Tristan /Yseulte by Harry Bonelle

 Tristan /Yseulte

 by Harry Bonelle


Tristan/ Yseult by Harry Bonelle 

was published on 31st january 2024 by Unicorn.

My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours

 for inviting me to take part on the tour.


Synopsis

Tristan/Yseult is a narrative poem about the yearning for oneness in a world split into fragments.

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.


“Harry Bonelle’s new version taps into the dark and furious energy of the old saga, surging and juddering with life. Bonelle’s actor’s training has encouraged him to liberate the performance piece that its original author must have intended. Thrilling on the page, but even more so spoken loud.”
- Simon Callow





My Review

In all honesty I have had to read this book three times before I sufficiently got my head around it to write this review. Initially I struggles with the format and the layout of the verse as it didn't read in the way I expected, and wanted it to.
However, on the last reading I decided to follow Simon Callow's advice, Thrilling on the page, but even more so when spoken out loud". Consequently I read it out loud as though I was reading it to an audience and consequently the meter and punctuation seemed to fall into place.
The vocabulary within the book, and how it is bound together through either incredibly long sentences, which build up momentum as you read them, or short sharp sentences which give the impression of short, stabbing swords as you move forwards, all serve to created images within your head as to what is happening . 
The poem is a retelling of the well known medieval love, and death, story that I first came across, and loved, in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.Bonelle's telling of it doesn't disappoint though I would suggest do like I did and read it out loud as though you are on the stage with an audience in front of you and you will get the full impact of the words.


About the Author





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. His long-form narrative poetry gives a fresh voice to our oldest stories, exploring themes of love, mortality, and truth revealed through beauty. Inspiration for his work includes ancient epics, medieval legend, opera, and 19th and 20th century verse.

Tristan/Yseult is his first work to be published.

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