A review by wwatts1734
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
3.0
It's a shame to give a novel of Charles Dickens less than four stars, but if there is one that deserves it, it is "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Part of the problem is that this novel was never finished. The various situations of this novel are not resolved, characters are introduced and never given a real significance, and relationships end up being meaningless. In this sense, nobody should read this novel except for true, hardcore fans of Dickens.
One thing that really stuck out for me about this novel was that it seemed to be a nod to the Bronte sisters. Unlike most of Dickens' novels, which take place in urban areas, this one was in a pastoral countryside setting of the town of Cloisterham. The setting is steeped in religious, almost medieval overtones, with a Cathedral, the Nuns' house and the monks' vineyard. Furthermore, unlike most of Dickens' other novels in which many of the key characters are poor, in this one all of the serious characters were society people. And, of course, like the Bronte novels, this one features a young woman who is torn between the man she is supposed to be in love with and the one that she actually loves. The men in this novel, like the men of the Bronte novels, are oddballs who make the lives of their rational womenfolk difficult. But, the novel never really finds resolution, and we don't know if the odd behaviors ever make sense in the end. I have read some novels in which the behavior of certain characters seem completely off the wall for most of the novel, but then by the end the behavior makes sense. I would like to think that this one would be like that if Dickens had lived to finish it.
Overall, I would only recommend this novel to hardcore fans of Dickens or perhaps to fans of the Bronte sisters.
One thing that really stuck out for me about this novel was that it seemed to be a nod to the Bronte sisters. Unlike most of Dickens' novels, which take place in urban areas, this one was in a pastoral countryside setting of the town of Cloisterham. The setting is steeped in religious, almost medieval overtones, with a Cathedral, the Nuns' house and the monks' vineyard. Furthermore, unlike most of Dickens' other novels in which many of the key characters are poor, in this one all of the serious characters were society people. And, of course, like the Bronte novels, this one features a young woman who is torn between the man she is supposed to be in love with and the one that she actually loves. The men in this novel, like the men of the Bronte novels, are oddballs who make the lives of their rational womenfolk difficult. But, the novel never really finds resolution, and we don't know if the odd behaviors ever make sense in the end. I have read some novels in which the behavior of certain characters seem completely off the wall for most of the novel, but then by the end the behavior makes sense. I would like to think that this one would be like that if Dickens had lived to finish it.
Overall, I would only recommend this novel to hardcore fans of Dickens or perhaps to fans of the Bronte sisters.