Probably my least favorite of the series so far, but not without its charms.

Sandy and Dennys, as protagonists, just don't possess quite the same strength as their siblings. It is fascinating to witness L'Engle's foray into biblical fantasy, which is adorned with some very peculiar touches.

Moreover, it delves into some interesting and challenging questions, although it doesn't make as powerfully resounding points as the previous novels. Nevertheless, it remains an easy and enjoyable read.

After taking a break, I'll proceed to the other novels in the series.

Oh, and I have this absurd desire to have a tiny mammoth as a pet!

It would be so cute and unique, perhaps even a little mischievous.

Just imagining having a small mammoth following me around, playing and causing a bit of chaos is quite entertaining.

Who knows, maybe in some alternate reality, such a thing could be possible.

But for now, it's just a fun little fantasy.

This is yet another book that held a special place in my heart during my childhood, and I'm delighted to say that my love for it endures! This time, I listened to it, mostly during a long drive from Portland to Seattle. It was truly a joy to be able to immerse myself in the story in a different way. Also, I had always assumed that Dennys was pronounced like "Denny's", not like "Dennis". Oops, I was wrong!

One of the aspects I adore about this book is the blend of the classic Bible story, which I know by heart, and the detailed science of tesseracts, quantum mechanics, and all that other stuff that eludes my understanding. Everything happens not "because of magic", but due to established scientific principles. Even the unicorns are explained scientifically, not necessarily why they exist, but how they move and interact with their environment. Sandy and Dennys end up in the past because they meddled with the computer running their dad's space-time experiment. When it was time to return home, they didn't just hope for a magical transportation. Instead, they thought it through and devised a plan based on their knowledge of how unicorns and seraphim interact with space and time. It was science, not magic.

Sandy and Dennys have long been among my favorite characters created by Madeline L'Engle, and they are definitely my favorite of the Murray kids. I believe the reason I like them so much is that they are not proud or arrogant. Maybe it's a complex from having such intelligent siblings, but the twins always assumed they weren't that smart or special. It took this journey into the past for them to see themselves clearly, to truly realize how smart and special they were, and how much they had to offer the world. Just because they aren't child-prodigy-smart like Charles Wallace doesn't mean they aren't intelligent. In addition, they are hardworking, diligent, faithful, caring, and unselfish.

I love how this book introduces us to characters we might "know" from the Bible but expands on our knowledge, really introducing us to them on a personal level. From Lamech to Noah to Noah's sons and their wives, we truly get to know and love them. And then there are the characters that are never mentioned in the Bible but surely existed, like Yalith. Yalith is a gentle, loving girl who ends up loving both twins equally. When I was a young, romantic teenager, I was annoyed that Yalith wouldn't choose which twin she loved more. Clearly, it was Dennys, right? The one she tended to for weeks and nursed back from the brink of death? How sweet and romantic is that? But as much as I once disliked her seeming indecision, I now appreciate it. It is so rare to find stories where the main character loves more than one person, yet I feel that is more like real life, where you don't necessarily have a "true love" that you are destined to meet and fall in love with. Instead, you have several people who are compatible with you and whom you could love and build a life with, and you have to choose one and stick with them through thick and thin. Yes, Yalith would have had to make a choice between the twins eventually, had they all stayed together and grown up, but their relationships didn't reach that point. Instead, the twins returned to their own time, and Yalith was taken to be with El, and the flood came. There was infinite sadness in the statement Sandy had to make to her family, "Yalith is not." Yet there was still hope and joy, for Noah's family knew the story of his great-grandfather Enoch, who was also taken to be with El, and knew that it was the happiest of endings for Yalith.

All the other peoples and creatures in the story were equally fascinating. First, you have the Seraphim and Nephalim. Both are "sons of God", or angels, but due to the ways in which they came to earth, they are separated and have different motives, ambitions, and abilities. The Nephalim chose to come to earth and intermarry and interbreed with humans, and are now stuck on earth and separated from God. The Seraphim chose to come to earth to protect humans, but they still kept themselves physically separate and were able to leave earth when needed and still spoke to God. The way both creatures could change form was also fascinating, similar to the animagus in Harry Potter.

There were other creatures that don't exist in our time (or do they?!?), like unicorns, mammoths, griffins, and manticores. The unicorns are fascinating because of their strange ability to exist and not exist. When one is called, it appears, but the second it "is not believed in", it disappears again. It doesn't go anywhere; it just ISN'T because it's not being observed. To be honest, I don't necessarily understand the math and science behind it all, but I still find it captivating. Also, how awesome and adorable are the mammoths? I kept picturing them like John Green's puppy-sized elephants, and it made me want my own!

One of the hardest things for Sandy and Dennys after their adventure would be not telling anyone what happened, and that seems to be their plan at the end of the book. But how can they hide so much character growth, especially from those closest to them? Not only were they gone for months, even though they returned to their own time right after they left originally, but they had also been through so much physically and emotionally. They had both fallen in love for the first time and then lost that love; they had made friends and a home in a place they could never return to. They had learned to listen to the stars, the wind, and themselves to figure out what to do in a difficult situation. So how can they just go back to being the twins, the least-smart of the Murrays? I had always wished L'Engle would write more books about the teenage years of the twins because I'm sure they had amazing adventures, and I still find myself wishing that. Alas, that's not meant to be.

I finish this book wishing I understood more about science, but loving how much it makes me think about things like time and space, the way we interact with others, and the way our society and culture differ from others. The next book I'm going to listen to in the car is another by L'Engle, and another of my favorites, which also involves time travel and stars the twins' niece, Polly. It is An Acceptable Time.

The plot is engaging, but only in its final part. The rest is more introductory (even though they literally get to work from the second page) and slow, with questionable plot choices.

If you are interested in seeing a time travel where the Bible is mixed with science, then you have to read "A Torrent of Turbulent Waters".

Full review on THE BEST READ YET BLOG.

However, it should be noted that while the concept of combining the Bible and science in a time travel story is unique and potentially interesting, the execution in this particular work may leave something to be desired. The slow pace in the beginning might cause some readers to lose interest before reaching the more exciting final part. Additionally, the questionable plot choices could potentially detract from the overall enjoyment of the story. Nevertheless, for those who are truly passionate about this genre and are willing to persevere through the initial stages, "A Torrent of Turbulent Waters" may still offer some moments of entertainment and thought-provoking ideas.

So, this was the very first among all the books that made me realize, while I was engrossed in reading it, that it was filled with all kinds of Christian imagery. I mean, take the arc and all - Noah's ark, it's really hard to miss, right? And that's exactly what people often say about Aslan - just a blatant Jesus allegory. But here's the thing, I didn't have any sort of Christian education during my childhood, so I completely missed all of that underlying meaning. And most people seem to say the same thing - "When I was a kid, I didn't realize it had all that Christian metaphor." Which, in my opinion, effectively means that it didn't really have that impact on us. If we don't know the corresponding reference, then it only means what it describes on the surface, and whatever else we can relate it to based on our own personal experiences. If you're not a Christian, then these aren't really Christian books for you. They are just regular books, and you can place them within your own universe of experience however you see fit.

That being said, I still vividly remember thinking to myself if the Bible was as sexy as this book. I believe I was around fourteen years old when I read it, and those boys in the story were supposed to be really cute. And there's that "angel" who keeps persistently trying to have sex with one of them... I mean, that was actually kind of cool in a strange way.

A Tough Review to Write

I had such a profound adoration for the first book in the Time Quintet that I completely overlooked the fact that L'Engle's writing style is often a hit and miss for me. Every time I come across a book of hers that I haven't read, I get excited. However, more often than not, the actual reading experience leaves me disappointed.

This book was no exception. We are once again introduced to the same family that we got to know in the other Time Quintet books. The twins, Sandy and Denny, accidentally enter their parents' lab while an experiment is in progress (they were after the hot chocolate powder. I really mustn't start ranting about the idea of cooking over a Bunsen burner in an empty house in a wet lab... must not... It's a kids' book... move on Deborah! Move on...). As a result, they are catapulted back in time/space to a fantasy land version of the Old Testament before the flood.
This is really a difficult book to review. While I was reading the story, I often found myself annoyed or impatient (and no, it wasn't just because of the Bunsen burner incident). I didn't really enjoy the reading experience all that much. However, the story has stayed with me. I truly appreciate what L'Engle was attempting to do in making the setting more like a fantasy novel rather than a bible study. Overall, there were some great concepts. But a lot of the execution just didn't work for me, and I can feel this review turning into one long complaint. As I gripe about the things that annoyed me, please bear in mind that it's not a bad book. In fact, it's a pretty good one. I just need to let off some steam.
Let's start with the twins. Sandy and Denny are a bit interchangeable, I guess that's what makes them useful in this story. They also keep telling us that they are the 'practical' ones, the 'ordinary, non-scientific, non-genius members of the family. They start telling us this around page five and continue to do so pretty much throughout the entire book. Enough already!
After they land in the magical la la version of the bible, Sandy and Denny are separated and have different experiences in the oasis where the story mostly takes place. This is an excellent plot theme as it allows us to see more of the people before the flood and explore the duality that is the theme of the whole Time Series. However, it also gave me the impression that the twins, far from being practical, are completely uneducated. They keep thinking they might be on another planet. Who in the world hasn't heard of the story of Noah and the flood? Sure, their parents were scientists and maybe not religious, but not figuring out where they were for such a long time just annoyed me. It felt contrived and unlikely. Maybe the magical flickering unicorns threw them off.
I did like the magical fantasy interpretation of some of the very coy descriptions provided in the bible about the Nephilim, here seen pursuing the daughters of man with some success. While a theologian might get a headache from the way they were integrated into the story, I quite liked it. For a while, I thought the twins, who keep being called 'giants', would also fulfill another ambiguous part of the bible where giants mated with the daughters of man... but this is a kids' book after all, and that never really went anywhere. Except for a few teenage crushing moments which were forgettable.
The narrative contradicts itself so much that I must have ground my teeth down an extra millimeter. And the most completely ludicrous example occurs on a single page. Here's the back-story: The book has Seraphim (the good guys) versus Nephilim. Both are originally angels, and the Nephilim are now trapped on earth, separate from God. Both Nephilim and Seraphim can transform at will between a roughly human form and a specific spirit animal. Not a bad concept at all. On page 186, where my most annoying example comes from, one of the twins is being carried by a Seraph in his Camel form when the twin is attacked. The Camel transforms back into Admael to protect him and then doesn't transform back to Camel because \\"...It takes considerable energy to transform and we do not like to waste power when it is not necessary.\\" At the bottom of the page, not two paragraphs later, you have the Nephilim standing in a circle flickering between forms like a TV holding pattern for no reason. That is the most dramatic of the many, many, many self-contradictory annoyances in this book.
Oh, and those Seraphim? The good guys? They are completely inconsistent. They can't help humans with anything because it's interfering.... unless they can.... and they can a lot.... for no obvious reasons...except when they can't...also for no obvious reasons. They are a completely annoying Deus Ex Machina in the plot.
And speaking of Deus Ex Machina, when the twins first arrive in the world, one is injured and is carried to the oasis by a magical flickering unicorn that is only there if you believe in it. When the other twin is imprisoned, mistreated, and threatened with death, it never occurs to him to summon a magical flickering unicorn until AFTER help arrives. Insert eye roll.
I should probably stop now as it's just exacerbating my annoyance. It's not a terrible book, and I have enjoyed ruminating about it after I finished reading it. I actually enjoyed that a lot more than the actual reading of it.
But before I stop, there's one more really, super annoying (for me) thing that kept cropping up. Regarding drinks; water is apparently too valuable to drink unless you're ill (I'll pass over the fact that the twins survived not drinking for months). After you've finished laughing hysterically at that magical impasse, you might ask what they drank, and it's fruit juice and wine. I won't even bother with the inherent idiocies in that, but move on to the point that really annoyed me. It will probably not stand out to anyone from the Northern parts of the world, but anyone who has lived in the Mediterranean or the Middle East might be with me on this: They drink fig juice all the time! L'Engle was from North America and probably thought that fig juice sounded all exotic and biblical and magical. To me, it just sounds idiotic. There is less juice in a fig than in a potato. You could crush figs until kingdom come and end up with nothing more drinkable than fig paste. Google it and see. You can make a kind of thick shake with plenty of ice (water) or milk, but you can't juice them. I can't even explain why I found this so annoying. Perhaps there were so many self-contradictions, idiocies, and unexplained stuff that I just sublimated all my annoyance into the innocent magical fig juice. But the fact is that the magical flickering unicorns bothered me less than the fig juice.

Yeah,

No matter what anyone might say,

This book is most definitely NOT part of the "Time Trilogy."

I'm truly sorry to have to state this.

There is simply NO such thing as a "Time Quadrilogy."

No way.

This particular book? It is NOT within the canon.

All that I can vividly remember is that there is a truly horrific birthing scene.

In it, there is a gigantic, cone-shaped head that has scarred me for life.

And, as my friend so aptly puts it, it made me do involuntary kegels upon the reading of it.

This book is like the "Just the Ten of Us" to the REAL series' "Growing Pains,"

or the "Joanie Loves Chachi" to "Happy Days."

NO.

It is like "Three's a Crowd" to "Three's Company."

A satyr to a Hyperion*.

*note: There is NO RELATION to that piece of shite Hyperion.

This is a rather distinct book within the A Wrinkle in Time Quintet series.

It can be regarded as a standalone work and appears to slot neatly between books 2 and 3.

Considering that it was penned nearly 9 years after book 1, this particular installment is more suited for mature teens due to its themes.

In an attempt to avoid spoiling the reading experience, all I'll mention is that the protagonists are the twins, Sandy and Dennis, who are the more ordinary Wallace children.

The adventure, although more slow-paced, offered valuable moral lessons.

And, as is customary, L'Engle blended theology and science in this book as well.

I listened to this audiobook, and the narrator, Ann Marie Lee, was outstanding.

I'll be sure to make a note of her name to listen to any other books she narrates.

Her voice was a perfect match for this novel.

The only drawback was that with the numerous names in the story, it was sometimes challenging to keep track.

Overall, despite having some concerns regarding certain topics in this novel, it was an enjoyable listen.

I would rate it 3.5 stars.

This book.

This book! From the very first time I read it perhaps four or five years ago, I have adored it with all my heart. I admire Madeleine L'Engle to an immeasurable extent for having the remarkable brains and boundless creativity to craft a story that is so brilliant, so bold, and so absolutely magnificent. I simply can never have enough words to express my admiration. This book is hands-down, pants-down my favorite within the Time Quintet series. It ties for my all-time favorite L'Engle book with \\n  A Ring of Endless Light\\n. Surprisingly, this book is also full of absolutely luminous prose and a glorious plot. The two books are truly different, yet what they share is this warmth and humaneness that keeps the characters incredibly wise, serene, and peaceful. I don't really know precisely how to describe it. It's just that the people in these books have so much love between themselves and for the world around them. I fall in love again every single time I read these books. And L'Engle's writing is flawless and totally gorgeous. Moreover, I mean: Many waters cannot quench love. Neither can the floods drown it. I have never been able to get this quote out of my head. It lingers there, a constant reminder of the beauty and power of love as portrayed in her works.

This is Book #4 of A Wrinkle in Time quintet. I loved it as much as the others or perhaps even more.

What an incredibly wonderful descriptive writer the author is! Not only can you vividly envision what she describes, but you can nearly sense and feel it as well. Her characters are so well-developed that if you were to encounter them in real life, you would already have a deep understanding of who they are.

Each book in this series can be read independently on its own, yet reading them in sequence provides a much fuller and more immersive experience. These books follow a family through three generations (so far). You will witness the characters as they mature and grow up, and more importantly, you will be wholeheartedly rooting for them in their various adventures. If you have a penchant for stories involving time travel, mythology, or history, you are certain to fall in love with these books. There are numerous mythical characters and animals that add to the charm and excitement.

I did kind of miss Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace after the 3rd book, but that didn't in any way diminish my enjoyment and pleasure of reading this installment.

Highly recommended for readers of all ages. It is also a great book to read aloud to younger audiences.

I've always held the belief that Madeline L'Engle possessed a remarkable ability to transport readers into diverse dimensions. Her writing and overall body of work were filled with an engaging level of detail and intrigue. "Many Waters" was no different. Although the story diverged from the typical "Time Quartet" travels, it had stronger biblical connections and introduced a new set of characters who hadn't previously embarked on their own dimensional adventures in the main storyline with Meg and Charles Wallace.

Sandy and Dennys, the often skeptical and practical twins, found themselves on an extraordinary adventure that brought about a remarkable transformation. The first time I picked up the book, seeing them in their own story was truly exciting. The cover I had from the library was different from this one. It depicted the elder, blond twins - one shirtless, the other in cutoff jean shorts and a plaid shirt, in the midst of a vast desert, with an ark, an angel, and a snake on it.

The best way I can summarize this is as a reinterpretation of Noah's Ark. Sandy and Dennys were separated in a world inhabited by seraphim, nepheilim, mammoths (which were actually tiny!), and tiny people and creatures. I vividly remember laughing when the twins were initially regarded as giants upon their arrival in this world, and how intrigued the people were by the concept of twins, especially since Sandy and Dennys looked alike. If my memory serves me right, both twins got sunburned, and one of them was so severely burned that he required medical treatment from those who found him. It has been approximately ten years since I last read these novels.

There was an interesting exploration of politics and a focus on the relationships between the characters in this world, which truly fascinated me. The way Sandy and Dennys learned about various aspects such as relationships, work, and ethics during their time there was surprisingly well-developed. I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between the characters and the collective mythos of the world.

“There’s no such thing as an unbreakable scientific rule, because, sooner or later, they all seem to get broken. Or to change.”

“There’s no such thing as an unbreakable scientific rule, because, sooner or later, they all seem to get broken. Or to change.”







I have never come across a series quite like this one. The first book, A Wrinkle in Time, has emerged as my all-time favorite. I awarded five stars to all the other books in the series, but this particular one gave me a bit of hesitation. Don't misunderstand me; I would never rate it lower than four stars. I still have a deep admiration for Madeline L'Engle's writing style, and I was completely engrossed in these pages, unable to put the book down. However, I must admit that I liked this book just a little less than the others. I can think of three reasons for this. Firstly, it focuses on the twins, who happen to be my least favorite characters. Secondly, it presents one continuous adventure with less emphasis on time/space travel and overall, a bit less of the fantastical element. Thirdly, the unicorn ex-machina had some moments that were slightly underwhelming. Nevertheless, it is still an amazing read. Now, I find myself in a dilemma. I both want and don't want to pick up the last book! This series has truly been an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G read!

Many Waters is the fourth installment in Madeleine L'Engle's renowned A Wrinkle in Time series. It stands out as one of the most captivating fusions of Science Fiction and Fantasy that I have ever come across. What makes it truly unique is its incorporation of Biblical history. In this remarkable tale, two high school-aged children embark on a journey back in time. They find themselves face to face with Noah and his family just prior to the cataclysmic worldwide flood. The book delves deep into profound themes such as the eternal struggle between good and evil, the concept of free will, and the differences in cultures. Through the author's masterful writing, these complex issues are explored with great depth and nuance. After reading this book, I found myself reflecting on my own life and the various issues I encounter in a whole new light. It opened my mind to perspectives that I had never before considered. I have always cherished those books that have the power to do this, as they seem to bestow upon me two precious gifts: a thrilling and engaging story, and also valuable personal insights that enrich my understanding of the world around me.