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The Moment of Tenderness
From the beloved author of A Wrinkle in Time comes a deeply personal, genre-bending short story collection that transcends generational divides and reminds readers that hope, above all, can transform suffering into the promise of joy.
This powerful collection of short stories traces an emotional arc inspired by Madeleine L'Engle's early life and career, from her lonely childhood in New York to her life as a mother in small-town Connecticut. In a selection of eighteen stories discovered by one of L'Engle's granddaughters, we see how L'Engle's personal experiences and abiding faith informed the creation of her many cherished works.
Some of these stories have never been published; others were refashioned into scenes for her novels and memoirs. Almost all were written in the 1940s and '50s, from Madeleine's college years until just before the publication of A Wrinkle in Time.
From realism to science-fiction to fantasy, there is something for everyone in this magical collection.
This powerful collection of short stories traces an emotional arc inspired by Madeleine L'Engle's early life and career, from her lonely childhood in New York to her life as a mother in small-town Connecticut. In a selection of eighteen stories discovered by one of L'Engle's granddaughters, we see how L'Engle's personal experiences and abiding faith informed the creation of her many cherished works.
Some of these stories have never been published; others were refashioned into scenes for her novels and memoirs. Almost all were written in the 1940s and '50s, from Madeleine's college years until just before the publication of A Wrinkle in Time.
From realism to science-fiction to fantasy, there is something for everyone in this magical collection.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published April 21, 2020
333 people are currently reading
11993 people want to read
About the author
Madeleine L'Engle
172 books9,212 followersMadeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 304 reviews
June 23, 2022
I was going to drop this, after reading the first couple of stories (isn’t the first story in a collection usually the one that's supposed to rope you in?) but before I knew it I had finished them all. This is a mixed collection of previously unpublished early stories by the author, discovered and published posthumously by one of L’Engle’s granddaughters. The collection might represent some rejected works from her early writing career. I can see why some of the stories would have been rejected, but as I gathered steam, and because the stories actually seem to take place at the time they were written (circa late 1940’s-1960’s) they just got better and better as seen in retrospect to the period (now more attractive than then?). The first stories were just plain sad, young girls describing their insecurities, tormentors in school and in camp (these might have been autobiographical?). I can’t say that the descriptions were anything but spot on, yet they were depressing and geared to a younger audience. Soon I warmed up to a number of stories involving performing artists, writers and literati in New York. These were quirkier with a bit of humor: two stage performers pounding the pavement for about 12 hours searching for a room in a place that would allow them to stay with their star performer (a dog)!, a party where a political activist teetotaler Spanish poet (Julio) tosses the alcoholic beverages served him into an aquarium, inebriating the fish, and flings a carving knife smeared with peanut butter and apricot jam into the air whereupon it flies straight into the stomach of his nemesis who has been goading him all evening (poetic justice?), a few small town myopic New England stories of square pegs trying to fit into round holes, a family duel between a young girl anxious to get out from under the thumb of her famous cookbook writing mother, practically blind without glasses (... men don’t make passes….Dorothy Parker). Next there were a couple of supernatural/witch/devil stories, a less than poignant story describing the indignities of old age and the callousness of those who owe compassion, and a dash of science fiction, to round out, for good measure. In the end, this was a quick enjoyable read, demonstrating the writer’s skill but not elevating to the level of her magic. 3.5 stars
April 12, 2020
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
I swear I feel like I am about to be struck by lightning because I did not like this collection of short stories by Madeline L'Engle. I think the problem is that I kept comparing these stories to "A Wrinkle in Time" series and it did not read like L'Engle. Her books made me think of God, persevering and having hope. These stories were just so depressing one after another. I usually would rate them separately, but instead this time, I am just going to discuss the themes of the stories.
There are 18 stories all together and readers find out these were stories that L'Engle wrote prior to "A Wrinkle in Time." These stories are inspired by her childhood which to me reads as very depressing and lonely. Some of these stories have never been published before, and honestly I wish that publishers would think that through before publishing works of an author that is known for a different type of writing and genre. I am flashing back to reading Harper Lee's sequel to "To Kill a Mockingbird" and shuddering all over again.
I think that a third of the collection focused on stories of a young girl who is unhappy. Either her mother is ill, dead, or seems to be suffering from alcoholism. The young girl is either trying to please her father, get her father to pay attention to her, or is begging her father to send for her. The girl is either at boarding school or another type of school or camp and is lonely and friendless. An older woman usually comes along to try to help the girl and she rejects the help. The story ends with you feeling depressed about what you just read. The stories always seem to end on a bleak note.
Then the second third is following a young adult woman who is focused on a career in acting or the theater. I found out after finishing this, this was a career that L'Engle was interested in. Those stories at times seem to be a bit more hopeful, but one of them ended on a menacing note. I am thinking of the story where the young girl is visited by her brother and alludes that the school she was sent to seems to be a place where women learn "wiles" with high-paying men.
Then we have the final third which follows a man who was disappointed in love. I don' know. The last story in the collection was such a weird tonal change that I think I got whiplash.
I would say that all of the stories after the first third had a really bad flow problem. The stories started to feel endless. None of them were holding my attention. I just wanted to be finished as soon as possible.
The last story as I already said is focused on faith and science and seems to have more fantasy elements. This story really should not have been included when you look at the other stories in the collection. I assume the publisher wanted to show L'Engle's writing style over the years, but honestly the first 2/3 of the collection were just very autobiographical. Readers may not know but L'Engle was considered dumb and clumsy by her teachers, she retreated into her books. She was sent away constantly to boarding school while growing up and her father died when she was young. She went to Smith college and started acting and met her husband (also an actor in a play). L'Engle planned on giving up writing when she turned 40 since her stories until that point had been rejected. She wrote a "Wrinkle in Time" and the rest is history.
I think I rather would have read a biography of L'Engle than her older stories never published before. Her life was very interesting.
I swear I feel like I am about to be struck by lightning because I did not like this collection of short stories by Madeline L'Engle. I think the problem is that I kept comparing these stories to "A Wrinkle in Time" series and it did not read like L'Engle. Her books made me think of God, persevering and having hope. These stories were just so depressing one after another. I usually would rate them separately, but instead this time, I am just going to discuss the themes of the stories.
There are 18 stories all together and readers find out these were stories that L'Engle wrote prior to "A Wrinkle in Time." These stories are inspired by her childhood which to me reads as very depressing and lonely. Some of these stories have never been published before, and honestly I wish that publishers would think that through before publishing works of an author that is known for a different type of writing and genre. I am flashing back to reading Harper Lee's sequel to "To Kill a Mockingbird" and shuddering all over again.
I think that a third of the collection focused on stories of a young girl who is unhappy. Either her mother is ill, dead, or seems to be suffering from alcoholism. The young girl is either trying to please her father, get her father to pay attention to her, or is begging her father to send for her. The girl is either at boarding school or another type of school or camp and is lonely and friendless. An older woman usually comes along to try to help the girl and she rejects the help. The story ends with you feeling depressed about what you just read. The stories always seem to end on a bleak note.
Then the second third is following a young adult woman who is focused on a career in acting or the theater. I found out after finishing this, this was a career that L'Engle was interested in. Those stories at times seem to be a bit more hopeful, but one of them ended on a menacing note. I am thinking of the story where the young girl is visited by her brother and alludes that the school she was sent to seems to be a place where women learn "wiles" with high-paying men.
Then we have the final third which follows a man who was disappointed in love. I don' know. The last story in the collection was such a weird tonal change that I think I got whiplash.
I would say that all of the stories after the first third had a really bad flow problem. The stories started to feel endless. None of them were holding my attention. I just wanted to be finished as soon as possible.
The last story as I already said is focused on faith and science and seems to have more fantasy elements. This story really should not have been included when you look at the other stories in the collection. I assume the publisher wanted to show L'Engle's writing style over the years, but honestly the first 2/3 of the collection were just very autobiographical. Readers may not know but L'Engle was considered dumb and clumsy by her teachers, she retreated into her books. She was sent away constantly to boarding school while growing up and her father died when she was young. She went to Smith college and started acting and met her husband (also an actor in a play). L'Engle planned on giving up writing when she turned 40 since her stories until that point had been rejected. She wrote a "Wrinkle in Time" and the rest is history.
I think I rather would have read a biography of L'Engle than her older stories never published before. Her life was very interesting.
July 8, 2022
After the death of L’Engle (author of A Wrinkle in Time) in 2007, her granddaughter went through her materials and found 40 unpublished stories among her files. This book, “The Moment of Tenderness” is a collection of 18 of these works dating from the 1940s and ’50s, the years leading up to the writing of A Wrinkle in Time. Taken together and arranged largely chronologically (both in terms of when they were written and the protagonists’ advancing ages), the stories are glimpses into the writer’s artistic, spiritual and emotional development.
The stories near the beginning of this book are about a child wanting to fit in with others her age but not quite being able to achieve that wish. As the stories progress they're about young people tying to find a place in show business and the big city. Still further in the book the stories are about a young married woman in a small New England town not quite fitting in with the longtime residence of the town. Then toward the end of the book some of the stories begin to show elements of fantasy and science fiction that were later to become part of A Wrinkle in Time.
When the overarching path of these stories are compared with a description of the author's life it's obvious that the stories contain autobiographical elements. The question that arrises in many of these stories is which of the short story characters represent the author. One story near the end was particularly haunting to my senses, where one adult sibling is stuck at the home place caring for elderly parents who are suffering from incontinence and dementia while two other adult siblings stay away. I couldn't help but wonder what the authors' experience had been to inspire this story.
The paperback and the Kindle version of this book contain a bonus story (fable/morality tale) that wasn't included in the hardback edition.
The stories near the beginning of this book are about a child wanting to fit in with others her age but not quite being able to achieve that wish. As the stories progress they're about young people tying to find a place in show business and the big city. Still further in the book the stories are about a young married woman in a small New England town not quite fitting in with the longtime residence of the town. Then toward the end of the book some of the stories begin to show elements of fantasy and science fiction that were later to become part of A Wrinkle in Time.
When the overarching path of these stories are compared with a description of the author's life it's obvious that the stories contain autobiographical elements. The question that arrises in many of these stories is which of the short story characters represent the author. One story near the end was particularly haunting to my senses, where one adult sibling is stuck at the home place caring for elderly parents who are suffering from incontinence and dementia while two other adult siblings stay away. I couldn't help but wonder what the authors' experience had been to inspire this story.
The paperback and the Kindle version of this book contain a bonus story (fable/morality tale) that wasn't included in the hardback edition.
March 17, 2020
As a child, A WRINKLE IN TIME by MADELEINE L’ENGLE was probably my favorite book. I can’t even count how many times I read it. THE MOMENT OF TENDERNESS is an absolute treasure of short stories compiled by L’ENGLE’s granddaughter. She published the early works of L’ENGLE in somewhat chronological order so that you can see the progression of the author’s writing. Even though the first ones are rough, they immediately transport me. Similar to Judy Blume, L’ENGLE just GETS how to communicate the thoughts, fears and insecurities of adolescent girls. This book is wonderful and has inspired me to go back and collect the other works of L’ENGLE that I haven’t read. (TBH I didn’t see any need to read anything other than A Wrinkle in Time until now.)
June 3, 2020
Different angles of L'Engle.
This anthology covers a fairly broad age range from younger girl to middle-aged female and two male protagonists. There is an overwhelming sense of being on the outside, being an outsider, being invisible, being separate that permeates the stories. The viciousness of groups against individuals, and the choices characters make, not necessarily admirable either. Frankly, it's a feels oppressive and sad.
That line, the inspiration for the title, just kills you a little.
I guess I was surprised by how much this wasn't what I was expecting, but still fascinated by these aspects of L'Engle. Much like how Louise May Alcott's A Long Fatal Love Chase is a shock to readers of Little Women. And there is a bizarre echo, and I'm not sure if it is post-WWII zeitgeist, of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle in L'Engle's "The Foreigners" that displacement old-timers feel when new blood moves into the neighborhood with fancy houses and ways--gentrification, except this is Vermont in the fifties with all the tinges of otherness in religion, Red Scare, etc. It definitely made me think about it, but since mid-late twentieth century history is not my forte I feel at a disadvantage.
I can't say if you'd want to read this, each of us come to things in our own time.
If you'd only accept the fact that people always do things for the wrong reasons, everything'd be much easier for you.Most people will only have one interaction with L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time and let me tell you that this collection is nothing like it. There are hints, aspects of personalities that portend what will shimmer in A Wrinkle in Time. Recently, a GR friend commented how they didn't recall how selfish Meg was when they revisited it. I can see multiple instances of how perfectly normal child/adolescent development and selfish is expressed in a few stories, here.
But where, after we have made the great decision to leave the security of childhood and move on into the vastness of maturity, does anybody ever feel completely at home?
This anthology covers a fairly broad age range from younger girl to middle-aged female and two male protagonists. There is an overwhelming sense of being on the outside, being an outsider, being invisible, being separate that permeates the stories. The viciousness of groups against individuals, and the choices characters make, not necessarily admirable either. Frankly, it's a feels oppressive and sad.
That was what undid her, the moment of tenderness.
That line, the inspiration for the title, just kills you a little.
I guess I was surprised by how much this wasn't what I was expecting, but still fascinated by these aspects of L'Engle. Much like how Louise May Alcott's A Long Fatal Love Chase is a shock to readers of Little Women. And there is a bizarre echo, and I'm not sure if it is post-WWII zeitgeist, of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle in L'Engle's "The Foreigners" that displacement old-timers feel when new blood moves into the neighborhood with fancy houses and ways--gentrification, except this is Vermont in the fifties with all the tinges of otherness in religion, Red Scare, etc. It definitely made me think about it, but since mid-late twentieth century history is not my forte I feel at a disadvantage.
"The sands of time. . . Cities crumble and rise and will crumble again and breath dies down and blows once more. . ."
I can't say if you'd want to read this, each of us come to things in our own time.
August 5, 2020
This collection of short stories is a little different from my usual reading material. But I loved the differentness; it's just what I needed at this time. Within the book itself, of course, there is plenty of variety as well—yet L'Engle's lucid writing sparkles through each story.
I would recommend this for fans of L'Engle (like me) or for fans of short stories.
I would recommend this for fans of L'Engle (like me) or for fans of short stories.
January 1, 2023
She was even able to remember what she had felt too sick to notice at its moment of occurrence, the touch of his hand against her cheek. That was it! she thought. That was what undid her, the moment of tenderness. That was what it had been all along.3.5 stars
This is a short story collection and the collection title, The Moment of Tenderness, is an interesting one, because there is a definite pattern in the stories of tenderness, but tenderness and rawness that results in hurt, or is further pushed after already being bruised—not tenderness as in "softness" or what I had originally thought when I saw the title.
There is a bittersweetness to each story. The first four stories are from the viewpoint of young girls of varying ages, and they capture well the uncertainty and danger of that part of a person's life; the extreme vulnerability that children face in their youth. This applies in both a physical way—Claudine in "Gilberte Must Play Bach" was pushed down the stairs by German soldiers and now has a limp—and in emotional ones—the loneliness of being bullied and the cruelty of children that is vividly shown in "The Mountains Shall Stand Forever" and "Summer Camp."
"White in the Moon the Long Road Lies" is the first short story where the main character has aged and is now in young adulthood, but it carries over some of the same rawness as the previous stories. There is also an aspect of hope mixed in though, tempered by nostalgia; Selina will be leaving home soon to become a history teacher at a girls' boarding school, and though she is eager to leave and has never really fit in there, it is nonetheless where she has spent her entire life and the familiarity and comfort of the ocean, the beach, and the sand dunes are ties that she cannot and would not break.
"Madame, Or ..." is a big tonal shift; although we're still in the same age group, Nancy is an unknowable character. The story is mostly from her brother Walter's perspective, so the uneasiness and uncertainty that she evokes is something you're feeling from his experience of her.
Those were the stories I read in May 2020 when I first started the book and made notes as I went. I unfortunately didn't make notes on the other stories and only just now (December 2022) finished the book with only the last story still unread. The last story, "A Sign for a Sparrow," was a science fiction story, set in the future when women are having problems bearing children and the world is looking to expand beyond Earth. Our main character is a cryptologist who is taken on a voyage to an alien planet where it's believed there might be another advanced civilization, and woven throughout the book are religious overtones (don't qualify as undertones). The advanced civilization is billions of years old and has advanced far beyond humans, but it turns out one of their earliest texts is a religious text, and he's the one who decodes it.
Thank you to the Grand Central Publishing, Hachette, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
October 26, 2022
Some hits, some misses, but worth the read to see how a great writer worked her way up to her best work. Even the weaker stories are filled with L'Engle's thoughtfulness and curiosity about people, motives, faith, reason, and the choices that make us who we are.
February 29, 2020
*Received this book as part of the Amazon Vine Program.
L'Engle has always been one of my favorite writers. Ever since I picked up 'A Ring of Endless Light' as a pre-teen and fell into a world so sad and wonderful and poignant that it changed me. It's a book that I've returned to often and I always get some kind of new meaning from it. But enough about that book, let's talk about this one.
This was published after L'Engle's death. When her granddaughter found some of her old stories stored away. They are small blurbs, vignettes, short stories, nothing fully done into a book. And all were written, except for one, before her first commercial success, 'A Wrinkle in Time'.
It was neat to see the original tone of her writing I have grown accustomed to in these stories. They were vastly different themes, in a way, from L'Engle's books. More depressing, more somber in tone, more mature in subject, sometimes there isn't a feeling of completion. L'Engle's strong point has always been dialogue, and that's reflected in these. The stories aren't so much about what the people are doing, but rather what they're talking about.
The lack of completion or cliff-hanger like endings of the stories was the hardest part for me. I wanted so badly for some of them to keep going so I knew what happened to the characters, and how it ended. Still, I think for anyone who is a fan of her writing, who has gone on an adventure through one of her books, or who has waxed philosophical (these have a religious tone to them but in a very approachable way) over her musings, this is a great book to get into. It manages to express a lot of emotions in just a few short blips of writing.
Review by M. Reynard 2020
L'Engle has always been one of my favorite writers. Ever since I picked up 'A Ring of Endless Light' as a pre-teen and fell into a world so sad and wonderful and poignant that it changed me. It's a book that I've returned to often and I always get some kind of new meaning from it. But enough about that book, let's talk about this one.
This was published after L'Engle's death. When her granddaughter found some of her old stories stored away. They are small blurbs, vignettes, short stories, nothing fully done into a book. And all were written, except for one, before her first commercial success, 'A Wrinkle in Time'.
It was neat to see the original tone of her writing I have grown accustomed to in these stories. They were vastly different themes, in a way, from L'Engle's books. More depressing, more somber in tone, more mature in subject, sometimes there isn't a feeling of completion. L'Engle's strong point has always been dialogue, and that's reflected in these. The stories aren't so much about what the people are doing, but rather what they're talking about.
The lack of completion or cliff-hanger like endings of the stories was the hardest part for me. I wanted so badly for some of them to keep going so I knew what happened to the characters, and how it ended. Still, I think for anyone who is a fan of her writing, who has gone on an adventure through one of her books, or who has waxed philosophical (these have a religious tone to them but in a very approachable way) over her musings, this is a great book to get into. It manages to express a lot of emotions in just a few short blips of writing.
Review by M. Reynard 2020
November 18, 2023
Madeleine L'Engle did not start out to be a science fiction and fantasy writer. She began writing stories of lonely young women trying to make their way in a mid 20th Century world that was not very kind, a bit like Dorothy Parker, but without the edge and the sarcasm. These early stories found by her granddaughter show the promise she had as she developed her flair for looking at the world, but before she learned to shape the world to her design.
June 24, 2020
I wanted to love this collection of short stories - being a L'Engle fan I was really excited about them being compiled and released - but I only just liked it.
There is an intriguing mix here, from the everyday to suspense/horror, to Sci-Fi. We can see how L'Engle is working out ideas in her own life through her stories - from young girl finding her identity to ultimate faith in the Science Fiction story.
There are some weird stories. Disturbing. One that maybe took place in a boarding school-brothel? The hints are there, but never details. There's bad language in some of them.
Some of the stories are - part or whole - in the Crosswicks Journals which I have just finished. The woman across the way looking at herself in the mirror, the seeking out a hotel in Baltimore, and the Brechsteins moving into the small town that bothers so many people in a memoir.
One story has a mother-in-law suffering a crisis of faith because of her perfect daughter-in-law. It's an interesting commentary on appearances.
Overall, many of the stories were weird. One was happy (it was my favorite). There were some male narrators, which I think is unusual for L'Engle and I enjoyed that.
Always she talks about seeing people, their selves, their hurts, their needs, their graces. Not necessarily doing something, but seeing. That seeing is the Moment of Tenderness that overarches the whole book.
It does feel a touch like "juvenalia" even though she was an adult when most of the stories were written. They're imperfect: many are incomplete, her humor only occasionally makes a play, maudlin from time to time, of an immature style; but the glimpses are there. The moments of Madeleine ... of her tender storytelling.
I've almost talked myself into 4 stars ...
There is an intriguing mix here, from the everyday to suspense/horror, to Sci-Fi. We can see how L'Engle is working out ideas in her own life through her stories - from young girl finding her identity to ultimate faith in the Science Fiction story.
There are some weird stories. Disturbing. One that maybe took place in a boarding school-brothel? The hints are there, but never details. There's bad language in some of them.
Some of the stories are - part or whole - in the Crosswicks Journals which I have just finished. The woman across the way looking at herself in the mirror, the seeking out a hotel in Baltimore, and the Brechsteins moving into the small town that bothers so many people in a memoir.
One story has a mother-in-law suffering a crisis of faith because of her perfect daughter-in-law. It's an interesting commentary on appearances.
Overall, many of the stories were weird. One was happy (it was my favorite). There were some male narrators, which I think is unusual for L'Engle and I enjoyed that.
Always she talks about seeing people, their selves, their hurts, their needs, their graces. Not necessarily doing something, but seeing. That seeing is the Moment of Tenderness that overarches the whole book.
It does feel a touch like "juvenalia" even though she was an adult when most of the stories were written. They're imperfect: many are incomplete, her humor only occasionally makes a play, maudlin from time to time, of an immature style; but the glimpses are there. The moments of Madeleine ... of her tender storytelling.
I've almost talked myself into 4 stars ...
June 29, 2020
There's something so comforting about Madeleine L'Engle, even when her stories are sad. The most hopeless ending -- with the main character being treated horribly by someone else, and in turn treating slamming the door in another's face, with such devastating petty cruelty -- can still leave you feeling "oh, it just breaks my heart, how human this was" and despite all her efforts to the contrary your heart is warmed.
Like other collections of work published posthumously by well-meaning grandchildren, I was suspicious at first. But this is a lovely addition to the world.
Like other collections of work published posthumously by well-meaning grandchildren, I was suspicious at first. But this is a lovely addition to the world.
August 25, 2020
I read this book in just a couple of sittings--the short story format, and L'Engle's very compelling storytelling, make it a quick read. Though I've only read a few of L'Engle's books (a few from the Wrinkle in Time series and a few from the Austin Family series), sitting down with this collection felt like comfort food. I also find it charming that the collection was curated by L'Engle's granddaughter, and the granddaughter's introduction does a good job of framing the book, giving context for why certain stories were included and how they work together. Overall, L'Engle's range is impressive, and she lends emotional resonance to the most familiar (even basic) plotlines.
May 12, 2022
The short stories in this book mostly have a bleak ending. At the start, the stories are about growing up and move on to different themes and fantastical elements by the end. An amusing read and so very engaging! I enjoyed the author's writing style and so looking forward to reading her more famous work 'A Wrinkle in Time'.
April 30, 2024
A Madeline L’Engle book for adults! Absolutely love a short stories collection, and this was no different. Definitely skimmed some, but the ones that I loved were the epitome of bittersweet, almost tragic in their tellings and the messiness of the characters. But there was always a small light shining of hope and faith and humanity at the end of each one. Very much a soul-filling read!
October 12, 2020
I loved this collection of L’Engle short stories!
November 23, 2021
Short stories! They were very mundane(except for that one random one about the devil) and mostly sad, you’d think they’d end with a happily ever after and they don’t, the sadness just lingers in the in between. But they captured you, I enjoyed it
May 17, 2020
If I had to name one author that influenced my thinking, it would probably be Madeleine L’Engle. Now, posthumously, “The Moment of Tenderness,” a collection of her short stories, has been published. Culled from her archives, this book includes a variety of her writing styles: memoir, fiction, fantasy and science fiction. I loved every story (and I traditionally abhor short stores) for her writing trademarks: precise descriptions, authentic characterizations, adherence to writing conventions (oh, how carefully crafted is the ending of each short story) and—most of all—her questioning though comforting philosophy of life. As always, she believes in God (elsewhere named El) and in science and in mysticism and in hope and in the power of words and of Word. Snippets from some of these stories were used in her later writings—what fun to revisit them. The early stories in the book are about children and their angsts. Then, there are stories that date to her many years in the theater scene in Manhattan. And, I loved the biographical stories of their years as parents of young children when they were storekeepers in New England. The final story (warning: spoiler) is true L’Engle sci fi with a message; it is as relevant in a pandemic era as when it was written, probably decades ago. A dictatorial society, radioactive fires decimating much of the earth, a ship exploring other galaxies to find a place to resettle. When decoded, the cryptographer hears, “Libraries are the things we’re proudest of.” And, the book they have preserved over billions of years begins, “In the Beginning was the Word . . . “ Oh, how I love Madeleine L’Engle.
February 26, 2020
I have not read much by Madeleine L'Engle, but I was drawn by the descriptions of these stories. I did find it helpful to read the introduction by her granddaughter. She gave a good overview of the stories, explaining that they are in roughly chronological order, which I found interesting as I could see the development of her talent. Also, there are many that stem from autobiographical themes. I have to admit that not all the stories appealed to me, but the ones that did--The Birthday, White in the Moon the Long Road Lies, A Room in Baltimore, and A Sign for a Sparrow, among others--earn this five stars. Her stories abound with well-drawn characters, surprises, and unexpected endings. I highly recommend this.
I received a free copy of this ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for my honest review.
I received a free copy of this ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for my honest review.
May 19, 2020
Do you enjoy short stories?
I didn’t used to. I always felt like they were missing a depth of character or arc of narrative strong enough for me to fully appreciate them. ‘The Moment of Tenderness’ is a newly published collection of short stories written by Madeleine L’engle. Some she wrote as a child. They are precious in the way first stories are. Some were written in college as assignments. This book is delightful.
I didn’t used to. I always felt like they were missing a depth of character or arc of narrative strong enough for me to fully appreciate them. ‘The Moment of Tenderness’ is a newly published collection of short stories written by Madeleine L’engle. Some she wrote as a child. They are precious in the way first stories are. Some were written in college as assignments. This book is delightful.
September 15, 2020
Sometimes there’s a reason stories weren’t published during an author’s lifetime. There’s also a reason when they’re published posthumously, and the reason is a cash grab by the heirs. You wish they’d have more respect for an author’s integrity, especially when they’re already benefiting in a material way from her legacy. Abandoned.
July 18, 2020
My favorites, by far, were "A Sign for a Sparrow" and "The Moment of Tenderness." Many of the others (esp. the early ones) were very slight, closely observed, with a vintage New Yorker magazine sensibility.
September 6, 2020
It's just that good. These stories are full of emotion and completely intriguing.
March 6, 2020
I name Madeleine as my favorite author more or less out of habit; I'm not as gaga for her as I was in middle and high school. But even so, there was no chance I wouldn't pick up this collection of short stories, most of them previously unpublished. Overall, it's a good, though not great, collection. Its strength for me lies in its breadth of genres: typical L'Engle philosophical talk; science fiction; fantasy; coming-of-age; slice of life. Its greatest weakness, of course, is Madeleine's typical heavy-handedness in her morals, and the ways in which some of the stories gloss over too much or end too suddenly. (This may be because they were unedited and perhaps unfinished, though even two that were published, "Madame, Or..." and "Please Wear Your Rubbers," have this problem.) It's a good book for exactly the only people who will pick it up: L'Engle fans who will read anything they can of hers, and who can put up with her sometimes repetitive plots and ideas. Overall 3.5/5, rounding to 4. Obligatory comment about Goodreads needing half-stars.
Story-specific summaries/reviews:
The Birthday - A concept that was recycled, but only in summary, in Camilla (my least favorite L'Engle book). I'm pretty sure a doctor offering to share his birthday with a child was revisited elsewhere too - maybe in one of the Austin books? It begins with a child's realization that everyone has their own lives and thoughts, and continues as she visits her mother in the hospital the next day, on her birthday. I found a lot of it tedious.
Gilberte Must Play Bach - A pretty good story overall, though I'm not quite clear on where she was going with it. A girl's mother is unhappily playing Bach, so she goes for a walk with her alcoholic father. The main thing that got under my skin was yet another instance of Madeleine's obsession with people playing Bach when they're upset. I get that incorporating autobiographical details was kind of her thing, but doing it so repetitively gets annoying, and it's especially frustrating since she clearly assumed throughout her career that readers were interested in classical music, or that they should be if they weren't. (I'm not, and I needn't be.)
The Mountains Shall Stand Forever - Reused almost verbatim in The Small Rain; I'm honestly not sure why it was even included here. It's the scene where Katherine (here, Ellen) writes her father asking to leave the boarding school, and it comes back to haunt her when he instead writes to the headmistress. It's one of the unhappiest scenes in the novel for me, and on its own it doesn't really say anything, just an expression of misery.
Summer Camp - An okay story about a girl being bullied at summer camp and a counselor who tries to help her before quitting her job. I think the issue for me with all of the stories so far is that they kind of end in medias res, and without definitive endings they're just unfulfilling.
White in the Moon the Long Road Lies - I think this one, about a young woman preparing to leave her hometown for a teaching job, is really lovely. Partly, I'm sure, because I'm from an awfully similar town (albeit in the upper Midwest rather than the South), and because I had some experiences quite like Selina's. But it also has nice imagery, and doesn't feel too self-conscious the way Madeleine sometimes can.
Madame, Or... - This is one of those deliberately vague stories I'm not fond of, about a young man visiting his younger sister in a group home/finishing school for the arts that... I think is a cover for a brothel? And I think his sister has told him she's a sex worker, but the rest of the family doesn't know? Meanwhile, she pretends to the rest of the girls that he's her boyfriend rather than her brother (when will The White Stripes?) for some reason, I think to fit in better and/or give her a firewall against her johns? Or maybe just because she's an actor and is curating a lie of a life the way she wishes it were? As you can tell, I'm still not sure I properly understand it. At first I thought the gimmick was that the sister had dementia. It's interesting, but since I don't like the genre, I didn't enjoy it.
One Day in Spring - A slice of life story about a young woman who gets a place in a summer theatre company. (Of course, this being Madeleine, we couldn't get much further into the book without there being theatre! And from here on out, it's a running theme.) It's insubstantive, but nice. Similar to The Small Rain in some ways, but a lot lighter. Charlotte, Madeleine's granddaughter and literary executor, notes in her introduction that it was reused in The Joys of Love, but I don't recall it from there, maybe because it's different enough, maybe just because I'm not as familiar with Joys as some of her other books.
Prelude to the First Night Alone - An actor deals with his partner leaving him for a friend as she moves out of their shared apartment. Obviously the situation recalls the triangle in The Small Rain, albeit gender-swapped, but it doesn't feel any more unoriginal than the rest of Madeleine's canon, given her tendency to reuse lines and situations and the occasional entire scene. A little hifalutin, but I liked it.
Please Wear Your Rubbers - A teacher who's lost her job decides to take a two-day vacation away from her needy actor sister while trying to break into theatre herself. It's an odd little story, and one that I think I would have liked more if it had been fleshed out better.
A Room in Baltimore - A nonfiction ("nonfiction") story recounting an incident from Madeleine's own acting days when she and a friend struggled to find a hotel that would take them in with her dog. It's fine, but seems kind of useless on its own. The introduction notes it's reused in Two Part Invention, which I've never read, but I can imagine it fitting in better there as one of Madeleine's lengthy asides.
Julio at the Party - Another slice of life story about a couple that throws a party for their leftist poet friend, where he fights with their reactionary right-wing friend. It felt very L'Engle in terms of characterization, but the setup and plot seem more modern, in almost a Barbara Kingsolver kind of way. The ending is great: it's a shock ending, but one where you can look back and see the foreshadowing leading up to it that didn't seem like foreshadowing at the time, which is a technique I love. Charlotte mentions in the introduction that it's part of an unpublished novel Madeleine wrote, and if this is any indication, I hope Charlotte & co. publish the rest of the novel as well.
The Foreign Agent - A rambling story of a girl who falls in love with her mother's literary agent. The almost stream-of-consciousness writing style was way too much for me, and I couldn't even get halfway through. That being said, I appeciate it having a character who prefers the city to the country, which is a rarity in fiction. It also has a great line: "I think [my mother] puts too much of her energies into creating me. And I want to create myself." Ironic, since by all accounts Madeleine had a tendency to rewrite her family's history to please herself.
The Moment of Tenderness - A woman in a small rural town finds herself in love with the town doctor. I liked this one: it was sweet, and unusual in its tacit endorsement of Stella's feelings, yet it stopped short of actual adultery.
The Foreigners - The part of A Circle of Quiet about a snooty couple that moves to the small town where Madeleine and her family lives, and whose house ultimately burns down. Again, I'm not sure why it was reprinted here, given that it's 1) the same exact story that already appeared in Circle, and 2) nonfiction.
The Fact of the Matter - More nonfiction, or at least it's presented as such, in which Madeleine tries to help an older woman and ends up encountering a demon. It's a good read, but even as someone who's spiritual I have a very difficult time believing it's true (perhaps all the more for knowing of Madeleine's tendency to fudge her "nonfiction").
Poor Little Saturday - A teenage boy in the South befriends a witch and her teenage ward, and their menagerie of wild animals. I really enjoyed this one and wish it were a full-length novel, because the characters are wonderful, and there's so much more detail she could've gone into with the story. There's a line where the main character says, "In the long run, the only reason I have had a life of my own is because of her," and I so wish we got to learn why he says that, and what happens in the run of time that's leapt over with a single paragraph in which they become friends.
That Which Is Left - A man returns home to find his bedridden mother is nearly blind, his father has dementia, and his older sister is struggling to maintain their home. It has a definite surreal flavor. Charlotte characterizes him in the introduction as an "unreliable narrator" and "selfish," and while the second is definitely true, I got the feeling that he isn't so much an unreliable narrator as understandably confused by what he encounters. Regardless, it's a sort of interesting story about a situation we don't often hear about, but I've never been huge on stories about unlikeable main characters.
A Sign for a Sparrow - A post-apocalyptic sci-fi story in which the main character leaves behind his wife and newborn child to explore another potentially habitable planet, all of which is essentially a vehicle for Madeleine's religious and philosophical contemplations. I couldn't finish it; I found it overly heavy and, well, philosophical.
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher.
Story-specific summaries/reviews:
The Birthday - A concept that was recycled, but only in summary, in Camilla (my least favorite L'Engle book). I'm pretty sure a doctor offering to share his birthday with a child was revisited elsewhere too - maybe in one of the Austin books? It begins with a child's realization that everyone has their own lives and thoughts, and continues as she visits her mother in the hospital the next day, on her birthday. I found a lot of it tedious.
Gilberte Must Play Bach - A pretty good story overall, though I'm not quite clear on where she was going with it. A girl's mother is unhappily playing Bach, so she goes for a walk with her alcoholic father. The main thing that got under my skin was yet another instance of Madeleine's obsession with people playing Bach when they're upset. I get that incorporating autobiographical details was kind of her thing, but doing it so repetitively gets annoying, and it's especially frustrating since she clearly assumed throughout her career that readers were interested in classical music, or that they should be if they weren't. (I'm not, and I needn't be.)
The Mountains Shall Stand Forever - Reused almost verbatim in The Small Rain; I'm honestly not sure why it was even included here. It's the scene where Katherine (here, Ellen) writes her father asking to leave the boarding school, and it comes back to haunt her when he instead writes to the headmistress. It's one of the unhappiest scenes in the novel for me, and on its own it doesn't really say anything, just an expression of misery.
Summer Camp - An okay story about a girl being bullied at summer camp and a counselor who tries to help her before quitting her job. I think the issue for me with all of the stories so far is that they kind of end in medias res, and without definitive endings they're just unfulfilling.
White in the Moon the Long Road Lies - I think this one, about a young woman preparing to leave her hometown for a teaching job, is really lovely. Partly, I'm sure, because I'm from an awfully similar town (albeit in the upper Midwest rather than the South), and because I had some experiences quite like Selina's. But it also has nice imagery, and doesn't feel too self-conscious the way Madeleine sometimes can.
Madame, Or... - This is one of those deliberately vague stories I'm not fond of, about a young man visiting his younger sister in a group home/finishing school for the arts that... I think is a cover for a brothel? And I think his sister has told him she's a sex worker, but the rest of the family doesn't know? Meanwhile, she pretends to the rest of the girls that he's her boyfriend rather than her brother (when will The White Stripes?) for some reason, I think to fit in better and/or give her a firewall against her johns? Or maybe just because she's an actor and is curating a lie of a life the way she wishes it were? As you can tell, I'm still not sure I properly understand it. At first I thought the gimmick was that the sister had dementia. It's interesting, but since I don't like the genre, I didn't enjoy it.
One Day in Spring - A slice of life story about a young woman who gets a place in a summer theatre company. (Of course, this being Madeleine, we couldn't get much further into the book without there being theatre! And from here on out, it's a running theme.) It's insubstantive, but nice. Similar to The Small Rain in some ways, but a lot lighter. Charlotte, Madeleine's granddaughter and literary executor, notes in her introduction that it was reused in The Joys of Love, but I don't recall it from there, maybe because it's different enough, maybe just because I'm not as familiar with Joys as some of her other books.
Prelude to the First Night Alone - An actor deals with his partner leaving him for a friend as she moves out of their shared apartment. Obviously the situation recalls the triangle in The Small Rain, albeit gender-swapped, but it doesn't feel any more unoriginal than the rest of Madeleine's canon, given her tendency to reuse lines and situations and the occasional entire scene. A little hifalutin, but I liked it.
Please Wear Your Rubbers - A teacher who's lost her job decides to take a two-day vacation away from her needy actor sister while trying to break into theatre herself. It's an odd little story, and one that I think I would have liked more if it had been fleshed out better.
A Room in Baltimore - A nonfiction ("nonfiction") story recounting an incident from Madeleine's own acting days when she and a friend struggled to find a hotel that would take them in with her dog. It's fine, but seems kind of useless on its own. The introduction notes it's reused in Two Part Invention, which I've never read, but I can imagine it fitting in better there as one of Madeleine's lengthy asides.
Julio at the Party - Another slice of life story about a couple that throws a party for their leftist poet friend, where he fights with their reactionary right-wing friend. It felt very L'Engle in terms of characterization, but the setup and plot seem more modern, in almost a Barbara Kingsolver kind of way. The ending is great: it's a shock ending, but one where you can look back and see the foreshadowing leading up to it that didn't seem like foreshadowing at the time, which is a technique I love. Charlotte mentions in the introduction that it's part of an unpublished novel Madeleine wrote, and if this is any indication, I hope Charlotte & co. publish the rest of the novel as well.
The Foreign Agent - A rambling story of a girl who falls in love with her mother's literary agent. The almost stream-of-consciousness writing style was way too much for me, and I couldn't even get halfway through. That being said, I appeciate it having a character who prefers the city to the country, which is a rarity in fiction. It also has a great line: "I think [my mother] puts too much of her energies into creating me. And I want to create myself." Ironic, since by all accounts Madeleine had a tendency to rewrite her family's history to please herself.
The Moment of Tenderness - A woman in a small rural town finds herself in love with the town doctor. I liked this one: it was sweet, and unusual in its tacit endorsement of Stella's feelings, yet it stopped short of actual adultery.
The Foreigners - The part of A Circle of Quiet about a snooty couple that moves to the small town where Madeleine and her family lives, and whose house ultimately burns down. Again, I'm not sure why it was reprinted here, given that it's 1) the same exact story that already appeared in Circle, and 2) nonfiction.
The Fact of the Matter - More nonfiction, or at least it's presented as such, in which Madeleine tries to help an older woman and ends up encountering a demon. It's a good read, but even as someone who's spiritual I have a very difficult time believing it's true (perhaps all the more for knowing of Madeleine's tendency to fudge her "nonfiction").
Poor Little Saturday - A teenage boy in the South befriends a witch and her teenage ward, and their menagerie of wild animals. I really enjoyed this one and wish it were a full-length novel, because the characters are wonderful, and there's so much more detail she could've gone into with the story. There's a line where the main character says, "In the long run, the only reason I have had a life of my own is because of her," and I so wish we got to learn why he says that, and what happens in the run of time that's leapt over with a single paragraph in which they become friends.
That Which Is Left - A man returns home to find his bedridden mother is nearly blind, his father has dementia, and his older sister is struggling to maintain their home. It has a definite surreal flavor. Charlotte characterizes him in the introduction as an "unreliable narrator" and "selfish," and while the second is definitely true, I got the feeling that he isn't so much an unreliable narrator as understandably confused by what he encounters. Regardless, it's a sort of interesting story about a situation we don't often hear about, but I've never been huge on stories about unlikeable main characters.
A Sign for a Sparrow - A post-apocalyptic sci-fi story in which the main character leaves behind his wife and newborn child to explore another potentially habitable planet, all of which is essentially a vehicle for Madeleine's religious and philosophical contemplations. I couldn't finish it; I found it overly heavy and, well, philosophical.
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher.
September 7, 2020
Reading this collection of short stories was like a small dose of my favorite author every day for a couple of weeks. I'm conflicted about posthumous publications, and this falls in that camp, but I also really enjoy seeing a writer's process. A few of these stories show up in some form in other books, and the Easter egg aspect of reading was intriguing for this superfan. In general, the collection made me want to re-read Madeleine's adult fiction, especially The Small Rain, A Severed Wasp, and A Live Coal in the Sea.
February 4, 2021
Dear Charlotte, Thank you for weaving your Grandmother's stories together in this beautiful 'sort of 'memoir of one of my favorite authors. These short stories so beautifully show the range of talent and also the inner story of your Grandmother. I noticed some lower reviews on these stories and I wonder if it is from people who read A wrinkle in time as children and have an interest more in the science fiction realm. Madeleine's personal story is as compelling to me as the IT was. I would say a few of these stories fit into the science fiction genre but several of them are about humanness. I wondered as reading them if the stories were related to things Madeleine experienced herself. I remember reading religious criticism of the "Time Quartet" and finding it ironic because the book was full of references to Christianity. The last story ties together science fiction with Christianity in a way that was brilliant. I think Madeleine likely thought about these possibilities a lot. We can only guess as she lives on in her writing.
November 23, 2022
I think "A Wrinkle In Time" is one of the world's most perfect books. I believe it's one of a few that I can say I've ever read twice. However, if you asked me to describe anything about it, I would reference a giant brain (not unlike Metroid) and "I love you, Charles Wallace." AWIT is unusual, scattered almost, but it supports my theory that you don't have to fully understand something (or remember it completely) to like it, or even love it. L'Engle's stories here are no exception. Reading short stories is not easy. Just when you get situated and comfortable, the tale ends and you have to start all over on the next one. An unpleasant position for any reader, to be sure. BUT - there is certainly something here in this collection, presented by L'Engle's granddaughter, to be appreciated, dissected, talked about, overcome. I'll definitely read the Wrinkle in Time trilogy again in my life (knock on wood) but there are just so many goddamn books to read. I'm glad I took the time to wade through this one.
December 11, 2021
This is a collection of L'Engle's short stories, published posthumously by her granddaughters from writings in file cabinets and boxes in her writing room. For me, I think L'Engle is at her best when she's writing novels, partly because she's so wonderful at writing sad moments for her characters, and when they appear in short stories, they just seem to hang. I also think her best character work stretches out across a book, conveyed in subtle moments. All that being said, I did quite like some of the stories here.
If you're a L'Engle completist (me) or someone who prefers short stories, I'd recommend this. But it's not her best work, and I was disappointed with some of the stories.
If you're a L'Engle completist (me) or someone who prefers short stories, I'd recommend this. But it's not her best work, and I was disappointed with some of the stories.
April 19, 2025
Took the average
Of each short story’s rating;
This is the result.
(And now, for funsies, every score for your edification!)
The Birthday - 3/5 stars
Gilberte Must Play Bach - 2/5
The Mountains Shall Stand Forever - 2.5/5
Summer Camp - A visceral 5/5
White in the Moon the Long Road Lies - 1/5
Madame, Or… - 4/5
One Day In Spring - 2/5
Prelude to the First Night Alone - 5/5
Please Wear Your Rubbers - 3/5
A Room in Baltimore - 3/5
Julio at the Party - 3.5/5
The Foreign Agent - 5/5
The Moment of Tenderness - 3.5/5
The Foreigners - 3.5/5
The Fact of the Matter - 2.5/5
Poor Little Saturday - 4/5
That Which is Left - A seriously messed-up 5/5
A Sign for a Sparrow - 3/5
Of each short story’s rating;
This is the result.
(And now, for funsies, every score for your edification!)
The Birthday - 3/5 stars
Gilberte Must Play Bach - 2/5
The Mountains Shall Stand Forever - 2.5/5
Summer Camp - A visceral 5/5
White in the Moon the Long Road Lies - 1/5
Madame, Or… - 4/5
One Day In Spring - 2/5
Prelude to the First Night Alone - 5/5
Please Wear Your Rubbers - 3/5
A Room in Baltimore - 3/5
Julio at the Party - 3.5/5
The Foreign Agent - 5/5
The Moment of Tenderness - 3.5/5
The Foreigners - 3.5/5
The Fact of the Matter - 2.5/5
Poor Little Saturday - 4/5
That Which is Left - A seriously messed-up 5/5
A Sign for a Sparrow - 3/5
May 26, 2020
First off, that cover! So gorgeous! Madeleine was born in 1918 & died in 2007, having lived through the 20th century & into the 21st. She wrote over 60 books before her passing. The tone of this book is mostly bittersweet, fraught w/sadness, lonliness, & emotional suffering. This won't be for everyone, but it's the kind of book where you can read a chapter here & there since they are short stories.
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Engaging, provocative, touching & emotional, "The Moment of Tenderness" is a deep look into the complexity of human relationships of all kinds.
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Engaging, provocative, touching & emotional, "The Moment of Tenderness" is a deep look into the complexity of human relationships of all kinds.
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