Who has time to read a whole novel these days? With expediency in mind, here are classic works of literature condensed to that most indispensable of poetic forms, the limerick.
Les Miserables
Val Jean, who stole a baguette
Leaves prison without paying his debt
During the French Revolution
He finds a solution:
Be a good dad to his daughter, Cosette
Oliver Twist
Oliver was a boy who was born poor
And caused a row when he asked for more
He falls in with thieves,
Escapes his half-brother’s misdeeds
And declines to settle the score
The Handmaid’s Tale
Offred had her rights removed
By a regime that just wanted her brood
But the Mayday resistance
Offers questionable assistance
And despite qualms, Offred vamoosed
Beloved
Sethe and Denver answer a ghost’s call
And let her have the run of the hall
But as the ghost hangs around
Denver calls in the town
Because slavery leaves scars on us all
The Great Gatsby
Gatsby has himself a scheme
To re-seduce the girl of his dreams
But a billboard with eyes
Watches all of his lies
And he ends up floating downstream
Ulysses
Both Dedalus and Bloom profess
That philosophy is anyone’s guess
They pad around Dublin
Both pub-out and pub-in
But it all hinges on Molly’s “Yes”
Pride & Prejudice
Liz had a poor opinion of Darcy
Because he did not like to party
But as she got to know him
Her love began to grow in
Though she told him off for being a smarty!
