Dragons in the Waters
Madeleine L’Engle
Drat! I thought this was the last L’Engle but there’s still one later in the list. Much later in the list—good. I get a break.
This one again stars a boy character. He’s being pushed into manhood by certain life-changing events, and he’s having to deal with the loss of a (figurative) father image and the gain of a real father image—one who made mistakes and hurt people, but left a legacy greater than his life. And if you think that sounds like a great theme for a story—which it is—and you can’t wait to read it—hold up.
(Embarrassed whisper) It’s just not well-written. Shame on me! Sacrilege! Who am I to denigrate the great L’Engle, the queen of pre-teen? Can I do better?
I don’t know, but I couldn’t do worse. Her moral reflections are underlined so hard that there are rips in the pages. Her point of view flips around so much that I couldn’t tell who the story was about, sometimes. And her attempts at atmosphere just sound silly. “…his relief washed over him like a clean salt wave from the sea.” Since when was the sea “clean”? It’s gritty and smelly; harsh and soft; full of live and life-giving—but clean? Not an image I can imagine.
But if you’re under fifteen or so, I’d suggest you give it a try. It’s kind of interesting and you learn stuff.
Whew. Thank dog that one's over.
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