An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'EngleMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
2.5 stars. I usually love Madeleine L'Engle, but this one just wasn't great. There were some things I liked about it, but overall I thought it was pretty problematic. I listened to the audiobook and I really liked the narrator. I also liked Polly's character, although she was too perfect. I appreciated that L'Engle was careful to not to present the people from 3000 years in the past as simply "savage" or "primitive;" nor did she fall into the "Noble Savage" trap.
However, it took far too long to get in to the action of the book and it was overly preachy. I think L'Engle herself knew that, since she has one of her characters apologize repeatedly when he is "preaching too much." I realize that we were (view spoiler), but I didn't like him right from the beginning when he tried to make Polly kiss him even though she was clearly uncomfortable. I guess that was supposed to be a clue into his character, but it definitely bothered me.
I think this was the first L'Engle book that I didn't really enjoy, so she does have a pretty good track record. I loved the first 3 books in the Time Quintet and I don't really remember the 4th one. It's too bad it had a disappointing ending, but overall it is still a great series. I definitely plan to continue reading her Austen Family series and any other books she's written. Despite this disappointment, she remains one of my favorite authors. :)
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