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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Surprisingly charming. 19th century British slang is full of those things that went into the British stereotype still perpetuated (and nursed!) by Americans today, 100+ yrs later. That is to say, it's adorable. I say, old boy! Good show! The cases themselves are episodic and interesting enough, but the real joy is the Holmes/Watson relationship (which is very, VERY slashy - what with Watson "ejaculating" this and "ejaculating" that (my Kindle informs me that this is an archaic way of saying "to exclaim") and meditating on Holmes' lanky, opiated-genius sexiness), and Holmes' wizard-like ability to understand everything about a person just by the way they sit in a chair. Seriously, your butt cheeks say it all, apparently. As does that one ink stain in your shirt sleeve - ah ha! Anyway, it makes House MD that much cuter, and I found myself turning all Sherlocky on people that I passed in the street ("Ah ha! A hurried gait, sneakers over pantyhose and an umbrella - this is a sensible working lady going to a meeting!" etc.).
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a re-read as I go through Conan Doyle's Holmes books. I've read a few in the series, but never completed it, so that's my plan this time.
Adventures has some of my favorite classic stories like "Scandal in Bohemia," "Red-Headed League," "Boscombe Valley Mystery," "Blue Carbuncle," and "Speckled Band."
"Five Orange Pips" is a familiar title, but I'd completely forgotten that the villains are the KKK.
I also remembered more about "The Copper Beeches" as I read it again. In it, a woman is hired as a governess, but has to perform weird tasks for her employers and begins to suspect that something shady is going on. It's very good.
There were a few though that I'm confident I've read before, but had no memory of. It's maybe not a coincidence that a lot of these don't feature actual crimes, but a couple of them do. And a couple of them have almost identical problems to solve (though very different solutions).
In "A Case of Identity," a woman’s fiancé goes missing right before the wedding. In "Noble Bachelor," a nobleman’s fiancée goes missing right after the wedding. "Man with the Twisted Lip" also features a missing spouse, but it's because a woman sees her husband abducted in a rough part of town.
"Engineer’s Thumb" is barely a mystery - more of a thriller - as a man relates the strange circumstances in which his thumb was cut off.
My favorite of these unfamiliar stories was "Beryl Coronet," in which a banker takes home a priceless crown that a royal person used as collateral on a loan, but then some of the jewels are stolen.
Adventures has some of my favorite classic stories like "Scandal in Bohemia," "Red-Headed League," "Boscombe Valley Mystery," "Blue Carbuncle," and "Speckled Band."
"Five Orange Pips" is a familiar title, but I'd completely forgotten that the villains are the KKK.
I also remembered more about "The Copper Beeches" as I read it again. In it, a woman is hired as a governess, but has to perform weird tasks for her employers and begins to suspect that something shady is going on. It's very good.
There were a few though that I'm confident I've read before, but had no memory of. It's maybe not a coincidence that a lot of these don't feature actual crimes, but a couple of them do. And a couple of them have almost identical problems to solve (though very different solutions).
In "A Case of Identity," a woman’s fiancé goes missing right before the wedding. In "Noble Bachelor," a nobleman’s fiancée goes missing right after the wedding. "Man with the Twisted Lip" also features a missing spouse, but it's because a woman sees her husband abducted in a rough part of town.
"Engineer’s Thumb" is barely a mystery - more of a thriller - as a man relates the strange circumstances in which his thumb was cut off.
My favorite of these unfamiliar stories was "Beryl Coronet," in which a banker takes home a priceless crown that a royal person used as collateral on a loan, but then some of the jewels are stolen.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Draw your chair up, and hand me my violin, for the only problem which we have still to solve is how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings.”
This was a fun book to dip in and out of all month. I'm glad I did it the way I did. I think otherwise it might have been easy to grow tired of Holmes and his Watson. The stories are short and a bit slight, so they make excellent little auditory treats every couple of days or so (I've been listening to the Stephen Fry audiobook) in between larger offerings. Some stories I of course enjoyed more than others.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes collects the first twelve Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published in The Strand magazine throughout 1891-1892. The first story in the collection, "A Scandal in Bohemia," is the story that made Holmes and his creator a household name. The first two Holmes novels never made much of a public stir, but in short story format, contemporary readers ate that shit up.
I hadn't read any of the stories in this one before, though I knew the premises of a couple, and had been spoiled for several as well, either by TV or movie adaptations, or as in the case of "The Red-Headed League," by this one fanfic I read one time. (I'm sure this will continue to happen as I make my way through the rest of the stories. I've read a LOT of Sherlock Holmes fanfic, and I have not by any means been discriminatory about it.)
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery", Sydney Paget, 1891
All of the stories here were enjoyable, but I enjoyed some more than others. The only two stories that come close to being stinkers are "A Case of Identity," because Holmes is a patronizing shit to his female client in that one, and withholds the solution to the mystery she paid him for, the outcome of which will significantly affect the rest of her life; and "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb," simply because Holmes doesn't actually do anything in that one. He's just along for the ride. Side note: Okay, now I'm remembering how rankled I was at the end of "A Case of Identity," and now I'm becoming even more angry about it. It's just not professional, Holmes! Oh, wait. Wikipedia is informing me that I'm not the only who is upset about this. Warning, spoilers:
"Much as I admire Sherlock Holmes, I am always seized with impotent fury at reading the end of 'A Case of Identity'. What a patronizing arrogance, to decide for her whether or not she could stand hearing the truth! Anyway, he was manifestly unethical to his client. She engaged him to find Hosmer Angel. He found Hosmer Angel. He should have given his client the information she wanted and let her decide what to do with it. ... Anyway, what is this nonsense about the villain being beyond reach of the law? In British law of that time, a man could be sued for breach of promise. Even a bachelor who proposed to a woman with complete sincerity and then changed his mind could be sued. All the more so a married man who went through an elaborate charade and fallaciously courted his own daughter in law! Any half-decent lawyer could have broken him in court. Of course, the young woman might have chosen not to sue him – but Holmes should have left the choice to her. For me, this story is a dark blot on the otherwise admirable career of Sherlock Holmes." —Margaret Brown
My favorites here, by quite a large margin, are "The Man with the Twisted Lip" and "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." Both of them set the atmosphere so well, of creepiness and mystery, and both of them have solutions that are far from obvious, so they're greatly satisfying when you finally get the reveal from Holmes. I would probably put "The Red-Headed League" in the same category, except as mentioned previously, I already knew what was really going on, so the fun in reading that one was more in seeing how it played in its original format, rather than the way it played out in the contemporized version I read, which was written as if the BBC's Sherlock and John were hired to solve it in like, 2011 or something. (Tried looking up the specific fic so I could link it here, but couldn't find it. Alas and alack.)
"The Man With the Twisted Lip," Sidney Paget, 1891
But even in the stories I didn't enjoy as much, you've still got Holmes and his lofty intelligence combined with Watson's deprecating nature. They play off each other so well, and it's cute to see Watson's descriptions change depending on how he's feeling about Holmes at the time. He can be quite biting towards his friend, and he isn't afraid to ding him when he feels he's wrong, or being ridiculous. But he is also incredibly fond of Holmes. Conan Doyle's prose just drips with affection between the two friends. That Holmes, who is supposedly so cold and logical, "the most perfect reasoning and observing machine," is the same man who plays his friend to sleep with his violin, is just so perfectly lovely.
Tackling The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes in June. I think the only one I know about in that one is the infamous "The Final Problem," so hopefully some good ones in store.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“And for the rest, I could not wish anything better than to be associated with my friend in one of those singular adventures which were the normal condition of his existence.”
I should be flogged for not having read this sooner. Does it get any better than this, though? We’ve got train rides, murder, mystery, intrigue, hansom cabs, and Victorian England at its finest. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band (my favorite, closely followed by The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) there’s even the two people, one bed trope?? I lost my mind.
Every story leads the reader down a winding road of infamy that will have you guessing until Holmes reveals his findings in the final pages. While they do all follow roughly the same path-Holmes and Watson talk to a distraught person at their lodgings in Baker Street, the person tells their sordid story and requests help, the duo take the case and eventually solve it with the aid of Holmes brilliant mind, and then Holmes tells Watson how he solved the mystery-the formulaic nature of The Adventures adds to their charm and lends them a familiar, comforting atmosphere. It’s nice to have that structure and the candle-lit warmth of 221B Baker Street in mind when you can feel the dense, London fog wrapping around you while conniving criminals go about their deeds.
I should be flogged for not having read this sooner. Does it get any better than this, though? We’ve got train rides, murder, mystery, intrigue, hansom cabs, and Victorian England at its finest. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band (my favorite, closely followed by The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) there’s even the two people, one bed trope?? I lost my mind.
Every story leads the reader down a winding road of infamy that will have you guessing until Holmes reveals his findings in the final pages. While they do all follow roughly the same path-Holmes and Watson talk to a distraught person at their lodgings in Baker Street, the person tells their sordid story and requests help, the duo take the case and eventually solve it with the aid of Holmes brilliant mind, and then Holmes tells Watson how he solved the mystery-the formulaic nature of The Adventures adds to their charm and lends them a familiar, comforting atmosphere. It’s nice to have that structure and the candle-lit warmth of 221B Baker Street in mind when you can feel the dense, London fog wrapping around you while conniving criminals go about their deeds.
“Como regla general -dijo Holmes-, cuanto más extravagante es una cosa, menos misteriosa suele resultar.”
No puedo con su arrogancia, me supera.
No puedo con su arrogancia, me supera.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No