A Circle of Quiet.: Amazon.ca: Madeleine L'Engle: Books

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

by L'engle

4.2 out of 5 stars (6) CDN$ 12.05

› Explore similar items

Product Description

Jean Kerr

"My favorite of all Madeleine L'Engle's books. Lovely, charming, a book to cherish. I know it will give great consolation to ordinary people who sometimes wonder why they bother to get out of bed in the morning." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"Fans will enjoy meeting the people, the cultural passions, the real-life situations that are transformed into loving husbands, large happy families, artistic adolescents, prescient children, and illuminating vignettes in L'Engle's books." -The New York Times Book Review

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

First Sentence
We are four generations under one roof this summer, from in Charlotte to almost-ninety Great-grandmother. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A rave review!, April 15 2004

By	Wildeguy "wildeguy2000" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Circle Of Quiet, A (Paperback)

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.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Report this

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that draws you closer and closer into truth..., Dec 27 2003

By	N. Kiser "NGK" (Gull Lake, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Circle Of Quiet, A (Paperback)

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.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Report this

4.0 out of 5 stars Comforting and wandering, July 2 2003

By	HopeP (Agoura Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Circle Of Quiet, A (Paperback)

This book is hard to pigeonhole. It's partly a journal of random thoughts, partly a retelling of some of the author's life experience. Much of the philosophy of life, ecology, relationships, and beliefs in God struck a chord with me. At times it dragged a bit, but overall it moved along at a comfortable pace. As previously described by others, it was like having a nice conversation with a friend (where you didn't have to talk, or interject a question or disagreement). One section in the end was annoying. She brought up a subject then decided to avoid letting the reader know what she was talking about (too painful to reveal). She hinted at an unpleasant life experience. Except for this, I'd give it 5 stars.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Report this

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 14 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Even the best start somewhere
Perhaps because I'm a writer myself I particularly enjoyed this book. It came at a moment when I too, was struggling with manuscript rejection. Read more

Published on Dec 10 2001 by Julie A. Saffrin

1.0 out of 5 stars can't believe i didn't like this
Wow. I have been a big fan since reading A Wrinkle in Time as a child. I cannot believe that I really cannot read this book. I am finding it boring and self-serving. Read more

Published on Jun 26 2001

1.0 out of 5 stars random thoughts of a 1970's grandmother
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... Read more

Published on Jan 24 2001