Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle

Sandy and Dennys Murry, the "normal" Murry children, accidentally interfere with one of their father's experiments, transporting themselves back into human history. Waking up, Sandy and Dennys discover that they've arrived in a prehistoric human settlement, where mythical creatures exist. Unwittingly, the twins are caught up in the drama surrounding Noah, the builder of the Biblical ark, and the nephilim, fallen angels living on earth. It's a story of the power of love, where Sandy and Dennys are challenged to rise above the greed inherent in humanity.

With Many Waters, Madeleine L'Engle continues the adventures of the talented Murry children, this time developing the somewhat overlooked twins, Dennys and Sandy. The story is part morality tale, part love story, part adventure. As with all L'Engle's Murry-family stories, it's full of questioning and discovery. The mythology of the Biblical story is intermingled with discussions of the time/space continuum, creating an interesting hybrid story that doesn't fit easily into either a science fiction or moral fable category. Also, L'Engle's treatment of love is especially endearing. Unlike the sexualized romance that is so often portrayed today, Many Waters gives its readers an earnest and innocent love; a refreshing approach.

As a story, it's sweet and elegant. My only criticisms are that the pacing is slow throughout and the ending is anti-climactic. However, I'm willing to forgive the plodding pace, because the nature of the tale and its setting necessitate a slow, smooth development.

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Copy source: library
Genre: young adult science fiction
Format: hardcopy

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Many Waters