bright woman...<br /><br />http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4926262/

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>It is regrettable that no worthwhile film or television version of "A Wrinke in Time" has ever been done. The 2003 Disney TV movie was abominable. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />The Children's Theater Company of Minnesota did an adaptation of it for the stage a number of years ago. Probably the mid 90s, but I'm not sure. It was surprisingly good. They used to videotape their productions, but they had stopped long before that one, alas. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[etavaunt]

That is so interesting, a sci fi author I never ever heard about. I would not have thought that possible.

 

[CalliArcale]

Oh, are you missing out!<br /><br />I highly recommend you check out her books, especially "A Wrinkle In Time", "A Wind at the Door", and "A Swiftly Tilting Planet". I also like "Many Waters", though it's not quite as closely tied to the other three. (Of those four, it is the only one featuring the twins.) These are the four of her books that are most imaginative; most of her other books are more ordinary dramas. She had a remarkable imagination.<br /><br />"A Wrinkle in Time" is about a search for Meg's father, who disappeared after a government research project to attempt interplanetary travel using a tesseract -- a wrinkle in spacetime. Meg is assisted by a boy who later becomes her boyfriend and eventually her husband (in later books) and her brilliant baby brother Calvin and by three odd ladies who are apparently retired stars: Mrs Who, Mrs Whatsit, and Mrs Which. It's an odd book, but well worth reading.<br /><br />"A Wind at the Door" is set mostly inside of one of Calvin's mitochondria.<br /><br />"A Swiftly Tilting Planet" stars Calvin as he travels through time on the back of a unicorn to meet his ancestors and set some things right.<br /><br />"Many Waters" has Meg and Calvin's twin brothers messing around with one of their dad's experiments -- and finding themselves deposited in the desert in the time of Noah. But don't be fooled; this isn't a Biblical literalist story. As with the tesseract and the mitochondrion in previous books, it doesn't really work the way you might expect.<br /><br />There is a curious, dream-like quality to each of these books. I highly recommend them. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

*smacks head* I got the Cs mixed up.<br /><br />In my defense, it's probably been fifteen years since I've read the books.<br /><br />(Man, has it really been that long? Ugh. I'd better reread them, obviously. <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> ) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>