At last! A beloved book from my childhood that seems as wondrous to me now as it did then. I've been re-reading a lot of books by my girlhood favorite Madeleine L'Engle recently, and I'm afraid that most of them have disappointed me, sometimes sorely. But not this one. It is just as warm and glowing and loving and generous and perceptive as I remembered. I still adore this book about the Austins and their 200-year-old farmhouse Thornhill and their musical mother and doctor father and the dogs, Colette but most especially the Great Dane Mr. Rochester. I still want to be part of this family. John is a bit of a prig, and flat wrong, about vegetarianism {said the soft-hearted vegetarian} but his speech about that is so real, so much like a big older know-it-all brother, that it's part of the perfection of this book as well. *********However, Grandfather is wrong about Einstein, who did NOT believe in God. This bothers me a bit about L'Engle; she also explains tesseracts incorrectly in "A Wrinkle in Time." Einstein's religious beliefs were complicated, and it's consequently it's easy to misunderstand them. But read this quote. "I came—though the child of entirely irreligious (Jewish) parents—to a deep religiousness, which, however, reached an abrupt end at the age of twelve. Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much in the stories of the Bible could not be true. The consequence was a positively fanatic orgy of freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression. Mistrust of every kind of authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude toward the convictions that were alive in any specific social environment—an attitude that has never again left me, even though, later on, it has been tempered by a better insight into the causal connections. It is quite clear to me that the religious paradise of youth, which was thus lost, was a first attempt to free myself from the chains of the 'merely personal,' from an existence dominated by wishes, hopes, and primitive feelings. Out yonder there was this huge world, which exists independently of us human beings and which stands before us like a great, eternal riddle, at least partially accessible to our inspection and thinking. The contemplation of this world beckoned as a liberation, and I soon noticed that many a man whom I had learned to esteem and to admire had found inner freedom and security in its pursuit. The mental grasp of this extra-personal world within the frame of our capabilities presented itself to my mind, half consciously, half unconsciously, as a supreme goal. Similarly motivated men of the present and of the past, as well as the insights they had achieved, were the friends who could not be lost. The road to this paradise was not as comfortable and alluring as the road to the religious paradise; but it has shown itself reliable, and I have never regretted having chosen it."Einstein did distance himself from atheism; but he also distanced himself from any kind of traditional religious belief, such as personal immortality or the existence of a divine creator or lawgiver. He used many labels to describe his religious views, including "agnostic," "religious nonbeliever," "pantheistic,"and a believer in "Spinoza's God."[NOTE: Spinoza expressly denies personality and consciousness to God; he has neither intelligence, feeling, nor will; he does not act according to purpose.]
3.5/5I liked this book, but I know I would have loved it as a kid. One of my favourite moments was when Vicky, John, and their mother go up to the hill to look at the stars and talk for half an hour. The way Vicky talks about the connection that she feels to them and the love passing through them back and forth is touching, and the way they describe the stars as making them feel small in comparison to the world and universe at large is powerful. It's just one aspect that shows how wonderful each of the characters are. Even Maggy. I'm sure that a lot of readers would find Maggy to be spoiled, unruly, and possibly, annoying, but in some ways, her presence in the lives of Vicky and the other Austin children was reminiscent of my childhood. I wasn't annoyed by her, though I understood why the Austins would be, in part, because I'd been annoyed at times with someone who came into my family. One of my aunts raised someone, who I came to think of as my cousin, from the time she was 7 years old after her mother died of cancer. The ways that Maggy picked on Vicky for being not as pretty as Suzy where very similar to what I remember my cousin taunting me with as a young person for example, making it something that really resinated with me. That said, when Maggy helps John in the fight behind the church in the bonus chapter, she really grew on me as well as on the Austins. I will say that the chapter I'm referring to seems a little odd because why would Maggy be so irresponsible in the final chapter if she was, supposedly, so much better. Otherwise, I thought she made an interesting addition, and I fully understood why she became a part of the family by the end.I also really enjoyed how Madeline L'Engle uses the story of Charlotte's Web, a book that I loved as a child (as well as the movie), as a means of talking about the instinctive compassion that young children, in this case Suzy, have for animals. This is true, even if John reduces the idea of reducing certain kinds of meat eating or full on vegetarianism to something that he wouldn't do because plants are alive to, so you have to eat something alive, and it might as well be meat. Despite his combativeness, it's telling that 1) he actually knew that some vegetarian people existed, so he's clearly not totally closed off, 2) their parents - Victoria and Wallace - don't prohibit Sally from giving up any pork, which I think suggests their overall liberal attitudes about life, and 3) Suzy is said to have continued not eating pork at the end of the chapter in question, though there's no mention of it in the rest of the book. While for a different reason and age than Suzy, I also gave up pork before any other meat on the road to becoming a vegetarian and finally a vegan, so I related to that aspect of her journey.At times, I found the religious aspect of their lives, though realistic, to be a bit much. I know that it wouldn't have bothered me as a young person because, although I didn't go to church regularly on Sundays, I was raised with a christian belief system and had other religious activities in my life, though not as demonstrative as the Austin family is. I'll also fully admit that I found the pacing of the book was much slower than that of contemporary books published currently.
What do You think about Meet The Austins (1997)?
3.5 stars. Despite my enduring love for Madeleine L'Engle and my obsession with her lesser-known heroine Vicky Austin, for some reason I never quite got to Meet the Austins. Maybe because I knew that it didn't involve any of the scientific elements that feature in so many of her later novels, maybe because Vicky is only 12 in this novel. I'm grateful that my book club forced me to finally read it! Meet the Austins is a very sweet middle-grade, and a great introduction to the loving, warm Austin family. Chapters are essentially episodes in the Austins' lives as they bring spoiled orphan Maggy into their fold while trying to maintain the family traditions of reading, music, and food that pervades all of their books. It's a book that is very much a contemporary, and one where you see L'Engle developing her talent at telling family stories. It's cute, it's honest about the difficulties of welcoming someone new into your family, all while seeing the beauty of the world, and having it change before your eyes. Die-hard L'Engle fans might be interested to know that this book was published a full two years before A Wrinkle in Time, and compared to that seminal book, it does seem very "ordinary" - but it does feature some interesting discussions of vegetarianism (from a kid's eyes), and a little bit of the science and family that will play a bigger part in the lives of the Austins later. A really enjoyable read.
—Tiff at Mostly YA Lit
Because I probably won't find time to write the thorough review this gem deserves, here are a few quick thoughts:I loved the story. I felt an immediate bond with the characters and was so caught up in the story. I really appreciated how the story dealt with some difficult, real-life subjects while maintaining warmth, heart and humor. I wish I really could meet the Austin family ;-) And go visit Grandpa and his amazing home--I think I'm adding The Stables to my dream-libraries list, especially since it's beside the sea! :->
—Kathryn
I love Madeleine L'Engle books! Her writing is so fun, but always has a deeper meaning. This is the first book in the series and I'm thrilled to read the rest! It started out light and easy and built up perfectly until it reached it's thoughtful ending. I would suggest this book to anyone who wants a quick book and a fun read. The book was descriptive, but not so much you can't understand. I liked the bits of repetition of certain phrases and thought it was so cute! Also, I loved the chapter titles and enjoyed the Anti-Muffins a lot! Neat idea! The book simply was about a family overcoming big changes and continuing to love and support one another. The family was quite realistic and I was able to relate a lot!
—Ellen
