Book Review

Many Waters, Madeline L'Engle
Okay, it started good, but I didn't like this one as much as I thought I would. The Murry twins Sandy and Dennys have always been the pragmatic characters of the series. Usually they're in the background commenting on the strange events that surround Meg and Charles Wallace. In the last book, the Murry kids were mostly grown, so this story back tracks a few years. Meg is just starting college, Charles Wallace isn't quite a teenager yet, and the twins are 15. They're the only familiar characters in this installment too, as they return to an empty home from playing ice hockey in the bitter cold wishing for a warmer climate. They get it quickly when they play around with their father's computer which is connected to another tessering experiment. They give it instructions for heat and low humidity. When they open the door to the kitchen they find they've been blasted back to a middle eastern dessert in the time before the Flood. They meet Noah and his family, help build the ark, and muddle through their own existential crisis.
I guess that's where it loses me. I've watched a lot of biblical movies and I understand that where little is recorded in scriptures a certain amount of license needs to be taken. Sometimes it done well, sometimes not. And some of my favorites have been a strain on credulity. I've also read biblical fiction that seems to be inspired, but in this case I don't feel it is as much. There are a lot of enjoyable creative elements, but I was mostly uncomfortable with the whole of the story. The romances seemed odd and out of place. Her method of marrying science to faith, which has worked up to now, falls flat. It also leans a little left like the last book and it's harder to reconcile my feelings and beliefs this time in order to enjoy the story. All that said, it's still a page turner and I was never put off enough to stop. There just didn't seem to be a lot of point to their adventure. The mini mammoths were the best part.
There's another serious problem with this one and that's continuity. This isn't the first time a story back tracks within a series, but when you consider that these events take place before the last book, their behavior in A Swiftly Tilting Planet doesn't make sense. The seraphim remove all physical traces of them having lived for months in a dessert oasis at the end, but don't wipe away the memories. Then, about 5 years later they're their usual, cynical selves as if they'd never had what would've been a life changing experience. I'm not okay with that just on literary principle.
So, the 4th book is my 4th favorite of the Quintet thus far. I still can't wait to find out what the last book will be like.