An Acceptable Time

Although this book features the next generation of the Murry-O'Keefe family, it is considered the fifth book in the Time series. After reading through all five, I think that Wrinkle and Wind definitely have a distinct, much more science-fiction feel, whereas Waters, Planet, and Acceptable Time mostly skip an aspect of science and focus on the experiences of people who have time traveled. As with A Swiftly Tilting Planet, I have a bit of skepticism of the depiction of native peoples in this book; it's not so much that there's anything offensive, but it's just that these seem to be an entirely made-up people with generalized characteristics. I would have liked to have seen a foreword or something that explained any research L'Engle might have done into the original people of the area she was writing about.

I love getting to see the Murry grandparents, and I always love the way L'Engle explores ideas of the power of love and complexities of faith. But this book falls short for me in a lot of ways. The first half of the book includes various folks going back and forth across the time gate, with Polly and the modern-day people who care about her sitting around and discussing it endlessly. And I've always felt in the various appearances of Zachary Gray in L'Engle books that I can't understand why the young women in the books seem to find Zachary at all compelling. He just mopes around and then manipulates them by saying things like, “Aren't you glad to see me?” or “I thought we were friends.” I think I'll just stick with Wrinkle and Wind for further re-reads of this series.

My dear, I'm seldom sure of anything. Life at best is a precarious business, and we aren't told that difficult or painful things won't happen, just that it matters. It matters not just to us but to the entire universe.

2014 comments: I don't know why I didn't know about the fifth book in the Time series until a few years ago, but that seems to be fairly common. I really enjoyed the time travel, the characters, and the philosophy and theology that is strewn throughout the book: classic L'Engle. Now I want to go back and re-read the whole series!

2018 re-read: I still enjoy this story, but not as much as the other 4 books in the Time series.

I enjoyed the first three books in this series when I was younger. The fourth book, Many Waters, I read more recently, and it was good, if not with the same spark as the earlier ones. The fifth book, unfortunately, doesn't stand up.

An Acceptable Time is about Polly, a teenager staying with her grandparents. For reasons that are hinted at but never really explained, a gate opens to a time 3,000 years before, where Polly and her neighbour the bishop interact with the natives (who are led by a wise European).

It's a pleasant enough read in some ways, but much of it seems haphazard. The plot seems more of a sketch than a final product, full of inconsistencies and lucky coincidences. The science is decorative but vague and not very logical. Religion obtrudes more awkwardly than in the previous books. Characters are black or white, and fairly flat. At the same time, the tone is light and fun, and some of the animal characters are nice companions.

All in all, a disappointing book. Fans of L'Engle and her various interconnected series will no doubt want to read this. For others, I advise stopping after A Swiftly Tilting Planet.

Short review: This is the first time I have read this book. It is the last book of the Wrinkle in Time series and the fourth book in the Polly O'Keefe series. (So merges the two series). As a stand alone book I really liked it. I thought the story line was good, the characters were good, I always like the way L'Engle merges elements of fantasy and science fiction in her young adult books. I also like that there is sense of timelessness (you cannot quite place the time of the setting) in L'Engle's books. I think that is a gift of hers that many modern writers will not be able to duplicate. What will kids in 10 years or so think about constant references to texting or particular cultural references.

But as a part of the Wrinkle in Time series it seemed disjointed. Polly's grandather Alex (Meg and Charles Wallace's father) is completely different in this book than the previous ones. Here he is a bit paranoid and a bit of a prick. Standing alone from those books, his character is fine, but it is a different person than the previous books. It is like changing Darrins in Bewitched and thinking no one will notice.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/acceptable-time/