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Many Waters (Time #4)

by Madeleine L'Engle

3.95 · rating details · 13,012 ratings · 493 reviews

Sandy and Dennys have always been the normal, run-of-the-mill ones in the extraodinary Murry family. They garden, make an occasional A in school, and play baseball. Nothing especially interesting has happened to the twins until they accidentally interrupt their father's experiment.

Then the two boys are thrown across time and space. They find themselves alone in the de...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published May 1st 2007 by Square Fish (first published 1985)

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The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Best Time Travel Fiction

30th out of 472 books — 1,287 voters

Best Books of the Decade: 1980's

47th out of 514 books — 477 voters

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Jan 18, 2008

Matt rated it

Just barely edged out as my favorite book in the series (right behind "A swiftly Tilting Planet"). Tells a story less concerned with love and justice and all about the hard choices that people (and deities) make in a flawed world.

An out and out retelling of the Biblical Deluge from the point of view of two modern teenagers. Unique in that it makes no apology for all the fantastical stuff the Bible referred to in antediluvian times. Angels getting it own with the village ...more

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Jul 25, 2011

teacup_carousel rated it

· review of another edition

It always amuses me when people say "coming of age story" when what they really mean is "sexual awakening". And don't be confused, there *is* a difference. Take for instance Hayao Miyazaki's 2001 film Spirited Away, this is a great example of a coming of age film. Yes, the protagonist Chihiro does meet a certain dragon/boy she may like more than a friend but this is not what pushes the character development, what pushes her to "grow up" are the lessons she learns ab...moreIt always amuses me when people say "coming of age story" when what they really mean is "sexual awakening". And don't be confused, there *is* a difference. Take for instance Hayao Miyazaki's 2001 film Spirited Away, this is a great example of a coming of age film. Yes, the protagonist Chihiro does meet a certain dragon/boy she may like more than a friend but this is not what pushes the character development, what pushes her to "grow up" are the lessons she learns about hard work, sacrifice and caring about others. Sandys and Dennys on the other hand don't change much throughout Many Waters - they exit our story much as they enter it, self sufficient, hard working and caring. What changes in their story is the capacity of sexual and emotional desire they become aware of.

Reading this I got a very different vibe from the rest of the Time books. While this one is no exception to the publisher's rule where it's cover has the words "a companion to a Wrinkle in Time" written across the front, unlike all the other books in the series, I felt that this was the only one that was self sufficient enough to stand on its own. Almost to the point where I wonder if Le'Engle, after having written these books several decades apart, didn't write this as more of an adult novel, knowing like many authors who undertake long IR series (such as Harry Potter), that the original demographic would have grown up by then. After all, there's quite a few things that make this book a questionable choice for the younger set that AWiT was aimed at. Sandy, tied and bound in a tent hears his captors voice and calls her name. When she expresses delight at him recognizing her she thinks it's by her voice and yet we see him say to himself quite clearly "I recognized you by your scent you slut". And earlier on Dennys tells of his afternoon walk through the oasis bazaar and his difficulty in looking at all the faces around him for he knows they're to be drowned. Again, not exactly elementary school stuff.

However, that being said, you'd think a children's book by a Christian author set in biblical times where the village seductress is called a slut would be pretty stuffy when it came to messages on sex and women, but surprisingly it's not. Le'Engle makes a pretty radical move by having some of her characters call the Noah story chauvinistic from the get go, addressing some of the tension head on. And while the story does not drastically alter from that in the bible Le'Engle surprised me by angling the story from a pretty feminine perspective. Yes, two young adolescent boys are the main narrators, and yet most of the story revolves around activities like watering animals and plants, gardening, cooking, caring for the elderly, birthing and marriage - all the things our society typically considers to be feminine. The first place Dennys is taken to that is considered safe and whole in the story is the tent the women use for menstruation, and while there are an equal number of men and women in Noah's tent less time is given to the sons and the daughters. It would have been easy to center this story around the building of the arc, hunting and other masculine activities and yet we spend time in the women's tent and out on rocks under star lit skies where sisters talk about husbands and children.

And the sex. Ah the sex. This isn't your grandma's bible story that's for sure. Or maybe not, but somehow the constant sexual tension of a might-have-been threesome never made it's way into any of MY Baby's First Bible. The message here is not so much one of abstinence as other's have suggested as it is understanding that who you have sex with the first time matters just as much as who you have sex with once you are settled down. The message here isn't "don't do it" it's "don't do it carelessly".

So in the end did I like it more than AWiT? Yes, and no. It's a horse of a different color to be sure. I think as a piece of children's literature I loved, and always will love, AWiT the best. But as a grown up's book Many Waters is a finely crafted and startling re-imagination of Biblical times that belongs right up their with The Red Tent. Highly recommended.(less)

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Aug 23, 2007

Alexis rated it

so... this was the first of all the books which made me realize while i was reading it that it was all christian imagery. i mean, the arc and all - noah... hard to miss, right? and that's what people say about aslan - just a jesus allegory - but i didn't have any christian education as a child, so i missed all of that. and most people say the same "when i was a kid i didn't realize it had all that christian metaphor." which i think means that in effect, it didn't. if we don't know ...more

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Dec 09, 2009

Heather rated it

Shelves: scifi-fantasy-speculative

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 26, 2007

Amanda rated it

This is the other contender for my favorite Madeleine L'Engle book. I especially love this book because of its version of the biblical story of Noah and the flood, a story that I've heard often and that loses its luster since I spent my entire childhood in Sunday School. L'Engle blends biblical ideas and stories with her own imaginative renderings of that time, like her interpretations of the seraphim and nephilim, mythical creatures like manticores, and her explanation of Noah's daughters' c...more

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Mar 26, 2009

Jacqueline rated it

Shelves: ancient-times, fantasy, jf

I first read Many Waters as a young adult many years ago. I have been re-reading many L'Engle books the past couple of years, and this one has been hard to get ahold of. (Our large library system only has one copy, and it has had a long hold list.) I finally got my chance and enjoyed revisiting the story.

Many Waters is basically a fictionalized account of the Noah's Ark story from the Bible. Sandy and Dennys Murphy inadvertently disturb one of their father's science projects and ...more

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Aug 16, 2011

Zarah rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: personal-library, fantasy, historical-fiction, middle-reader

This has always been my favorite of the Time Quintet (better known, perhaps, as the Wrinkle in Time series). I read it again just now because – while it’s true that I’ve been wanting to reread it for quite some time – I was cold, and the vast majority of the story is set in a desert. I don’t think it made me any warmer, but oh well.

I hadn’t read Many Waters in such a long time that I couldn’t remember much of anything about it other than what I’ve written above, which is really unusual...moreThis has always been my favorite of the Time Quintet (better known, perhaps, as the Wrinkle in Time series). I read it again just now because – while it’s true that I’ve been wanting to reread it for quite some time – I was cold, and the vast majority of the story is set in a desert. I don’t think it made me any warmer, but oh well.

I hadn’t read Many Waters in such a long time that I couldn’t remember much of anything about it other than what I’ve written above, which is really unusual for me. I recognized things as they appeared, but it was still an experience different from what I usually get when rereading things from the past. One thing that surprised me was how young the prose (aside from the tessering explanations, of course) seemed, and what I mean by that is that it read like it was written for a much younger audience. This is something my younger sister (who is transitioning from YA to adult books, but still in love with C.S. Lewis’ (middle reader) Narnia series) talks about a lot, but it doesn’t usually effect me. And it’s certainly not something I expected, either, from the likes of L’Engle. I thought the resolution of Yalith (about which I won’t be any more specific, lest I spoil the story for people who haven’t read it, or, like me, can’t remember it) was a bit of a cop-out, but I guess it did work well enough, and I certainly can’t think of anything that would’ve been better. And, while it has little to do with reading/writing level, I also thought that the religious undertones were stronger than I remembered, more like overtones, but I guess that’s what you get with historical fiction that’s set in the middle of a Bible story…

All of that, however, is not to say I didn’t enjoy the book. I enjoyed it. I just didn’t love it quite as much as my memory loved it. And my favorite Quintet book might be A Swiftly Tilting Planet now. Maybe.

I’d still recommend this (and the rest of the series) to anyone who hasn’t read them.(less)

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Mar 26, 2011

Pikachu rated it

Shelves: 1980s, series-bk-4, _lets-play-pretend, _why-yes-i-ya, _reviewed, _angels

This book is bizarre. Sandy and Dennys accidentally teleport back in time when they jokingly write "take me someplace warm" on one of their father's unfinished experiments. Suddenly, the twins find themselves in antediluvian times, in a place where they are giants, mythical beasts like the manticore and the unicorn are commonplace, people keep tiny dog-sized mammals as pets, and angels walk freely among man.

I know that sounds like it has the potential to be quite bad, which i...more

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Jul 17, 2010

Rachel rated it

· review of another edition

This story, the fourth in Madeleine L'Engle's Time quintet, focuses primarily on Dennys and Sandy, the Murphy twins and siblings of Meg and Charles Wallace (characters from A Wrinkle in Time and L'Engle's other stories in this series). After inadvertently messing around with one of their parents' many intricate scientific experiments, the twins find themselves transported instantaneously to a distant location. To explain more would be to give away secrets of the plot, so suffice it to say the tw...more

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Jun 29, 2010

John rated it

In a departure from the main characters of the first three books, Madeleine L'Engle's Many Waters follows Sandy and Dennys Murry, the twin brothers of the Murry family that had little to do in the first three novels. While this was unexpected, L'Engle recaptures a great deal of the mythic tone in this novel that was so clearly present in the first of her Time novels.

And it is precisely because of that mythic quality that I like this novel so much. L'Engle, who sends her protagonists ...more

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Nov 02, 2009

Max Anadon rated it

· review of another edition

Three or four stars...I wish they had halves...does it matter? Well, I've had this book for many years but never read it. I bought it who knows when because it is part of the series of 'A Wrinkle in Time'. I still remember the wonder I had when I read 'Wrinkle', and plan to read it and the others of the series again some day.

'Waters' was enjoyable, and not dependent on the previous books to understand. The twins, Sandy and Dennys, are now 15, and were known to be doers and the pr...more

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Aug 10, 2011

Evelyn rated it

Shelves: fantasy, historical, science-fiction

I'd read this book many years ago, so distant that it felt as though I was reading it for the first time. Madeleine L'Engle is a very good author, but there is something about her books that makes it difficult to imagine yourself reading them. Maybe it's the science that weighs just as heavy as the fantasy. Whatever it is, once you get started finishing is the easy part. The description of antediluvian life was fascinating, as all things from distant history are. Differences between the nep...more

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Mar 06, 2011

Mari rated it

Shelves: children-s-literature, fantasy, scifi, 2011-reads

Probably one of my favorite of the series. Many Waters was L'Engle taking a rather different approach to telling the story of the Murrys, and even did it in the perspective of Sandy and Dennys as opposed to Meg and Charles Wallace. I had been looking forward to the book because it would involve the twins much more than the books usually did.

The twins weren't the only differences in the book, however. Even with the two instances of a tesseracting occurrence, the traveling didn't get ver...more

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Nov 10, 2007

Qt rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

This is the third book in the Wrinkle in Time quartet, and, like the others, it has an unusual and intriguing mix of spirituality, quantum mechanics, philosophy, and fantasy. It's not your typical novel--no slam-bang action, no climactic ending--it's more of a "thinking" book. Some of the parts were sad or a bit unsettling to me, but that's a shortcoming of my own--not the book's, as it was really well-written and beautifully done :-)

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Oct 25, 2011

Marie Williams rated it

I have read this book numerous times from adolescence through adulthood. As much as I love Meg and Charles Murray, it is this book, which focuses on the secondary characters of their twin brothers Sandy and Dennys, that I find myself returning to again and again. It is one of my favorites from Madeleine L'Engle. I think it is because of the theme of growing up and experiencing deep love and romance (the love triangle with the twins and Yalith) that I love it so much. I had a huge crush on the tw...more

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May 16, 2010

Dreamybee rated it

I don't really have too much to say about this book. I liked it a lot better than #3 in the series, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, but I still didn't love it. I understand why L'Engle's books endure-I think she does a great job of bringing sophisticated science to young readers in a way that is interesting-I can see how some kid might decide she wants to be a physicist or a mathematician after reading some of L'Engle's books, and I think that's great; however, I don't think she's a very good writer...more

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Apr 20, 2010

Ali Miller rated it

Shelves: soul-food, favorites

Still reflecting on this one. It's so lyrical, thoughtful, and strange. Nothing like the other Time books. Though L'Engle uses simple language and descriptions, the world she paints has so much contrast and so many unexpected elements that I was wholly immersed, thinking about it even when I wasn't reading - and it's been awhile since that happened.

If you're anticipating this to be a piece of preachy historical Bible-fiction because of the subject matter, you'll be surprised, as I wa...more

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Nov 15, 2011

Leah rated it

If you ever heard the story of Noah’s ark in Sunday school you will love this book. Fans of A Wrinkle in Time will appreciate this opportunity to get to know the twins, and become acquainted with the personalities of the bible characters many readers have known since early childhood. Like the rest of the stories in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quartet, Many Waters involves themes of skepticism that can be enjoyed by adults, alongside fantasy characters such as unicorns that will capture the imaginat...more

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Oct 30, 2011

Margot rated it

Shelves: 2011, children-s, fantasy, historical, sci-fi

This was by far my favorite of L'Engle's Time series. Sandy and Dennys, the Murry twins and most normal of the family, accidentally travel back to biblical times when people lived for 700 years, and seraphim, nephilim, and unicorns walked among men. And God is just about to send a flood that will wipe out the entire human race.

Yes, Sandy and Dennys have landed in the time of Noah and the Ark. And they must help his family during this "time of change" when the future seems v...more

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Feb 25, 2011

Jen rated it

Shelves: fiction

I think I've been under a rock for the past 20 years. I was unaware there was a fourth book to the series, and I loved Madeleine L'Engle growing up. I read her like a religion. So it was like finding out your long lost friend actually lives down the street to find the book.

Sandy and Dennys were always the most boring of the family. They seemed the normal ones that never got to do anything and honestly didn't seem that upset about it. They liked being normal. So it was nice to see them ...more

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Feb 02, 2011

Zoe rated it

Shelves: kids-books, fantasy

Hadn't read this one in years but picked it up a while ago when I saw the new edition. Finally got round to reading it again and I have to say, not her best work. The slice-of-life interaction between Sandy and Dennys at the beginning seems stilted and like a hokey family drama. The characterisation isn't as strong as it is in her non-fantasy books, with characters having basically one or two dimensions. And yet the interesting ideas - virtual particles, the effect of the observer on the thing b...more

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Apr 10, 2010

Deanna rated it

Shelves: science

I started reading this out loud to my boys, but after a chapter I quickly realized that that was not going to work. This book, much to my surprise, was an adult book.

In this book the Murray twins get transported back in time to the days of Noah right before the flood. The daughters of men are cavorting with the nephilum and it is quite descriptive! These "experienced" (they actually say some other words) girls come after our Murray twins and it gets a little racy. Also ...more

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Dec 06, 2010

Jessica rated it

Shelves: young-adult-book, pre-2000, science-fiction, novel

I read this book every year on my birthday. I wasn't going to include it in my Good reads because it is kind of a goofy tradition, plus it didn't totally achieve the purpose of this project--to read or relearn about as many young adult novels as possible. I was desperate for one more novel (sheepish face) and I did read it this semester, so I'm going to qualify this book. I read this every year, and while I don't necessarily think this is L'Engle's best book, I enjoy how she tries to tie the bib...more

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May 17, 2009

Rachel rated it

Shelves: addictive-ya-shit

This Time Quartet book seems not to fit in really well with the other three, but I liked it very much. For one thing, it follows the twins, Sandy and Dennys, who were hardly noticed in the other three books except that they were described as the most "normal" of the Murry children. For another, they were not granted some great mission, like Meg and Charles Wallace in the other three Time books. It was much more like the Wizard of Oz, where the boys, having stumbled into a different ...more

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Nov 05, 2011

Becky rated it

After The Swiftly Tilting Planet, I had high expectations for this next book in the L'Engle Space and Time series. Unfortunately, I found this book rather tedious to get through. The premise is that Meg Murphy's twin brothers accidentally walk into their father's science experiment and find themselves in Biblical times...like pre-history Biblical times. I didn't love the plot, although how she explains those mysterious Nephtilum of the Bible is quite interesting. It also felt like she reverted b...more

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Dec 27, 2011

Kathryn Knight rated it

· review of another edition

This was my least favorite of all of the Time Quartet books. It stars Sandy and Dennys Murry, the least remarkable of all of the Murry children. At the beginning of the novel, they stumble into one of their father's experiments and find themselves transported to a strange, foreign place. At first, the twins are convinced that they are on another planet, but gradually learn that they have been dumped into the middle of the biblical story of Noah and the Ark.

I did enjoy this particular v...more

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Apr 21, 2009

Rob rated it

Shelves: fantasy

The Murry twins, Sandy and Dennys, get transported back to the time of Noah, just before the flood. I have to say, whatever you expect that to be like, L'Engle probably still has a surprise or two for you. Very good writing,. as always. THe plot is somewhat unsatisfactory to me towards the end, though. Maybe she addresses this in the An Acceptable Time. Doesn;t look like it, though.

***SPOILER******
******SPOILER******
*********SPOILER******
Well, I know where Pullman g...more

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Jul 17, 2009

Robyn rated it

Shelves: juvenile-fiction

It is hard to do any justice to this author's books--they are so unique, so deep, so well-written. This one is about 2 modern day boys going back to Noah's time and it is so dusty, so hot, so gritty; she was able to portray colors, feelings, sensations, emotions in this interestingly set book. Her capacity to use the English language is amazing and that's what I love about her books, as well as this description which I did not write: "L'Engle's mystical mix of science fiction and fantasy, t...more

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Sep 30, 2011

Maria Luna rated it

This book was interesting and fun to read. The author gives a very unique meaning to this book that makes you want to read more. This book is based on science fiction, fantasy, romance, physics that makes you want to take out the history book or science book and say that's in my book. What I really liked about this book is that it tells the original story of noahs' arc and twisted it up a bit to where Sandy and Denny are involved but not changing history. This book has unicorns, manticore...more

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Dec 28, 2009

JJ rated it

· review of another edition

I read this book for a 5th grade book report and made a diorama (anyone else remember those?). MANY WATERS is a large departure from the other Murray books, being about Sandy and Dennys rather than Meg and Charles Wallace. The scale of their coming-of-age is more intimate and less fantastic than Meg and Charles Wallace's and much more sexy.

I did not realise L'Engle considered herself a Christian writer--I had always thought of her as science-fiction as a child. However, upon rereadin...more

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About Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her Young Adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters. Her works reflect her strong interest in modern science: tesseracts, for example, are featured prominently in A Wrinkle in Time, mitochondrial DNA in A Wind in the Door, organ regener...moreMadeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her Young Adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters. Her works reflect her strong interest in modern science: tesseracts, for example, are featured prominently in A Wrinkle in Time, mitochondrial DNA in A Wind in the Door, organ regeneration in The Arm of the Starfish, and so forth.

"Madeleine was born on November 29th, 1918, and spent her formative years in New York City. Instead of her school work, she found that she would much rather be writing stories, poems and journals for herself, which was reflected in her grades (not the best). However, she was not discouraged.

At age 12, she moved to the French Alps with her parents and went to an English boarding school where, thankfully, her passion for writing continued to grow. She flourished during her high school years back in the United States at Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, vacationing with her mother in a rambling old beach cottage on a beautiful stretch of Florida Beach.

She went to Smith College and studied English with some wonderful teachers as she read the classics and continued her own creative writing. She graduated with honors and moved into a Greenwich Village apartment in New York. She worked in the theater, where Equity union pay and a flexible schedule afforded her the time to write! She published her first two novels during these years--A Small Rain and Ilsa--before meeting Hugh Franklin, her future husband, when she was an understudy in Anton Chekov's The Cherry Orchard. They married during The Joyous Season.

She had a baby girl and kept on writing, eventually moving to Connecticut to raise the family away from the city in a small dairy farm village with more cows than people. They bought a dead general store, and brought it to life for 9 years. They moved back to the city with three children, and Hugh revitalized his professional acting career. The family has kept the country house, Crosswicks, and continues to spend summers there.

As the years passed and the children grew, Madeleine continued to write and Hugh to act, and they to enjoy each other and life. Madeleine began her association with the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where she has been the librarian and maintained an office for more than thirty years. After Hugh's death in 1986, it was her writing and lecturing that kept her going. She has now lived through the 20th century and into the 21st and has written over 60 books and keeps writing. She enjoys being with her friends, her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren."

Copyright © 2007 Crosswicks, Ltd. (Madeleine L'Engle, President)(less)

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An Acceptable Time (Time, #5) (O'Keefe Family, #4)

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Many Waters (Time #4)

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