The young Werther who got away.

Firstly,Goethe’s hero young Werther was the one whom I hated with all the might of my teenage soul, having to read the eponymous novel as a school task. I still find the novel being one glorified celebration of unhealthy obsession fueled by narcissism on the other side. (Yet, it is an interesting novel from the literary point). Why writing about it? Because the main theme is similar - one life-long, unrequited, unproductive love.
Henry loves Ilsa from childhood and is unable to stop that quiet admiration of her, even if he (and everybody else, including the subject of his devotion) knows that the love is one-sided. Ilsa is no tyrant, however - just very strong, beautifully written character of one unusual woman, fighting her circumstances with wisdom above her years and with quiet dignity. Henry very well sees those qualities and he is right to see them - but he is also not moving forward. Being a timid soul, he simply admires Ilsa - and he is putting his life on hold in some kind of resignation. And years pass by.

Luckily, there is some sort of satisfying ending (finally, one would say).

The saving grace of otherwise prolonged novel are the descriptions and great stotytelling (while the plot lacks in interestingness, the sceneries and people come alive from the pages). It us one of the earliest works of the authoress, but her remarkable talent shines through.

I have been a huge fan of Madeleine L'Engle since I was just a child. I actually own physical copies of almost all of her books (this one isn't yet on my shelf, but it will be soon). This was different than the other books I have read by her, it had a darker theme to it. I felt like I was taken back in time and I felt as if I was living right along side Henry.

Although I liked L'Engle's writing, I just skimmed the end of this book. This melodramatic story of a young man's infatuation for his lively and beautiful distant cousin seemed to go on and on in no clear direction. The tale of this family with secrets in the 'Deep South' was atmospheric but the descriptions of the scenery and old houses were more realistic than the actual characters, I thought.

This is L'Engle's earliest novel, so I will read more of her adult fiction.

I received this ebook from Open Road Integrated Media via Net Galley in return for an honest review.

This was my first novel by Madeleine L’Engle and for the most part, I found it an engaging and enjoyable read. I definitely was more interested in the first half of the novel, but found last half a bit disappointing.

The disappointment is mainly due to the character of Henry. We meet Henry as a young boy when he discovers a new friend, Ilsa, who is a few years older. He becomes fascinated by Ilsa. As the years pass, Henry never grows out of this fascination, even though he spends several years away from her. In the novel, we never see Henry in any setting that does not involve Ilsa, so it seems we are only privy to one aspect of his character.

When Henry decides to go home, he naturally gravitates to Ilsa again. I felt like at this point the novel lost it’s steam due to the fact that Henry never seems to grow (or grow up). He has no drive or ambition and seems to follow Ilsa much as a loyal dog follows its master. Henry became quite pathetic to me. As an adult, he had opportunities to try and take his relationship with Ilsa to the next level, but never acted upon them. By the time he did, Ilsa did not see him as a romantic partner and certainly she may never have seen him in that role.

There are several themes running throughout the novel that would make for great discussion. L’Engle presents the subjects of dysfunctional families, marital abuse, alcoholism and bigotry, among other things. She also presents some eccentric Southern characters who are able to demonstrate love and acceptance, a sense of responsibility towards others and the value of close family ties.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Ilsa and look forward to reading more from L’Engle in the future. I think any reader who likes Ann Patchett will enjoy this novel as well. There are a few typos in the kindle edition I read that need correcting, but this did not affect the content in any way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media for allowing me to read a copy in exchange for an honest review.

*** 3.5/5: Liked it to the edge of love- a stage 1 crush

You would never guess this novel came from a renounced children's author. It's dark. And real.



Recommended readers:

If you loved The Wrinkle in Time and want to be surprised by the famous author's other works
If you like slow reading storytelling with too-real character
Here's my Rankings:

4/5 for characters
3/5 for plot
3.5/5 overall
REVIEW FROM BOOKS FOR HER:

Yes, I definitely picked this book solely on the author. Madeleine L'Engle wrote the famed children's classic The Wrinkle in Time, a fabulous science fiction and fantasy novel and winner of a Newberry Award in 1963. Ilsa is a huge departure from her better-known works (written long after she wrote Ilsa, actually). L'Engle's Ilsa tells a darker and thoughtful story of young Henry Porcher, the son of a wealthy family, and the moment he first meets Ilsa Brandes, the daughter of a traveling doctor. The opposite of L'Engle's most known fantasy story, Ilsa the novel has so much stark reality, dark fixation and plenty of real-life sadness - it's hard to imagine it's from the renowned children's author. With too-real characters who are skillfully created, it's understandable that L'Engle became the award-winning author as she perfected her craft with earlier novels.

Available by ebook now: Ilsa by Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L'Engle is such an amazing storyteller. Her ability to describe her characters without an overload of information keeps the story moving quickly. The theme was different than I expected, more thought-provoking.

For Those Who Enjoyed: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Help, Django Unchained

I’m actually quite a huge fan of L’Engle. Reading her Wrinkle in Time series made up my childhood as well as who I am as a writer. I never did read any of her previous adult books, so I’m excited about this one! Coupled with L’engle’s beautiful writing, her characters are very charming! She always writes children very well without talking down to the reader or making the dialogue sound silly and inaccurate to their age.This is definitely giving me a To Kill a Mockingbird vibe, which is never a bad thing! I’m so glad Madeleine L’engle is still writing things!

I have loved the books of Madeleine L'Engle since childhood, and even now those old paperbacks have an honorary place on my bookshelf, despite being worse for wear. Tattered covers, dog eared pages, those are the books that I read over and over again. When it came time to read Ilsa, I was as eager as I was nervous. An adult book by a favorite author? So much excitement. Yet, would it hold up to the childish idolization I judged the others by?

I opened the pages and immediately found myself transported. I was no longer a modern woman and mother, I was suddenly Henry, seeing the world through the eyes of a child in a world we've long since passed by. That might be this author's greatest talent. No matter the character, no matter the age, and no matter the era, she pulls you in so that you are the character. One does not merely read a Madeleine L'Engle book. One experiences it, one lives it.

"Everything that is in the world remains in some form or other. Decaying matter turns into mould and gases and is regenerated and becomes living matter again. I had come home from school and realized that that was what must happen to the human body after death. Even if the soul went to heaven, the body would become part of the earth again, of sand and wind and trees and sea."

The story was told through the eyes of Henry, yet it never seemed to stray far from Ilsa. She was the reason for his story, and she played an instrumental role in the way he lived it. I didn't always like Henry, yet I can't help but feel that that was because he didn't always like himself. So immersed was I in his life that I felt as he felt, and wished as he did. I was ever so fascinated by the magnetic personality, the free spirit, the never failing optimism of Ilsa. When others pointed out her all to human characteristics, I felt angry and betrayed. Like a child, learning the truth of some mystery. When she favored others with her attention, I felt the loss as acutely as Henry. She couldn't be the focus of the words if she wasn't interacting with him.

As the ending came near, I felt despondent, lost. How could I possibly return to a real world where there was no Ilsa. How could I be expected to go back to a modern life without the old southern comforts (displeasures?) I had been so engrossed in. Coming to the last page, I wanted to cry. For the ending? Because it ended? I can't really be sure, even now. Yet, there is no ending I would have preferred, no other way to handle it. This will take its rightful place as a beloved classic, and I have a feeling it will be read over and over just as it's youthful predecessors. ~ George, 5 Stars

A dark and disturbing look at unrequited love. Loved the writing so hard!! Such a great book!!

Everything in this compelling and very readable novel centres on Ilsa, a young woman who becomes an obsession for one of her neighbours, Henry, and it his unrequited love for her that powers the narrative. It’s an atmospheric novel, set in the American south in the early part of the 20th century, where lives are often still blighted by prejudice and bigotry, but where it’s impossible to escape the clutches of the extended family. It’s certainly not a cheerful or uplifting book – even the happier characters rarely seem to enjoy their lives – but I found the story an immersive one and it kept my attention throughout.

I loved Madeleine L'Engle when I was younger and was excited to read this book. I can see why it was not re-published until recently. Part of it were OVERLY descriptive and parts left you needing more information. I went from liking Henry (the main character who is besotted with Ilsa, the namesake of the book) to being annoyed by him to liking him back to being annoyed. The flow was choppy due to the over-descriptive to not descriptive enough. It was an interesting read that spanned quite a few years of the characters' lives.

First published in 1946, Ilsa is one of the first adult novels from L’Engle, who is most well-known as the author of the children’s series, A Wrinkle in Time. Although it begins with a childhood friendship between wealthy Henry Porcher and bohemian Ilsa Brandes, this is certainly not a story for children. It is often dark and gritty, and even though some parts feel dated, others are surprisingly modern considering that it was written decades ago.

Young Henry doesn’t realize his level of privilege, until he sees his life through the eyes of Ilsa and her father – they live in a modest home overlooking the beach, and seem free and happy in comparison with Henry’s old-fashioned and often cold family. Ilsa wants to help Henry to be free and independent, but instead he ends up being reliant on her for happiness. His love for Ilsa continues to grow through adolescence and young adulthood, and he suffers when Ilsa falls for and eventually marries his cousin.

Henry observes Ilsa throughout her miserable marriage, watching as she raises a daughter, becomes a widow and eventually takes a lover that seems to cause her more unhappiness. Henry puts Ilsa on a pedestal, unable to see anything she does as wrong – but there is a dark underside to his unrequited love, simmering with passion and intrigue.

Everyone in the novel seems to revolve around Ilsa – she is a strong, powerful force, and yet she is always bound by the conventions of female roles in the early 1900s. She also struggles with her own strict beliefs in honour and self-punishment. Although she almost immediately regretted her marriage to Henry’s cousin, it would never occur to her to abandon the responsibilities of a wife and mother, even if they would all be happier alone.

While Henry left home briefly to strike out on his own, he quickly gave up his own chance at love and success in Europe to come home and care for Ilsa after she experiences a personal tragedy. In addition to his unrequited love of Ilsa, Henry also struggles with his relationship with the Porcher family – they have strong Southern beliefs of superiority that have not moved past the American Civil War, but there are suspicions about their wealth, as well as multiple issues of incest within the family. With these heavy themes, this novel is a much darker departure from L’Engle’s other work.

Despite this novel following the lives of Ilsa and Henry from childhood to adulthood, there is no real climax here – it is more a series of misadventures that the characters struggle to survive. It was hard to watch their passivity as they are acted upon, and they don’t seem to take any responsibility or ownership of their lives. Ilsa lets her life pass by without acting, and Henry watches from a distance, drifting through time. Even though Ilsa’s experiences were depressing and sometimes even dull, I enjoyed having the chance to read this early novel from the author of some of my favourite children’s books, and seeing another perspective from this great author.

I received this book from Open Road Integrated Media and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful novel by a beloved author. I had read many of Madeleine L'Engle's works previously, including the A Wrinkle in Time quintet. I enjoyed Ilsa greatly, but it seemed to me to be somewhat of a departure from her other works. This novel has a much darker tone and explores more serious topics, showing just how powerful love can be. I believe it's more appropriate for adult readers who will be able to connect more with the experiences and emotions of the characters. I think Ilsa has great character development. It drew my interest in Henry and Ilsa, the primary characters, very early. The descriptive nature of the narrative is powerful in creating a sense of place. As a Southerner, I felt very connected to the descriptions of the Southern landscape and culture and felt that they were quite true for both the time period, and in some ways, present day.

This book has been out of print for several decades and I'm so glad it has been reprinted for today's audience. Thanks to Net Galley and Open Road for allowing me access to an ARC.

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
I'm not entirely sure where exactly I stand on this book. At it's heart, it is about miserable people falling victim to miserable things because of an unwillingness or fear to break away from the norm. None of the characters are particularly likable: Henry is a trainwreck with a bit of a misplaced Oedipus Complex to our eponymous character of Ilsa, his friend of whom he is desperately in love with but doesn't ever (outwardly) admit to her, and Ilsa herself is a headstrong woman with a bit of a mean streak who is not content with her relationship to Henry's cousin Monty and is not overly suited for domestic life. That said, I didn't hate this book like a lot of other reviewers, I found it so okay it was average, but there are a lot of parallels to the hated mother of Henry throughout the book, like Henry's unwillingness to show love to someone and Ilsa truly not being a great mother because she likely never wanted to be.
This shows unrequited love and its consequences with both Henry and Ilsa: neither is ever truly happy and both are too cowardly to make a move with their respected love interests supposedly for selfless reasons but honestly for more selfish reasons, and that was actually an interesting dynamic. A fault I heard about the book was that things happen <i>to</i> the characters rather than the characters making things happen, and yeah, I really agree with that. The book meanders around a lot and there are timeskips abound, which kind of works, but after the second time skip the book overstays its welcome and just fizzles up to a very mediocre conclusion.
I understand why this wasn't one of Ms. L'Engle's favorites, but it is still a decent read, if a bit dry at times: there are so many cousins and weird family stuff with the Porcher's that the family tree is probably a family tumbleweed at this point, and the book certainly hammers in who is related to whom.

I really wanted to love this book. I was super excited when I got it but I had such a hard time connecting to it.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

I can’t claim to know anything about Madeleine L’Engle except that she wrote the marvelous A Wrinkle in Time. When I saw this re-release of her 1946 novel, Ilsa, available on Netgalley, I was eager to read it. This is her second novel, written for adults. It’s been out of print for ~60 years.

Ilsa is about unhappy, unfulfilled people, primarily Henry Porcher (pronounced Puh-Shay) and Ilsa Brandes. They meet as children. Ilsa is a three years older and Henry is immediately smitten. She’s a wild and independent girl, living off by the sea with her naturalist father. The circumstances of her birth are mysterious. Henry is an unobjectionable child from an extended southern family who look down on pretty much everyone, but particularly on Ilsa and John Brandes. Henry is forbidden to spend time with Ilsa. Whether he might have rebelled against his parents is a moot question because a fire consumes the town and Henry leaves with his family, not to return for many years.

The rest of the novel is taken up with Henry’s wistful pursuit of Ilsa, which consists primarily of him hanging around despite everyone telling him she’s not interested and he should move on. Ilsa marries Henry’s hateful, drunken cousin Monty because he’s handsome and can be charming. Henry goes away to Paris for eight years, has a meaningless fling with yet another cousin, then returns home to moon after Ilsa some more.

There are a couple of cousins who manage to find a semblance of contentment, but most are miserable. Henry eventually learns the truth about how his family is connected with Ilsa’s, which goes a little way to explain why so many of them are such a mess.

There is some pretty writing in the novel. Unfortunately, it’s dull overall. The plot meanders and doesn’t reach much of a conclusion. Much of the dialogue is stilted. The characters, except for Ilsa, are weak. Ilsa has strength and independence, but terrible taste in men.

Although it was interesting to have a look at a novel so very different from A Wrinkle in Time, it’s not a book I would seek out for its own sake.

It is very easy to lose yourself in L'Engle's Ilsa. The descriptive language will have you sinking into the lives of this family. You can almost smell the beach and feel the heat of the deep south. This book is a bit darker than her normal children's reads. There is a very realness about this tale!

While Henry knows as a child that he is in love with Ilsa, he never says a word. He watches her life unfold and has numerous opportunities to tell her how he feels and yet he still remains quiet. His love unrequited. Even after going abroad during the War and being away for 8 years, he comes home with no clear plan of what to do with his life.

Everyone else has moved on with their lives, getting married, having children, but Henry is stuck. Unable to do anything other than follow Ilsa. Heartbreaking and honest, I love this story!

I am so glad this book is being released again after so long! I highly recommend all of her works!

The release is set for February 7, 2017 Thank you to the Publisher Open Road and Netgalley!