Charles Wallace is a child who is probably about five. He's not in school yet, but he is very smart. Today we might say that he has Asperger's or Autism, but L'Engle describes him a special. He sees and understands things that a normal person can't. I don't believe he is meant to be a character that you can relate to, but in this reread, I found him to be rather arrogant and annoying. Yet, he is a central character to the book. Calvin O'Keefe is pretty likable. He's a jock, but he doesn't fit the stereotype. He is a kind person, and a great communicator. He's in high school, probably about 10th or 11th grade. Meg is the last of the trio. She's probably in 9th grade, but she is argumentative and angry. It's understandable--she was very close to her father, who has been missing for two years.
The three children are sent on an adventure by Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who. These three characters are not quite definable, but they are quite possibly my favorite characters of the book. They take the kids through space and time by tessering, a type of travel which is literally wrinkling space and time to get to your destination (Don't worry if you're confused, the book has a great visual inserted to explain this!), finally to the planet Camazots, where their father is being held captive by IT, a manifestation of the Darkness that is spreading through the universe. It seems an impossible task for children, but how many books show children doing the impossible by virtue of imagination or flexibility or innocence?
While I did enjoy my reread of this book, I found some of the characterization to be distasteful, which made it difficult to get through. It also ended a bit abruptly, but there are three more books in the series, which I will, of course, have to read.
As to my problem with the movie's casting--this is going to be a bit controversial, I'm sure. I love the
fact that the casting is multicultural, but I also feel like the took the multicultural casting too far. First, as to Mrs. Murry, the children's mother. She's described as having beautiful red hair that is naturally curly. I love Gugu Mbatha-Raw, don't get me wrong, but she can't have that hair and be black. It wouldn't be natural, as it is in the book. I do think they got Dr. Murray right--he's supposed to have the bluest eyes and Chris Pine fits that description beautifully. But then, with the Murray children--If their parents come from two different races, why was only one of the Murray children cast as non-white? Sure, we haven't seen the twins in previews and I can't seem to find their actors online (they are really unimportant in this book, so it's possible they were left out), but Meg is played my Storm Reid, who is at least part black, while Deric McCabe, who plays Charles Wallace, looks a bit Asia, if anything. I'm concerned that the casting for this movie has been entirely political rather than staying true to the novel. If a character's race is left indeterminate in descriptions, which I quite often see, cast them however you chose. But when a character is described a certain way, I feel like movies and TV shows should stay true to the story. For instance, the Mrs. W's--they aren't really described because they feel so beyond description, and I am THRILLED with the choices made in casting (and costuming). And they are major characters, more so than Dr. or Mrs. Murray. Anyway. I'm still going to go see the movie--I am very excited to see what they've done. And maybe and on-screen Charles Wallace won't be as obnoxious!
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