Many Waters – Madeleine L’Engle (1986)

Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle, published in 1986, is a part of the acclaimed Time Quintet series that also includes A Wrinkle in Time. In this installment, the focus shifts from the familiar characters of Meg and Charles Wallace to their pragmatic twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys Murry. A curious mishap with their parents’ lab computer catapults the boys into a distant, ancient past – a desert world populated by beings both human and celestial, where myth, science, and biblical prehistory intertwine. Set in a time just before the Great Flood, Many Waters explores questions of faith, destiny, and belonging in a vibrant, perilous landscape.

Plot Summary

In the icy hush of a New England winter, twin brothers Sandy and Dennys Murry, practical and skeptical, tumble into an ancient world not meant for them. A snowstorm ends their hockey practice early, and back at home, a simple craving for hot cocoa draws them into their parents’ laboratory. Curious and restless, they tap a few commands into their father’s experimental computer, half-jokingly requesting warmth and solitude. The world shifts with a roar – light flashes, air bends, and the kitchen vanishes. In its place lies a sun-scorched desert, so white and hot it burns to look at. The sand stretches to every horizon. They are not in their own time, nor in any familiar space. They are barefoot strangers beneath a brazen sky.

As they stumble forward, heat rising off the desert floor, they meet Japheth – small, brown, and agile, a young man with startling eyes and a pouch of miniature arrows. He calls them giants. To the people of this land, they are tall as seraphim and nephilim, yet unlike either. Confusion is mutual. Japheth speaks of dowsing rods, mammoths no larger than dogs, and unicorns that shimmer in and out of existence. The twins are already sunburned, dazed by heat and strangeness, when Japheth, kind and curious, offers to guide them to shelter.

The oasis is far. Sandy and Dennys, unused to the blistering sun, falter. At Japheth’s urging, two silver unicorns materialize from the shimmering air. The boys climb aboard, their minds unable to reconcile the dreamlike reality beneath them. The unicorns gallop across the sands, barely touching the ground, sparks flying when hooves strike rock. But heat and exhaustion take their toll. Dennys loses consciousness, and with him, the unicorn fades. When Sandy wakes again, he is alone.

Sheltered in the tent of Grandfather Lamech – ancient, wise, and kind – Sandy begins to recover. Lamech’s small mammoth, Higgaion, dutifully cools his blistered skin with sprays of water. The tent is pungent with goatskins, yet it hums with safety and welcome. It is here Sandy meets Yalith, Japheth’s youngest sister, whose presence strikes him like light on water. Her bronze hair gleams, her kindness is effortless, and she too calls him giant, though she listens with curiosity. Something in Sandy shifts – the world, though alien, becomes tethered to her smile.

Meanwhile, Dennys awakens in another part of the oasis, also tended by strangers. The land reveals its inhabitants gradually: the seraphim – glowing beings of immense height and luminous wings, whose language is music and who serve the will of El; and the nephilim – pale, powerful, and seductive, with wings dark as midnight and desires deep-rooted in rebellion. These fallen ones prey upon the daughters of men. Eblis, a nephilim prince with eyes like amethysts, takes an unsettling interest in Yalith. His charm is laced with shadow.

The oasis is a fragile pocket of life in a world on the edge of cataclysm. It is the age before the Flood. Japheth, along with his brothers Shem and Ham, live with their father Noah – a solemn man chosen to build the ark. Sandy and Dennys, aware of their place in time, realize the enormity of what surrounds them. They are living among those who will survive the coming deluge – and those who will not.

Their presence stirs more than curiosity. Though welcomed by Lamech and Japheth, the twins unsettle many. They speak strangely, lack wings, and carry knowledge no one understands. The nephilim find them intriguing, even threatening. The seraphim, who sense more deeply, offer guidance. Adnarel, golden and serene, ministers to Sandy, who burns not just with sun-fever but with something deeper – love, perhaps, or awakening. Aariel, a seraph with lion’s eyes, protects Yalith from Eblis, who whispers of pleasures and power, coaxing her into shadow.

As the days unfold, the twins work alongside Japheth’s family. They learn to dig irrigation ditches, herd mammoths, and treat the wounds of labor. They are not idle visitors but part of the life of the oasis. Dennys, thoughtful and tender, bonds with Matred, Japheth’s mother. Sandy builds an unspoken connection with Yalith, their gestures and silences forming a quiet devotion. But love, in this place, carries weight. Yalith is not to be among those saved. She is not destined for the ark.

The nephilim grow restless. They court the daughters of men, seeking to forge forbidden unions. Their presence warps the world – manticores prowl the edge of the oasis, and the ground trembles with unnatural storms. When one of these monsters threatens Lamech’s tent, Sandy, fevered and weak, stands tall and defiant. His height, a novelty, becomes a shield. The beast retreats, and Sandy is called a gentle giant.

Noah begins the ark. The seraphim aid in secret. The nephilim plot. The twins realize they cannot alter what must come. They are part of a thread already woven. Their love for the people – for Yalith, for Japheth, for the serenity of Adnarel’s gaze – makes the knowledge unbearable. They understand what it means to be powerless before destiny.

As the sky begins to darken, the unicorns return. This time, they carry no heatstroke illusions but purpose. They will bear the twins back, though not without pain. Dennys, clinging to Higgaion, leaves behind a newfound family. Sandy, who has not spoken his love to Yalith, does not need to. She watches him go with sorrow and grace. Her fate is not with the ark, nor with the nephilim. She will walk into the light, lifted by the seraphim who sing her home.

The desert fades. Snow returns. The kitchen is just as it was, the cocoa still waiting, the computer silent. But the twins are not the same. Something within them remains scorched – not by sun, but by love, by loss, and by the impossible wonder of having once lived in a time when seraphim sang, unicorns shimmered, and many waters could not quench love.

Main Characters

• Sandy Murry: Grounded and athletic, Sandy represents the more skeptical and rational half of the Murry twins. He is fiercely loyal, protective of his brother Dennys, and deeply affected by his surroundings, especially by the people he meets in this ancient world. His evolving understanding of love and courage propels his emotional growth, particularly through his interaction with Yalith.

• Dennys Murry: More curious and introspective than his twin, Dennys is intellectually inclined and open to the strange new reality he finds himself in. His journey is marked by a growing empathy and spiritual curiosity as he contends with the fantastical and dangerous elements of this ancient world. Dennys becomes a bridge between science and faith, skepticism and wonder.

• Japheth: A young man from the pre-Flood world, Japheth is kind, courageous, and spiritually attuned. As one of Noah’s sons, he plays a pivotal role in guiding the twins through their alien environment. His friendship with them is sincere and rooted in a shared sense of moral duty.

• Yalith: Japheth’s sister and a luminous, compassionate figure, Yalith becomes the emotional heart of the story. She captures Sandy’s affection and symbolizes innocence, love, and the tension between divine decree and human will. Her fate becomes a deeply poignant element of the narrative.

• Grandfather Lamech: Wise and gentle, Lamech is a patriarchal figure who offers sanctuary and spiritual insight. His tent becomes a haven for Sandy, and his belief in the boys grounds them during their trials.

• The Seraphim (especially Adnarel and Aariel): Ethereal, winged beings who assist the twins and provide healing and guidance. They are manifestations of divine presence and mystery, each embodying light, music, and celestial purpose.

• The Nephilim (notably Eblis): Tall, beautiful, and dangerous, the nephilim are fallen beings who seduce and manipulate. Eblis, in particular, is both charismatic and sinister, embodying the temptation and pride that oppose the divine order.

Theme

• Faith vs. Science: The Murry twins, born into a family of scientists, are transported into a realm where faith, prophecy, and divine beings dominate. The tension and eventual reconciliation between empirical reasoning and spiritual belief underscore their transformation.

• Time and Displacement: The motif of being out of place and time accentuates the twins’ alienation but also their adaptability. Their journey is both literal and metaphorical, emphasizing growth through dislocation and challenge.

• Innocence and Experience: The world before the Flood is portrayed as one teetering on the brink of divine judgment. Characters like Yalith embody purity and love, while others, like the nephilim, represent corruption and temptation. The twins’ arc moves from naive explorers to morally awakened young men.

• Sacrifice and Love: The theme of sacrificial love is pivotal, particularly in how the characters must face painful choices for the greater good. The twins’ bonds with those they meet – especially Yalith – highlight the cost of love in a doomed world.

• Myth and Reality: Unicorns, manticores, and seraphim coexist with biblical figures like Noah and Lamech, blurring the boundaries between myth and historical theology. L’Engle uses these elements to deepen the narrative’s allegorical resonance.

Writing Style and Tone

Madeleine L’Engle’s prose is lyrical, thoughtful, and steeped in a deep sense of wonder. She blends scientific language with mystical descriptions, allowing the physical and metaphysical to coexist in a seamless narrative tapestry. Her tone is meditative and reverent, often pausing for philosophical reflection even in moments of peril. Dialogue flows naturally and is often laced with dry humor, particularly in the interactions between the twins.

The tone of Many Waters is simultaneously intimate and cosmic. L’Engle evokes both the heat of the desert and the chill of spiritual isolation. The novel’s language is rich with symbolism – names, dreams, and visions carry layered meanings. Through alternating moments of tension and serenity, she crafts a narrative that is emotionally resonant and morally complex. Her use of biblical allusion enhances the mythic quality of the story, while her focus on character intimacy ensures it remains deeply human.