A SWIFTLY TILTING PLANET

This production of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic is straightforward; there are no extraneous elements of performance, or production, marring the poetic imagery in L’Engle’s blend of science and fantasy. Jennifer Ehle’s narration is not unlike L’Engle’s own voice and reading style. With a clear tenor and unadorned cadence she reads with unassuming authority, subtly shifting the intensity of delivery with each scene. Ehle’s steady pace is at once relaxed and urgent as Charles Wallace rides a unicorn through time in an attempt to prevent nuclear annihilation. His sister, Meg, assists him through a mental connection as they piece together the lineage of hate that’s pitted human against human since time immemorial. A.M.P. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2012]