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.

This one was tough to follow and didn't work for me overall. I had a tough time staying engaged, it was tough to follow, I kept putting this down, and it was difficult to keep up with the characters. I thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy but was unable to finish this. Thanks again!

Madeleine L'Engle defined my childhood with her WRINKLE IN TIME and now with THE MOMENT OF TENDERNESS, I find she is giving me exactly what I need. The words within these pages offer hope, charming stories, and show us that inspiration can come from many places.

I was so excited when I saw this one was coming out (despite the fact that I have mixed feelings about books being published after an author has passed). A Wrinkle in Time was a staple in my childhood bedtime reading, but I hadn't read her as an adult. These short stories were such a delight, and reading one every couple days was the perfect way to savor them. I'll definitely be rereading some of her fiction.

This collection of stories suffered for the same reason that I have found in adulthood that the Wrinkle in Time Quintet does not hold up (outside of the original novel). There is a sort of unevenness to L’Engle’s writing that peaks in moments of brilliance, but the vast majority of her writing suffers from pacing and prose issues. That said, L'Engle's range is impressive, and she lends emotional resonance to these stories, even if I did not resonate with the writing always. I also find it charming that the collection was curated by L'Engle's granddaughter. Her introduction does a good job of framing the book, giving context for why certain stories were included and how they work together.

As with any collection that includes autobiographical work, it is difficult to feel justified in giving any criticism as this was a person’s life. I have tried to be fair in my criticisms and make them in regards to my honest feelings of her writing style. Overall, I would give this book three stars.

These stories were sad., but they were a good look at characters. They were character driven and did not contain a plot per se. These stories were a look into the lives of people. I enjoyed this collection.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the granddaughter’s introduction. The stories in the book definitely stick with you. It was a struggle to read however. It simply seems unfinished.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

Always a treat to read a Madeline L’Engle book. I was curious about how these narratives would hold up for me as an adult.

This is a lovely book written by one of my favorite authors of A Wrinkle in Time, which is a collection of heartwarming and deeply personal short story collection that you will treasure and re-read over again. This is truly inspiring and quite a deep read that I enjoyed slowly over time - cherishing her stories and words. This is quite the engaging read that I loved and recommend.

I cannot tell you what a treasure it is to have these short stories of Madeleine L'Engle available. She is such an amazing author. It is a joy to read her works, especially those as she is beginning her journey as a writer. This are such beautiful gems. Thank you for publishing them!

Well damn, Madeleine L'Engle. This is a depressing read, I must say. I know that earlier, unpublished works by various authors are often published later, but this did not seem worth reading to me.

While I feel torn giving the classic author a 3 star review, this just didn't hit the mark for me. The stories are beautifully told with descriptive language and provided somewhat of a nostalgia. The stories just didn't contain enough plot lines nor enough resolutions to the story to keep my attention. I will use the stories in my classes to provide an example of descriptive writing and character development, or as an introduction to A Wrinkle in Time. I think this would serve as a great book to visit occasionally when I need a quick story. Thank you for providing an advance copy. :)

I tried several times to get into this collection of short stories by Madeleine L'Engle, but none of the stories I read captured my interest. I loved "Wrinkle in Time," but none of the stories in this book equaled that for me.

"The Birthday" showcases the anxieties of a little girl with simple wishes who is struck by tragedy which alters her world on her most favorite day.
"Gilberte must play Bach" shows the sorrows of a broken man living in France after the German occupation.
"The Mountains Shall Stand" is about enduring bullying in an all girl's school, even by your only friend.
"Madam, or..." is about "normal" women's roles and the contention of what women should want at the beginning of the feminist movement and the death of finishing schools.

As the introduction states, "these stories express a yearning towards hope—hope for intimacy, understanding, and wholeness. In moments of despair or seasons of doubt, that yearning and its depiction can feel more authentic and optimistic than more neatly resolved narratives or stories with overtly happy endings."

These stories are often tragic, laced with sorrow and the pains of growing up and realizing the world is broken around us, as are our parents, our friends, and sometimes ourselves. It showcases a very different voice from what many may be used to by Madeleine L’Engle, one of self-discovery, sorrow, and frustration at a changing world, not only in reality, but even in the perceptions of a young woman growing from a child into adulthood.

The Moment of Tenderness is a collection of short fiction by Madeleine L'Engle. Released 21st April 2020 by Hatchette on their Grand Central imprint, it's 304 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This book is a collection of early fiction and stories which were reworked into other works by L'Engle. For readers who are only familiar with the author because of her Time series which starts with A Wrinkle in Time , the included stories have a very different (often much gloomier) feel. I found the quality of the writing variable also, which would be expected for stories curated from several decades of the author's output.

I found the background information and introduction by her granddaughter were interesting and worth a read. The stories themselves, although often poignant and dark, were generally well written and of a high quality. I honestly think that L'Engle's more mature work suffered somewhat because she was typecast as a 'juvenile fantasy writer'.

Four stars, I enjoyed it (but fair warning, there's a lot of angst - much of it apparently autobiographical in the stories).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book includes 18 stories written by this well-known and beloved author.  The stories were compiled by Ms. L'Engle's granddaughter so could not come with a better pedigree.


The introduction to this book is filled with insight into the author whose granddaughter knew her well.  It is noted that the stories are ones that were written early in Ms. L'Engle's career. 


The first of these, The Birthday, is about a young girl who is trying to cope with the change in plans for her big day and the uncertainties of life.  Readers watch as Cecily tries to understand the world around her and her place in it.  They witness the insecurity that she feels and the ways in which she tries to understand the world. Religion plays a part in the story.  This was written when the author was young but it is fully formed.  There are anguish, existential questions and suspense contained within. 


I think that this story and the others are worth reading.  Even if I did not know how famous the author would become, I think that I would have been moved by some of these stories. 


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.


Note:  If potential readers are expecting The Wrinkle in Time, they will not find it here but they will get to spend time with an author, see her evolution and enjoy some fine stories.

I was glad I was familiar with Madeleine L’engle before I tackled this book. The short stories L’engle wrote in her 20’s and 30’s were collected by her granddaughter. You need to be familiar with the author of the short stories because they sort of trace her life. Of course, the plucky young women who populate the stories will also resonate with readers.

I am a huge Madeleine L'Engle fan, reading the whole Wrinkle in Time series as a child and as an adult resonating with her poetry and writing on faith and creativity. I even had the chance to attend the Writing Conference to celebrate her legacy last year in NYC, it was an honor to meet her granddaughter. So I was incredibly excited to read this collection of short stories spanning her writing career. You can definitely see the progression of her writing in both style and voice and yet there is still a thread of the familiar L'Engle in it all. I love the way that she can just drop you in the story right from the start and invest you in a world and characters and that is still the case even in some of her earlier clunkier stories. This was a delight to read for a super fan.

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.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this little book of short stories. It's introduced by Madeleine L'Engle's granddaughter and is a mix of published and unpublished short stories in chronological order by date. Most of the stories pulled me in immediately and made me forget where I was and what I was doing. Some of the stories were pleasant, but some were unpleasant and provoked feelings of anxiety and/or sadness. All were well-written. I'm not a lover of short stories, so at times I felt unsatisfied because I wanted to learn more about the characters and their fate.