Rating: 
Summary: Cherished Conversations
Review: A long time fan of Madeleine L'Engle, I have only recently taken to reading her autobiographical works. "A Circle of Quiet" may have been written in the 1970s, but it is every bit as relevant today as it was when L'Engle first recorded her thoughts and questions. Reading her reminiscenses and insights is almost just as good as having a one-on-one conversation with the author.
In "A Circle of Quiet", L'Engle traverses vast territory including the inspiration and necessity of writing, to questions that have plagued her about faith and God. She is intelligent in her answers and able to recognize her own failings. For such a talented writer, it is amazing that L'Engle endured years of rejection. No one wanted to take a chance on stories that couldn't be categorized. While some may see L'Engle as only a children's author, she is dead-on in her insistence that there is no separation between what makes a book a good children's or adult's book. The fictional stories of imagination should appeal to all ages if they are open to discover the truths that they seek.
L'Engle smartly covers so-called taboo issues and the effect that the changing nature of education and language has played on America's youth. "A Circle of Quiet" is truly a wonderful conversation with a cherished friend. Peppered with analogies of her own life and those of her friends and community, she tries to find a light in the darkness that surrounds all of us. In the end, she succeeds.
Rating: 
Summary: Art in it's highest form of life
Review: A wonderful piece of art that should be read by all of humanity. This book displays many truths of life and I am bound to read it many times again. It has become my favorite book not just because of what it says but also because of what it doesn't say, which is the trust that one has towards family. She talks about her husband being in the theater and you never catch a glimpse of her fearing he'll walk away with someone and leave her one day. It is this omission in her novel that still rings deep in my soul. I had to find mine from an out of print bookstore online, yet it was well worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Reason to go on!
Review: After attending Lenten sessions with Madeleine at the Cathedral, I began reading her four-part autobiography. What a pleasure! What an inspiration! Being a struggling NYC actor, I am often looking for inspiration to go on after all the rejections, and here it is! Her stories of rejection and dealing with it are so honest and heartfelt, one cannot help but identify. You will not find a more straightforward approach to life than the one presented in the pages of this book. I highly recommend it for anyone with questions about purpose or meaning in life.
Rating:
Summary: A book that draws you closer and closer into truth...
Review: After the first 1/4 of the book, I was unsure of where it was going. Then, after entering into "kairos" (as Madeleine refers to it as..the Greek work for time which means time not being confined) with the book, I found myself getting deeper and deeper into it. The first time Madeleine really goes off and tells a story of her small town and the new couple that came in and "changed" things up a bit, I started to smile. I could relate...ever so much and this made me play out my own story as I read hers. I became so involved that I forgot the time, forget what page I was on and almost forgot that I was reading. That is where I first experienced kairos with "A Circle of Quiet" and thankfully, it was a transcendent moment at that. I still am thinking of the title and wondering if that is wholly appropriate for a book like this. I'm not sure. I think it means something a little different to me....but again, this is subjective stuff and extremely personal. Anyone with an imagination alive enough will experience something deep and profound and beautiful and wonderful from this book. Anyone who lacks this, I would suggest rediscovering your imaginiation before entering into this book: truth is overflowing here, but when you don't believe in imagination, mystery and myth, it will be very hard to read this book and get anything out of it. :) Thanks again Madeleine for a wonderful read; although it took me for a loop, I'm glad where I ended up by the last page.
Rating:
Summary: A book that draws you closer and closer into truth...
Review: After the first 1/4 of the book, I was unsure of where it was going. Then, after entering into "kairos" (as Madeleine refers to it as..the Greek work for time which means time not being confined) with the book, I found myself getting deeper and deeper into it. The first time Madeleine really goes off and tells a story of her small town and the new couple that came in and "changed" things up a bit, I started to smile. I could relate...ever so much and this made me play out my own story as I read hers. I became so involved that I forgot the time, forget what page I was on and almost forgot that I was reading. That is where I first experienced kairos with "A Circle of Quiet" and thankfully, it was a transcendent moment at that. I still am thinking of the title and wondering if that is wholly appropriate for a book like this. I'm not sure. I think it means something a little different to me....but again, this is subjective stuff and extremely personal. Anyone with an imagination alive enough will experience something deep and profound and beautiful and wonderful from this book. Anyone who lacks this, I would suggest rediscovering your imaginiation before entering into this book: truth is overflowing here, but when you don't believe in imagination, mystery and myth, it will be very hard to read this book and get anything out of it. :) Thanks again Madeleine for a wonderful read; although it took me for a loop, I'm glad where I ended up by the last page.
Rating:
Summary: A book that draws you closer and closer into truth...
Review: After the first 1/4 of the book, I was unsure of where it was going. Then, after entering into "kairos" (as Madeleine refers to it as..the Greek work for time which means time not being confined) with the book, I found myself getting deeper and deeper into it. The first time Madeleine really goes off and tells a story of her small town and the new couple that came in and "changed" things up a bit, I started to smile. I could relate...ever so much and this made me play out my own story as I read hers. I became so involved that I forgot the time, forget what page I was on and almost forgot that I was reading. That is where I first experienced kairos with "A Circle of Quiet" and thankfully, it was a transcendent moment at that. I still am thinking of the title and wondering if that is wholly appropriate for a book like this. I'm not sure. I think it means something a little different to me....but again, this is subjective stuff and extremely personal. Anyone with an imagination alive enough will experience something deep and profound and beautiful and wonderful from this book. Anyone who lacks this, I would suggest rediscovering your imaginiation before entering into this book: truth is overflowing here, but when you don't believe in imagination, mystery and myth, it will be very hard to read this book and get anything out of it. :) Thanks again Madeleine for a wonderful read; although it took me for a loop, I'm glad where I ended up by the last page.
Rating:
Summary: A Book of Life
Review: I bought A Circle of Quiet for $2 AUD at a local library and it's blessed me beyond all thinking. I agree with the reviewer below; what makes this book so tremblingly wonderful is what Madeleine L'Engle doesn't say as much as what she does. Written only a few years after the 'summer of love' COQ is both counter-cultural and counter-counter-cultural, which is to say old-fashioned. ML was about 50 when she wrote the book and the text sparkles with hard won wisdom and subversive insights but again, its what ML refuses to say that makes this work so powerful and ever-ripe. I can't believe COQ came into my hands so... providentially but it did. Beautifully written it's a work that covers a whole lot of territory: Domestic (un)bliss, raising children, being an agnostic Christian, food, sex, the counter-culture, art, education vs propaganda, creativity, friendship, the self, God, death, writing, solitude, listening, talking, reading, music, love (there's no mention of cricket, but that's OK), small town life, nature, big city life, when not to answer someone elses Big Question (always refuse) - you get the picture. Even if you have to steal a copy, get a hold of this tome and eat it!
Rating: 
Summary: random thoughts of a 1970's grandmother
Review: I could hardly finish this book full of random, obvious, disconnected thoughts, writing lessons (even, believe it or not, a lesson on punctuation), boring events, and thinly veiled bragging. To make it worse, it's full of references to life in the 70's, which make it hopelessly dated.
Rating:
Summary: A rave review!
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. I had been looking for a writer who treats the concept of kairos in a literary style. I have found her. Marguerite Yourcenar also works in the magic circle. Kairos is a commonplace of Renaissance thought, but it really began to take on a mythic quality in the Hellenistic period. The concept of kairos is found in Hippocrates, Isocrates, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, in old treatises on iconology, in dictionaries of rhetoric, and in the theology of Paul Tillich. Lysippos (Hellenistic) created a sculpture that was named Kairos, the youngest child of Zeus. Kairos appears as "occasio" in the Latin renaissance. It means "opportunity" or can refer to a special moment in time, an opportune moment. You are probably beginning to make the connections with the book. Kairos has always been a part of literature. It is a concept of time always used but rarely identified. L'Engle is just the writer to work out the theme. The Quiet Circle, as a title, is a perfect fit. Kairos is circular time, not linear. I can't imagine her calling the book The Quiet Line. It is so much easier for people to inhabit a circle than a line. I disagree with the reviewer who says that L'Engle is doing what she preaches against. I think rather that L'Engle is using that other renaissance concept, 'sprezzatura'. Did people chastize Baltassare Castiglione the author of the concept of sprezzatura for expounding on the art (which is the concept of doing something without revealing your secret) ? Yes they have, and they always appear ridiculous. Those who enter a magical circle always need a guide, L'Engle is just such a writer.
Rating:
Summary: As comforting as a cup of tea..........
Review: I have read all four of the Crosswicks Journals and enjoyed each. Ms. L'Engle graciously brings us into her daily life, her family, and her thoughts on being a writer, wife, daughter, and mother...and her relationship with God. Each of the four Journals has a different centering theme, and could stand alone, but I highly recommend that you read all four.
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