A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle

Death and the threat of it seem to loom everywhere, from news reports to the death of a baby dolphin, from the recent demise of Zach's mother in an automobile accident to Grandfather Eaton's slow deterioration.ĭuring the course of the story, Vicky finds herself in a tangle of three romances one with the solid, unexciting Leo, one with dark and dangerous Zachary, and one with the gentle but emotionally damaged Adam, whom she is helping with a project on dolphin and human communication ( ESP) with three dolphins: Basil, Norberta, and Njord.

This revelation and others set Vicky on a train of thought that continues throughout the book the mysterious and (to Vicky) frightening topic of death. She soon learns that Zachary indirectly caused Commander Rodney's death the commander had his heart attack while saving Zachary from a suicide attempt. Also present are the commander's wife, his sons Leo and Jacky who own a launch boat business, and Adam Eddington, an intern at the Island's research base and friend of Vicky's brother, John.Īfter the funeral Vicky encounters Zachary Gray, her boyfriend from the previous summer whom her family does not particularly like. At the beginning of the story, Vicky attends a funeral for Commander Rodney, a family friend. The title originates from a phrase in the seventeenth-century Welsh poet Henry Vaughan's poem 'The World.' Plot summary įifteen-year-old Vicky Austin and her family are spending the summer on Seven Bay Island with her maternal grandfather, who is dying of leukemia. The book tells of teenager Vicky Austin and her struggle to understand life and significance in the universe as she deals with her dying grandfather, while at the same time finding true romantic love.

A Ring of Endless Light is a 1980 novel by Madeleine L'Engle.

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle