Randy Mootooveran
Sci- fi, Fantasy, Horror Lit
February 22, 2018

Looking at A Wrinkle in Time

I've only seen a few examples of science fiction and fantasy meeting in a story. So far, they've all been intriguing at best. A Wrinkle in Time didn't change my mind, but it is undoubtedly the closest thing to an engaging story of blended genres I've ever experienced. The beginning is rife with hints that this will turn into a science fiction, especially with Meg's father being a missing scientist studying tesseracts. All of a sudden, everything switches gears when Ms. Whatsit takes them through the Wrinkle and its displayed like Harry Potter's first trip with a Portkey. Everything is explained like it were a science fiction story (not to mention the film adaptation usually displays a high science fiction environment once Meg finds her father), but the methods behind how this technology works are literal flashing lights, crystal balls, and a levitating women who calls herself Mrs. Witch. On paper, it's something that shouldn't work. While it isn't perfect, I never felt lost while I was reading. In my opinion, I think this science fantasy hybrid works so well because all of it is framed as the obstacles Meg and Charles Wallace go through in order to find their father. After all, the crux of the story revolves around manipulating time and space. It's only natural that what they find on the other side would be hard to describe. I think what drove me to keep reading (and viewing back when I saw the first adaptation by Disney) was the interesting dynamic between Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin, and the three Ms. Ws as well as trying to piece together what was going to happen next. As long as the characters kept my interest, I was willing to follow them through every twist and turn. It may not be the type of storytelling that's popular to the general audience, I think it's the reason the book's have been relevant for so long due to its surreal nature.