A Wrinkle in Time
discussion
Possibly the worst book I have ever read.
Ashlyn wrote: "I enjoyed the book. This is one of those books that appeal to the *creator* type of person, especially people who write themselves. You have to be able to understand the story which is the reason m..."It's great that you liked the book Ashlyn but your statement comes off as a little arrogant and insulting. It is possible for other people to be creative and intelligent and still have a different opinion than yours.
I just read the book a few days ago and gave it 2 stars and I believe I fully understood it. I didn't think it was written in a very enjoyable style. the main character was completely unlikable, and the pro-Christian/anti-Communist propaganda was too obvious. It seemed to me that L'Engle was trying to be a cross between C.S. Lewis and Robert Heinlein but failed.
Don't worry about it Ashlyn. No harm done.
King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "*** NOTE: If you do not want to read my comment (TL;DNR), please just skip straight to the other 1 star reviews and read them instead. ***This is quite possibly the worst book I have ever read, a..."
First of all, thank you for a thoroughly entertaining read through this discussion forum, your Majesty. I found both your wit and your sarcasm particularly charming.
I would also like to thank you, as one of the few it seems who has not picked up this book, for persuading me to reconsider doing so. Life is too short to fill with books that don't satisfy the reader. Your goal to steer readers away has been achieved in my case; thank you for the warning!
I LOVED THIS BOOK! I loved this book so much that i actually bought the book
Your loss Matthew.
Linda wrote: "King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "Lis, thank you for the input, I very much appreciate what you are trying to say (and I would be even more hypocritical than I already am if I were to care about t..."I, too, have little interest in reading Harry Potter after seeing parts of various film adaptations. Yet when it comes to other alternative universes such as the LOTR or Martian Chronicles I would gladly reread.
I read WIT in mid teens and it was belated for me. I had read the Bible at the age of 6, Dr. Schweitzer of Lambarene at 10 and Transposed Heads by Mann at 15, yet found WIT delightful. The only other children´s books that I read as a youth that stood out were DeJong´s Wheel on the School House and the Little Engine that Could.
I read WIT most recently a half century after the initial and found it still good but I was no longer overwhelmed. It´s a good tale about conformity and distopian dictatorships, regardless of Communism or not. This is a good book for children and if I were a 5th grade teacher would include it in the curriculum. The only kid lit I would top is THE GIVER.
im a 7th grader and this book was one of my best reads ever
If nothing else, this thread demonstrates vividly that it's entirely possible for people of all kinds to disagree strongly about a single book. Much like... well, any book, really :) To me that's one of the magical things about books: that they can be such different things to different people.
I kind of agree. I like the beginning but the actual adventure was wierd and hard to follow. I'm trying to reread it but it's going kind of slow
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did books like A Wizard of Earthsea but I don't think it's fair to say that this book was absolutely awful. It had some very interesting ideas that were very powerful. Also, you can't deny that the book is science fiction. It deals with things such as time travel, alternate dimensions, alien planets, which all fall under the science fiction category. Though you could argue that it is more of a fiction book than a science fiction novel. Finally, I don't remember this book being particularly religious. Just because it uses quotes from the bible doesn't mean that it's religious propaganda. Many popular books use quotes from the Bible. Again, this isn't the best book in the world. It just isn't as horrible as you make it out to be.
I loved this book as a kid. Reading it with my nine year old now and she's totally into it. I like the religious good vs evil elements.
Due to time constraints, I was not able to read every comment here, but I hope someone has pointed out that there are multitudes of books written by authors with religious or anti-religious angles. The first that come to mind are, of course, C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia." It's an entire allegory written around Christianity. Lewis was close friends with J.R.R. Tolkien, who wrote "Lord of the Rings," etc, and became the veritable archetype for all fantasy written thereafter. Philip Pullman wrote an entire series from an anti-theistic/anti-deistic stance, as well ("The Golden Compass," etc). It seems that it's not uncommon for authors to write according to their personal views, whether they make it obvious or not. I'll admit it's been a while since I've read "A Wrinkle in Time" and the rest of the series, but I recall enjoying it greatly at the time. It may be time for a reread. However, I would be ill-inclined to consider what you've written here a review.
I can completely understand coming at it from an aspect of irritation at the lack of rational science or the lack of accuracy in regard to said science, but in all fairness, the same could be said of Star Wars. Fiction, fantasy, science fiction and any combination thereof is wonderfully flexible in that respect because it is not touting itself as fact or persuasion. It's merely an imagining of what could be, however incorrect it may be.
Granted, I have some trouble placing a lot of weight on someone who has crowned themselves "King Shit of Turd Mountain" when I'm sure there are others who would suit the title far better, but while I can respect that you have a certain distaste for this, I think you'd benefit by expanding on it with more than just half trussed insults toward the author or assuming a religious bias need be the relevant deciding factor about whether a book has merit.
I was so hyped for this book, and then i read it. Honestly its OKBut i didn't know it was going to be middle grade, so that might have been something. But also the story was just SO SLOW. And then it sped up. Like WHAT? I was rlly confused this whole story and didn't enjoy it.
IF U ENJOYED THIS BOOK ITS OK! :D WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN OPINIONS.
What no one has pointed out up to this point is that the self description, KING SHIT OF THE TURD MOUNTAIN, is but self abegnation. The original poster needs to correct this poor self image.
Wow.This has always been one of my all time favorite books.
But I first read it when I was 14-15. I just loved it ( and the rest of the series).....
However, to be fair...I just re-read it a few months ago ( I’m 66 now).
yes Meg is hysterical, but I feel she has reason to be because of her age and circumstances...
Some of the book was very well, simplistic...when Meg is actually rescuing Charles and her dad...it seems very rote.
And the ending seemed rushed and abrupt.
In the end...age has softened my absolute adoration into fondness.
This has also been one of my favorite books. I didn't like the rest of the Time quintet as much, but I liked "A Wrinkle In Time." However, I must agree about the rushed ending. The whole book builds up to it, and then the ending just sneaks up on you very quickly. It's still one of my favorites, though.
The movie was also the worst movie I have ever seen.That's just my opinion and I expected a lot more from it.
It's not the worst, but I don't really like it.
Lauren wrote: "The movie was also the worst movie I have ever seen. That's just my opinion and I expected a lot more from it."I wouldn't say it's the worst, but I was disappointed in it. I felt like it went for style over substance.
This book was read to my class in the 4th or 5th grade, over 50 years ago - we were all mesmerized, indeed, it activated my imagination and led me to a career as a creative. There may be some truth is the author's assertion that this book is over the heads of adults. We see the world differently as children than we do as adults. I have not read the book since I was a child, but I recently saw the movie based on the book, and found it disappointing. Perhaps, it was my adult eyes that disappointed!
Chris wrote: "I recently saw the movie based on the book, and found it disappointing. Perhaps, it was my adult eyes that disappointed!"No, I'm pretty sure it was just not a very good movie. I had very high hopes and was sadly disappointed. I loved the girl who played Meg, and the woman who played Mrs. [Who? - the one who always quotes people]. But everyone else felt rather stilted, and I felt like they went for visuals over substantive dialog. It was all a bit trippy and LSD like, which the book is not at all.
Not the worst book. I gave Wrinkle 3 stars.Personally, I think a fun little fantasy like Danny and the Dreamweaver is far more enjoyable, and even has a very good message to convey, since if a teen’s book should be fun, thought-provoking and memorable, I’d go for “Danny…” or even “The Phantom Tollbooth” over Wrinkle.
So 3 stars seems fair in comparison.
I love The Phantom Tollbooth, so clever and snarky. Kids will miss a lot of the jokes -- which I guess makes it perfect for reading aloud to your children.
King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "*** NOTE: If you do not want to read my comment (TL;DNR), please just skip straight to the other 1 star reviews and read them instead. ***This is quite possibly the worst book I have ever read, a..."
It is the worst book I've ever read as well. The hype baffles me completely.
Your loss, Christy.
Geoffrey wrote: "Your loss, Christy."lol
Michele wrote: "I love The Phantom Tollbooth, so clever and snarky. Kids will miss a lot of the jokes -- which I guess makes it perfect for reading aloud to your children."If you loved Phantom, Michelle, you must try Danny and the Dreamweaver Excellent read!
Ed wrote: "If you loved Phantom, Michelle, you must try Danny and the Dreamweaver Excellent read! "Hippopotamus Bosch!!! ::dies:: Thanks, I'll check it out :)
Michele wrote: "Ed wrote: "If you loved Phantom, Michelle, you must try Danny and the Dreamweaver Excellent read! "Hippopotamus Bosch!!! ::dies:: Thanks, I'll check it out :)"
LOL Enjoy!
I really found Aunt Beast and company creepy. The plot could have been resolved without this side trip.
King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "Grace (The Original) Gill, from your favorite list I can assume you are a teen. I am in no way holding this against you, but just know that there is an entire world of much better literature out th..."I may not personally agree with your insight and strong opinion on "A Wrinkle in Time," however I was definitely not the worlds biggest fan of it either. That said, I am a teen who is very much into classic and insightful literature. I very much agreed with your statement that Adults will try to sell YA readers on very dumbed down writing that is, in my opinion, basic and meaningless.
Zalia wrote: "King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "Grace (The Original) Gill, from your favorite list I can assume you are a teen. I am in no way holding this against you, but just know that there is an entire wor..."Zalia
I am in a Facetime bookclub with my sister and her grandson age 9. That is how I got to read Wrinkle in time. I read a lot of classics and I guess I thought that was the direction we should go in. He proposed Wimpy Kid and Dragon Masters. I really enjoy Dragon Masters but not Wimpy Kid. Will you make a couple of suggestions for our book club? You can see from his suggestions what works for him. Thanks. Anne
Anne wrote: "Zalia wrote: "King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "Grace (The Original) Gill, from your favorite list I can assume you are a teen. I am in no way holding this against you, but just know that there is..."Anne,
I will definitely try to find some recommendations. I personally have a brother aged 9 so I will ask him about age-appropriate books that could work since right now I have a couple of ideas for books that ccould work. I will get back to you soon.
Zalia.
Missie wrote: "Lis wrote: "It's a wonderful book.It may lose something from both communism and the threat of nuclear annihilation no longer being threats young people can even imagine, but they were quite real ..."
As it happens, I'm on the planet where, in January 2015 when I wrote that comment, it had been a few decades since there had been the kind of international tension that seemed to pose the risk of a nuclear exchange. We had a man in the White House, who like the several before him of both parties, didn't think it was a clever idea to conduct international relations via insults and threats, or pick fights with emerging nuclear powers, or ask why we couldn't use nuclear weapons, since we have them.
Literally no one in the US younger than me had ever done a duck & cover drill.
It's been a long time since backyard fallout shelters were a thing average, mainstream people talked about the cost & desirability of.
I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the decisions my parents made based on the very real possibility that nuclear missiles might hit every major city in the country, including the one we lived all too close to.
Now, we have someone in the White House who makes the prospect of nuclear war plausible again, because he doesn't, apparently, understand that it can't be won in any meaningful sense.
Yet even now, we haven't yet seen the return of drills for nuclear war, or fallout shelters. In the three and a half years since I wrote that comment, I've been saddened to see the return of the threat of imminent nuclear war--but it's still not like it was then, though it's not like it was when I wrote that comment, either.
Nor is the pressure for conformity, though definitely on the rise in some respects, anything remotely like it was in the late 50s and early 60s.
But, basically, before publicly sneering, you might have been wise to pause long enough to check the date on that comment. It's certainly not what I'd say now, but it was a reality-based comment then.
Terrorism isn't nuclear annihilation. Really.Especially if you look at the actual level of threat, both here and in Europe. I was not exaggerating when I said we didn't expect to see the 2000s. The end of civilization was a real possibility.
Active shooter drills are real and appalling, especially since they're happening instead of doing something about guns in the hands of people who aren't remotely "responsible gun owners."
But, again, not a threat to the existence of civilization.
I have not heard of schools requiring students to wear bulletproof vests. Do you have a link, or the name of a community doing it, for that?
What kids are living with today is not good. And it's worse than it was just a few years ago.
It's not the same as growing up believing, not that you might not make it to thirty, but that the world is likely to end before you reach thirty, because the "responsible adults" running it might decide that a full nuclear exchange was a good idea.
A Wrinkle in Time was written when we thought, not that we as individuals wouldn't make it to thirty, but that no one in our generation would make it to thirty, because the world would be destroyed by the people supposed to keep us safe.
No, I don't believe you understand what that was like.
Anne wrote: "I am in a Facetime bookclub with my sister and her grandson age 9....Will you make a couple of suggestions for our book club? "What a cool use of Facetime :) Here are a few I'd suggest:
Lloyd Alexander's Chronicle of Prydain, starting with The Book of Three
The Carpet People
The Borrowers
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
The Chronicle of Narnia, starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (lots of heavy Christian symbolism, which you may or may not be OK with; I find that most kids don't pick up on it, though)
The Wolf King
First to Ride
Lad: A Dog
Farmer Boy
The Black Stallion
The Whispering Mountain
I had to read this book twice for school back in the day (5th and 6th grade to be exact) and hated it. Revisited it as an adult and the same reaction and for the same reason: I could not get into this one at all. Just did not work for me.
This book is not very gripping, and it can be a chore to pick it up, but nonetheless it is a great work of literature and should be respected as an undying classic like Moby Dick. It may not be your favorite book, but it is just one of those things everyone will read at some point, most likely for school.
Anne wrote: "Zalia wrote: "King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "Grace (The Original) Gill, from your favorite list I can assume you are a teen. I am in no way holding this against you, but just know that there is..."Hi Anne,
Kids and adults love "Danny and the Dreamweaver"
Danny and the Dreamweaver Very unique...check it out
Michele wrote: "Anne wrote: "I am in a Facetime bookclub with my sister and her grandson age 9....Will you make a couple of suggestions for our book club? "What a cool use of Facetime :) Here are a few I'd sugge..."
Michele wrote: "Anne wrote: "I am in a Facetime bookclub with my sister and her grandson age 9....Will you make a couple of suggestions for our book club? "
What a cool use of Facetime :) Here are a few I'd sugge..."
Thanks Michele, I will follow these up. currently we are reading dragonmasters and Encyclopedia Brown.
Ed wrote: "Anne wrote: "Zalia wrote: "King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "Grace (The Original) Gill, from your favorite list I can assume you are a teen. I am in no way holding this against you, but just know ..."Thanks for the suggestion of Danny and the Dreamweaver. Every man for 5 generations in my family carries the name Danny!
Anne wrote: "Ed wrote: "Anne wrote: "Thanks for the suggestion of Danny and the Dreamweaver. Every man for 5 generations in my family carries the name Danny! "Then it appears to be Destiny that you read Danny :) Enjoy!
Why can't you read a book and just say you didn't like it?
I read this when I was younger, back in elementary school. Remembering it through that state of mind none of what a lot of you are saying mattered. To me at the time, also now as an adult, the book is about a young girl who is disapproved of by everybody due to her father leaving. She knew he was still living, so she went to get him.
Yes, most of the book has topics and beliefs that aren't commonly believed or even fond of. Why should that take away from the simple fact that the story is about a girl who loves her father?
I read this when I was younger, back in elementary school. Remembering it through that state of mind none of what a lot of you are saying mattered. To me at the time, also now as an adult, the book is about a young girl who is disapproved of by everybody due to her father leaving. She knew he was still living, so she went to get him.
Yes, most of the book has topics and beliefs that aren't commonly believed or even fond of. Why should that take away from the simple fact that the story is about a girl who loves her father?
Am I the only one who actually LIKED this book? They travelled through the FABRIC OF TIME and to OTHER PLANETS IN THE UNIVERSE. Who doesn't find that interesting?
King Shit of Turd Mountain wrote: "If you are being held hostage by ISIS and they are forcing you to read it, don't wait for that rescue team, just find a way to die."
This sums it up perfectly for me!
Samantha wrote: "Am I the only one who actually LIKED this book? They travelled through the FABRIC OF TIME and to OTHER PLANETS IN THE UNIVERSE. Who doesn't find that interesting?"Nope! I love this book :) Read it first as a kid and it's a regular re-read for me, along with the two sequels.
It was one of my favorites in childhood but I have turned a bit sour on it as an adult. I reread it recently and was not enthralled. I was disappointed in myself in not liking it anywhere as much. Nevertheless, it deserves high praise.
Thanks for agreeing with me! Our school library doesn't have the other books, so I haven't had a chance to read the sequels yet.
This was the worst book I have ever read. If you liked this book, I don't have a problem with that, but you and I are very different. It is very slow, which is weird because of how short it is. I am shocked at how much people like this book. if you could rate less than 1 star, I would because that is how bad it is. This book could be fun for little kids, but for anyone over the age of nine this is complete trash. This book was also very predictable, and I even felt like I had read the entire book not long after I started it, because I just knew what was going to happen, which made it not enjoyable at all. The book may seem interesting and appealing, but as they say, don't judge a book by its cover, because this book isn't good. I recommend that you do not read this book.
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See by swearing, I know that self-important people with will react.
(And ..."
Oh, good, I have nothing to add to this. The originator's book list is private, so I won't engage. I, too, read this back 50-60 years ago. One thing I have to say, and I won't respond to trollers, is that I am absolutely agog at the ego on this site, and particularly amongst those who make a point of singing out their educational credentials, and merrily proceed to play Fireman with this and that book.