Kindle edition
there is
no railway to Cloisterham
the city
of lost souls
Travellers Twopenny
is warped
distorted
like the morals
of the travellers
stonemason Durdles leads
a hazy gyspy life
Helena
is a huntress with
the presence of a gypsy
her brother is
a hunter
untamed
Mr Tartar is
a roving sailor
Rosebud
knows of
no relation in the world
but Jasper
haunts
enslaves
her thoughts
there is no railway to Cloisterham
and Mr Sapsea says
there never should be
Linking to;
The Tuesday Platform - Real Toads
MY GOODREADS REVIEW
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles DickensMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The ancient cathedral town of Cloisterham shivers on the brink of yesterday's darkness with little impulse to move out into the light of a future. Crypts and monuments seem to set this town's people in some Druidic ring of judgment. Edwin Drood's imminent arranged marriage to Rosebud dissolves into his strange disappearance and possible, but never confirmed, murder. Brother and sister Neville and Helen Landless seem to be burdened with some shady tragic pressures from past lives in Ceylon and John Jasper, the choirmaster seems to be burying pain - physical or mental? - in opium time. Even the small characters seem to carry seedy secrets. The Deputy is a wild young boy a drunken Jasper pays to stone him home. And then there are the caricatures - an immovable waiter and a flying waiter??? Dickens' mystery probes unsettling extracts of humanity. The narrative is incomplete, but then, do we ever know all there is to know about the crevasses of humanity? This must be an example of a dark and timeless drama.
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AMAZON REVIEW
Mysteries Within Mysteries
The old cathedral town of Cloisterham stages many covert dramas. Edwin Drood's possible murder may be the drive of Dickens' last narrative, but there are other parallel mysteries. Mr Honeythunder is the guardian of brother and sister, Helena and Neville. They come from Ceylon, but are not Ceylonese? Neville claims that he knows little of his guardian? Mr John Jasper, guardian of Edwin Drood is "a dark man"? And why does Jasper, as choirmaster, need to depend so heavily on opium? Why is Mr Sapsea, the auctioneer, described as a jackass? At times, even the names and brief descriptions of the characters seem to suggest some extra, unexplained elements. Dickens' Drood mystery may not be resolved, but it seems that many other threads in this narrative have not been developed and resolved either. An intriguing piece of writing, cut short by Dickens' death. The incompleteness is all part of the dramatic charm.
8 comments:
I like this very much. Especially the part about Jasper, which reminds me of Twilight.
Gemma yours is an intriguing poem. So much so interest in reading the book follows. Have a nice Tuesday
Much love...
Excellent write :D
What an interesting way to paint a book review with a poem. Sounds like a most forgotten town.
Very well done, Gemma, you located the poem of the book, found a way to sing it. Wispy and haunting like location, ambient like smoke. For some reason I thought of Masters' "Spoon River Anthology," each stanza a headstone, an epitaph.
I have always enjoyed your redacted versions of novels. I think this is a unique writing exercise.
Love the concept of writing a review in a poem. Read Drood back in HS, but sadly mostly forgotten now.
A poetic review..how original. Great write!
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