utter randomonium

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle (unabridged audiobook read by the author; 5 hrs on 4 discs): Charles Wallace has fallen deathly ill, and so Meg and Calvin must journey inside his mitochondria to combat the evil that is making him ill. It’s terribly strange, and honestly not all that interesting. I mean, the cherubim was kind of neat-sounding, but the farandolae was obnoxious and the Eckthroi were too nebulous to be truly menacing. Too much of the book was taken up with “what do I do” and “what’s going on” and not enough actual plot. And, of course, the solution was visible from a mile off. But maybe I’d have appreciated this more as a child.

A note on the audio: I am always wary of books read by the author, but L’Engle was fine. My only real complaint was that the recording was poor quality (or maybe just old), making all the S sounds loud and lispy. Then again, perhaps L’Engle really has a lisp, in which case never mind. :)

(I have a lisp too.)

Also posted on BookCrossing.