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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
For some reason I never read any Sherlock Holmes stories as a kid. Of course I knew the gist of them and had seen various tv and movie versions of the book. So when the audio collection read by Stephen Fry came to my attention I decided to give it a go.
The first four books in the Holmes collection are all made up of separate episodes, recounted by Watson in no particular chronological order. I found them to be an entertaining and easy read. Although one can only take so many Holmes adventures in one go before they start to become a bit boring and repetitive.
Definitely a decent “palate cleanser” - to pick up the books and read a few chapters in-between other books. And a good way to decompress between reading more serious stuff.
The first four books in the Holmes collection are all made up of separate episodes, recounted by Watson in no particular chronological order. I found them to be an entertaining and easy read. Although one can only take so many Holmes adventures in one go before they start to become a bit boring and repetitive.
Definitely a decent “palate cleanser” - to pick up the books and read a few chapters in-between other books. And a good way to decompress between reading more serious stuff.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Siempre me ha gustado Sherlock Holmes y su género. Los casos sin resolver, los misterios, el personaje del detective y su capacidad de deducción es una cosa que siempre me atrapa. Hércules Poirot o Miss Marple de [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589991473p2/123715.jpg], fray Guillermo de Baskerville de [a:Umberto Eco|1730|Umberto Eco|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588941738p2/1730.jpg] y otros muchos más que han ido apareciendo a lo largo de los años en la literatura, comics, teatro y cine, son personajes que siempre giran sobre la estela del gran Sherlock Holmes. Vale que el propio Holmes está inspirado, sin reparo alguno, en el detective Dupin de [a:Edgar Allan Poe|4624490|Edgar Allan Poe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1454522972p2/4624490.jpg]. Pero nunca un detective de ficción tendrá tanto peso como el del 221B de Baker Street.
Y es que [a:Arthur Conan Doyle|2448|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495008883p2/2448.jpg] dio con la clave para hacer de su personaje algo novedoso e interesante. A diferencia de la prensa de su época, se alejaba del morbo truculento y de los detalles escabrosos de crímenes y casos. Y se centraba en formar un rompecabezas complejo pero que quedaba en algo relativamente sencillo cuando Holmes lo resolvía al final de cada relato. Para el lector supone todo un desafío, un juego, en el que posiblemente acabaremos dándonos cuenta que, al igual que hacía Agatha Christie, hay trampa narrativa.
Otro de sus fuertes es que cada caso es un relato corto narrado de forma amena y ágil, sin necesidad de alargarlos innecesariamente. Y son diferentes entre ellos, donde en cada uno de ellos vamos conociendo y consolidando cada uno de los rasgos que caracterizan la personalidad y el método de trabajo de Sherlock Holmes y su compañero John Watson.
Y justamente, en “Las Memorias de Sherlock Holmes”, encontramos eso: un recopilatorio de once relatos entre los que se encuentra alguno que el mejor detective del mundo no es capaz de resolver como esperaba. Y en otro, donde encuentra su final. Doyle estaba cansado de su personaje y quiso darle un final definitivo. Pero la presión de los lectores le obligó a traerlo de vuelta en [b:El Regreso de Sherlock Holmes|1474984|El Regreso de Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #6)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1183995777l/1474984._SX50_.jpg|2445338].
Una lectura muy entretenida y fácil de leer. Los grabados originales de Sidney Paget son una delicia.
Por cierto, sobre Sherlock Holmes y su universo, obra y derivados hace unos años le dedicamos un extenso programa de nuestro podcast "La Base Secreta". Podéis escucharlo aquí: Especial Sherlock Holmes en La Base Secreta
Y es que [a:Arthur Conan Doyle|2448|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495008883p2/2448.jpg] dio con la clave para hacer de su personaje algo novedoso e interesante. A diferencia de la prensa de su época, se alejaba del morbo truculento y de los detalles escabrosos de crímenes y casos. Y se centraba en formar un rompecabezas complejo pero que quedaba en algo relativamente sencillo cuando Holmes lo resolvía al final de cada relato. Para el lector supone todo un desafío, un juego, en el que posiblemente acabaremos dándonos cuenta que, al igual que hacía Agatha Christie, hay trampa narrativa.
Otro de sus fuertes es que cada caso es un relato corto narrado de forma amena y ágil, sin necesidad de alargarlos innecesariamente. Y son diferentes entre ellos, donde en cada uno de ellos vamos conociendo y consolidando cada uno de los rasgos que caracterizan la personalidad y el método de trabajo de Sherlock Holmes y su compañero John Watson.
Y justamente, en “Las Memorias de Sherlock Holmes”, encontramos eso: un recopilatorio de once relatos entre los que se encuentra alguno que el mejor detective del mundo no es capaz de resolver como esperaba. Y en otro, donde encuentra su final. Doyle estaba cansado de su personaje y quiso darle un final definitivo. Pero la presión de los lectores le obligó a traerlo de vuelta en [b:El Regreso de Sherlock Holmes|1474984|El Regreso de Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #6)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1183995777l/1474984._SX50_.jpg|2445338].
Una lectura muy entretenida y fácil de leer. Los grabados originales de Sidney Paget son una delicia.
Por cierto, sobre Sherlock Holmes y su universo, obra y derivados hace unos años le dedicamos un extenso programa de nuestro podcast "La Base Secreta". Podéis escucharlo aquí: Especial Sherlock Holmes en La Base Secreta
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
More than adequate Holmes stories. A couple of clinkers and a couple of gems. I particularly enjoyed the last two tales--killing Holmes off actually stepped up the action and pathos considerably. A postmodern author would have killed him off in every story, without explanation, reveling in the effect--oh, wait, that was Russian Doll. I loved Russian Doll. Actually, they kind of did it in Sherlock too. What makes death so much more interesting, dramatically, than life?
The Death of Holmes!
Whilst not the title of the story or the book containing it that is exactly what is included in this collection. But of course we all know better than that these days. We all know that Doyle was forced to write more Holmes stories against his wishes. Poor guy.
I think the dislike Doyle had for writing the Holmes stories is incredibly apparent with this collection. Some of the stories are dull and formulaic - ten pages of somebody telling Holmes about the case and ten pages of Holmes giving you the answer - whilst some are actually highly enjoyable, these are the non-formulic ones.
All the arrogance and apparent sociopathy of the character have been written out in favour of a clever solution to an obscure problem every time. The motives for stopping Moriarty for example are not selfish, can this really be the same Sherlock Holmes?
I found that I was struggling to sleep with all my bedtime reading recently. Fabulously enjoyable novels were the order of the day and I just never wanted to put them down, my mind working overtime, but Sherlock Holmes arrived to save the day. These short stories were not something to even consider after they were done and so I slept happily. That's not really a compliment.
Whilst not the title of the story or the book containing it that is exactly what is included in this collection. But of course we all know better than that these days. We all know that Doyle was forced to write more Holmes stories against his wishes. Poor guy.
I think the dislike Doyle had for writing the Holmes stories is incredibly apparent with this collection. Some of the stories are dull and formulaic - ten pages of somebody telling Holmes about the case and ten pages of Holmes giving you the answer - whilst some are actually highly enjoyable, these are the non-formulic ones.
All the arrogance and apparent sociopathy of the character have been written out in favour of a clever solution to an obscure problem every time. The motives for stopping Moriarty for example are not selfish, can this really be the same Sherlock Holmes?
I found that I was struggling to sleep with all my bedtime reading recently. Fabulously enjoyable novels were the order of the day and I just never wanted to put them down, my mind working overtime, but Sherlock Holmes arrived to save the day. These short stories were not something to even consider after they were done and so I slept happily. That's not really a compliment.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This series of shorts wasn't quite as good as the previous. A couple of them were quite good, but a few fell flat. Included in the latter list is the actual death of Sherlock Holmes. That story introduces Moriarty, but aside from an awesome scene where Professor Moriarty visits Holmes at Baker Street, it is a strange and kind of plodding story. I'm glad I finally read it, but felt it was a bit of a let down.
I really enjoyed this collection, especially when we meet Mycroft, and of course the dramatic ending.
Very entertaining read, liked the format of the self contained stories told from the perspective of Watson as if the reader would be reading about some of these cases in the news. Interesting seeing what parts of recent adaptations or popular perceptions of the character came from the original stories (thinking particularly of Holmes' "death" at the hands of Moriarty).
Enjoyed this edition having the original illustrations. Also very interesting glimpse into Victorian England with the themes of people being terrified of disgrace, frequent "nervous" illness and the portrayal of upper class British people who all know each other from university and end up as MPs.
Was a big fan of Mycroft and the Diogenes Club, which came across as endearing and relatable (e.g. he would rather be thought to be wrong than have to explain why he is right, and the club members don't want to be acknowledged by each other).
Enjoyed this edition having the original illustrations. Also very interesting glimpse into Victorian England with the themes of people being terrified of disgrace, frequent "nervous" illness and the portrayal of upper class British people who all know each other from university and end up as MPs.
Was a big fan of Mycroft and the Diogenes Club, which came across as endearing and relatable (e.g. he would rather be thought to be wrong than have to explain why he is right, and the club members don't want to be acknowledged by each other).