An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle Book Review

 An Acceptable Time 

(Time Quintet #5, Kairos #8)

By Madeline L'Engle 

Published Year: 1989

Page Count: 295 pages 

Medium Used: ipad Air 

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, SFF, Mythology, Time Travel, Primeval Time, Young Adult, Teenagers, Adventure, Healing, Childrens Fiction, Classics, 2026-read. 

Rating: 5/5 😀 😀 😀😀😀

Absolutely thrilling. I always maintained that one doesn't have to study medicine in order to heal and this book dealing in healers from the ancient times proves me right. The world development of the ancient times  is immaculate - having read all the books in this Time Quintet series, i can attest that the author writes past better than the current times. She is also a critic on the past conditions of people and how the current world is not much different even though more civilized and evolved. I agree with her on that. We have come far technology wise but have much to improve spiritually and self analysis, correction. I liked how the ending is not complicated beyond necessary. It makes me wonder if there indeed is something behind the faiths, believes and mores of the ancient people who believed the arrival of snakes can bring rains etc. Let's get into the story a bit. 

Polly is Meg Murry O'Keefe's daughter and she is visiting her grand parents at their home in New England, USA. She has been living on islands all her life because her father is a marine biologist. She has made friends with a guy her age, Zachary when attending a seminar in south Europe. He also visits her at her grand parents and reveals that he has a crumbling and ailing heart. Although he immerses himself in his regular life, he is fretting about his mortality. On the day of his surprise visit, the duo see a young man with a dog sitting in thr garden. From then, Polly has multiple visitations from a young woman Anarel who claims to be coming from three thousand years past. The places connecting star gazing rock and swimming pool in the grandparents house are holy and once(3000 years ago) they were places of divine worship. A friend to their grandparents, Bishop Nason has inadvertantly opened the portal to the time past and he has been coming, going from the past and teaching the ancients some of the modern languages. Then, Polly herself makes a visit to the past while walking in the garden and there is no doubt in her heart about the time travel. 

When the grand parents learn of these escapades of Polly and Nason, they are alerted. They are uneasy and up in arms when they learn that there maybe a threat to Polly's life in the past. So the thing is, the ancients might be planning to offer Polly in blood sacrifice to bring much needed rain to their lands. It might be design of the universe or a mere coincidence but Polly and Bishop play a major role in brokering peace between warring factions in the past. The ancients think Polly is sent as an agent who can bring an end to their starving lands and revitalize their dying crops. She does that and more. I liked how that which is worshipped as divine is also the entity that people want to possess in order to gain power for themselves. 

A must read for all fantasy fans. I would say it is a fitting end to the masterful series. I would have liked to read more from the author and will check out the O'Keefe series but I am happy to end this right here and pick a different book set for now. Cheers 🍻 😀