Published in January 2024
Publisher: Unicorn Publishing Group
Hardback Price (UK): £15
ISBN: 9781911397908
Buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tristan-Yseult-Harry-Bonelle/dp/1911397907/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199687414-tristan-yseult
4 Stars
Blurb:
A duel on an empty island sets the course for one of the greatest romances ever told. As the lovers of legend meet, something new is born, and something eternal is revealed. Their names will forever be spoken as one. This modern retelling of Tristan and Yseult sheds a stark light on the beauty of the Celtic tale.
My Thoughts:
There are countless retellings of Tristan and Yseult (Isolde), though I wasn’t aware of the story until I saw the book. This is a poetic retelling with a different focus.
Based on my quick search on the net, it seems many retellings deal with the forbidden and doomed love between Tristan and Isolde. While this narrative poem also tackles the same topic, it brings a fresh perspective and presents the tale in a unique manner.
The book begins with a preface by the author where he provides a brief insight into the story, his version, and the inspiration for his poem. The poem, he says, is highly inspired by Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (opera) - not the content but the music. While I haven’t heard/ seen the opera, the poem indeed emphasizes sound effects through words.
The narrative verse is neatly divided into three parts, which are further categorized into chapters. The titles hint at the events in the respective sections.
As the poet said, there is no mention of the word ‘love’ anywhere in the poem. Yet, we cannot help but feel the longing between the two main characters during the brief period they spend together. Yseult is nursing almost dead Tristan back to life in secret. This binds them in an unexplainable bond.
The narrative used enjambment to achieve the disjointed and fragmented rhythm. The rhythm changes often to align with the events. Sometimes, we get broken sentences, sometimes sharp orders, and mellowed longing at other times. There are alliterations and random rhymes, not deliberate but more to suit the context. The same goes for repetition.
These are my favorite lines from the book -
For course of days and short short nights
The healer and her haul are bound.
The poem starts on the sea with Tristan on the waves, his duel, and his injury. It progresses to Yseult finding an unconscious Trsitan, healing him, the role of Brangenn, the maid, the interaction between the lead couple, and finally, their separation. There’s even a two-page chapter in Stream of Consciousness, the fever dream of Tristan, written with no punctuation or capitalization.
It can take a while to get used to the style, but once you understand, the words flow faster and better. It will help if you have a basic idea about the original story since the style doesn’t have space to offer a lot of detail or backstory.
To summarize, Tristan/ Yseult is a creative and innovative retelling from a different perspective. It is a sound-based poem rather than a lyrical one, so go with the right expectations.
My thanks to Anna (Random Things Tours) and the author for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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About The Author – Henry Bonelle
Harry Bonelle is a Classics graduate of Homerton College, Cambridge. He later trained in Acting for Screen at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and now works as an actor. Tristan/Yseult is his first work to be published.
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This has been a pitstop on the blog tour conducted by Random Things Tours (@RandomTTours on Twitter). Thank you for stopping by!
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