Why am I reading children’s books you ask? To revisit my childhood, of course.
Anyway, I finally finished “Many Waters”, which is about the twins Sandy and Dennys. Why am I starting this thread, you ask?
Well the book was a rewriting of the tale of the flood and Noah and his ark.
Throughout the whole book I was torn between disgust that a seemingly intelligent, educated lady would believe one of the silliest stories in the Bible (really, I don’t mean any offense, but it is silly)…
and reluctant admiration for how good the story was. Aargh.
Why do you think her retelling the story means she believes it? She’s an Episcopalian, who don’t necessarily hold to a literal interpretation of the Bible.
If you really like her use of language, I highly, HIGHLY recommend her non-fiction. Her Crosswicks Journal books are just beatiful.
Are you under the impression that she believes in everything else that appears in her “Wrinkle in Time” series?
I second Munch’s recommendation.
And my use of language is pitiful and sad. “Beautiful.” :smack:
I was able to drop my reluctant admiration for how good the story was when Sandy and Dennys went into PSA mode and started naming individuals who have advanced the human condition, both on a physical, and a metaphysical sense. And then, in one of the most cringe-inducing lines I have ever read, one of the twins spouts off with: “I think Meg would like for us to mention Tycho Brahe.”
I would agree with several of the posters. There is no evidence that she DID believe the story literally (and as an Episcopalian, I doubt it), but she was using the flood myth as a basis for her tale. Similarly- I highly doubt that that Diana Wynne Jones (another excellent author) believed that Norse mythology is true when she wrote “Eight Days of Luke”.
If she did believe the story to be literally true- surely she wouldn’t have changed it to include adolescent twins (who are not in Genesis, IIRC 
.
I know, I was reading way too much into the author’s beliefs. I like her a lot, and I like her writing style…I also like her innovative ideas.
First, if you like L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time books, have you read her ‘traditional’ juvenile: And Both Were Young? It’s a bit dated, since it was written and is set in post WWII Europe, but it’s still a good L’Engle book.
Second, while I can agree that the Flood in the Bible is one of the sillier stories there, there does seem to be a good deal of truth to the idea of some kind of catastrophic flood in pre-historic times, possibly the flooding of the Black Sea, according to some, so… it’s also one of the stories I find myself doubting less than others. (The parting of the Red Sea, for one, boggles me far more…)
I’ll use this thread as an excuse to post a quote from Madeleine L’Engle that I came across a little too late to put in the thread about the Wrinkle in Time movie back when that came up.
(from her book A Stone for a Pillow)