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headachefromgod's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
extra .25 to the rating for the good narrator
julesontherun's review against another edition
3.0
4 stars for the half of the book pertaining to Sherlock, 2 stars for the bizarre Mormon digression that takes up at least 1/3 of the story. That dragged and could have been cut down to just the summary the man gave himself at the end. So bizarre.
kailey_luminouslibro's review against another edition
5.0
Dr. Watson is searching London for affordable rooms and his old colleague mentions that Sherlock Holmes is looking for rooms too. They are introduced and decide to become roommates at 221B Baker Street. Watson quickly discovers that Holmes is eccentric in many ways, and they are soon hot on the trail of a murder mystery. Holmes has a unique way of tracking down clues, and Watson is eager to help.
I love this introductory story of Holmes and Watson! It's the perfect beginning for the famous duo. The mystery is very strange and Lestrade of Scotland yard can't understand any of it. Watson is amazed at how Holmes examines every tiny thing at the crime scene and arrives at seemingly wild conclusions that invariably turn out to be correct.
I think that a lot of people expect Holmes to be very arrogant, but actually he's quite humble and sensitive. Several times when Watson admires his work, Holmes responds humbly and quietly. He is the perfect gentleman and it would not be manners to appear to brag. When Scotland Yard steals all the credit for solving the mystery, Holmes is not proud or hurt. He politely shrugs it off with an air of modesty.
I love the straight-forward writing style in the Holmes mysteries! Doyle really has an amazing way of weaving a bunch of random clues into a knot, and then carefully unravelling them in the most logical fashion.
However the structure of this book is ridiculous. We start out with the story being narrated by Dr. Watson in the first person. Holmes and Watson spend the first third of the book going after clues and having adventures. Then Holmes declares that he has captured the murderer, but the mystery is still unexplained.
Then the narrative completely switches to a massive flashback from 30 years ago told by an omniscient narrator about an old man and a little orphan girl who are dying in the desert when they are rescued by Mormons. It's like a completely different story.
There are small hints as to how this new story might connect with Holmes' mystery, but for a long time we are stuck in this other story.
Then we are finally dropped back into Holmes' story with Dr. Watson narrating, the mystery is explained and we get a confession from the criminal and a long explanation from Holmes' about how he knew most of it from the beginning.
That's terrible structure for a novel! And yet... it works. Doyle is just such a genius at capturing your attention that the other story, instead of killing the pacing, just ramps up the suspense and mystery even more.
Any other author who tried this would have a dead story right in the middle, but Doyle manages to make it shine. Still... even though it does work, this stupid structure just makes me shake my head every time I reread it.
This time rereading it I read the edition that is illustrated by Vincent Mallie, and I loved the artwork so much! I loved the use of orange tints and shadows to create a sense of drama in the illustrations. The designs for Holmes and Watson are wonderful, and you can see the energy in Holmes' demeanor. This artwork makes for a really special edition of this favorite classic story.
jeanettemarie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
salston's review against another edition
4.0
The one and only Sherlock Holmes. The Holmes books are much better than I expected. I really like them. I am reading them in the order they were written, but not all at once, so it may take me a while.
namrata_jain's review against another edition
5.0
Better than I expected, with all the high expectations from the movies/series.
Loved the side story of Jefferson Hope. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Loved the side story of Jefferson Hope. Looking forward to the next in the series.
karlijnessink's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jordan_1_1's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
usernameisabhay's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0