An Acceptable Time (Time Quintet, #5) (Hello Reader! (Do Not Use, Please Choose Level and Binding))

by Madeleine L'Engle

Polly's visit to her grandparents in Connecticut becomes an extraordinary experience as she encounters old friends and mysterious stangers and finds herself traveling back in time to play a crucial role in a prehistoric confrontation.

• ISBN10: 0606045988
• ISBN13: 9780606045988
• Publish Date: 1 November 1990 (first published 31 October 1989)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 3 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Demco Media Inc
• Edition: Turtleback School & Library ed.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 343
• Language: English

Reviews

[Metaphorosis Reviews]

I enjoyed the first three books in this series when I was younger. The fourth book, Many Waters, I read more recently, and it was good, if not with the same spark as the earlier ones. The fifth book, unfortunately, doesn't stand up.

An Acceptable Time is about Polly, a teenager staying with her grandparents. For reasons that are hinted at but never really explained, a gate opens to a time 3,000 years before, where Polly and her neighbour the bishop interact with the natives (who are led by a wise European).

It's a pleasant enough read in some ways, but much of it seems haphazard. The plot seems more of a sketch than a final product, full of inconsistencies and lucky coincidences. The science is decorative but vague and not very logical. Religion obtrudes more awkwardly than in the previous books. Characters are black or white, and fairly flat. At the same time, the tone is light and fun, and some of the animal characters are nice companions.

All in all, a disappointing book. Fans of L'Engle and her various interconnected series will no doubt want to read this. For others, I advise stopping after A Swiftly Tilting Planet.

[ladygrey]

I liked this book because it's [a:Madeleine L'Engle|106|Madeleine L'Engle|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198342840p2/106.jpg]. It referenced several characters and elements from the time series, which is fun and also appropriate since it's technically a part of that series. But it wasn't my favorite.

I couldn't find the point in all of it. In the other four books there is an objective, something distinct they are working toward whether they understand it or not. Even in [b:Many Water|151370|Many Waters (Time, Book 4)|Madeleine L'Engle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172228189s/151370.jpg|1575861] when Sandy and Denny happen into the past they discover what needs to happen. [b:An Acceptable Time|24761|An Acceptable Time (Time, Book 5)|Madeleine L'Engle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1198971646s/24761.jpg|1219592] lacked that cohesive focus.

Possibly as a result, not a lot really happens. There's lots of theology and philosophy and some science, but it's not woven into the plot as subtly as the other four books. It's completely overt and I found that I liked that less.

Oh, and some of the dialog was just painful. Zachary, in particular, spoke as if he was from another age, something half Victorian trying to be shoehorned into the modern era. Some of the things he said and the bluntness with which he said them were just awkward.

Still, even when [a:Madeleine L'Engle|106|Madeleine L'Engle|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198342840p2/106.jpg] is at less than the top of her game, she's still a good author. The world is well constructed, the characters have depth and are well formed. It's not a bad book, but it's certainly not her best.