Book: The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volume I, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I should probably just officially change that category from "novel" to "book" because I keep reviewing not-novels. It's odd, I didn't think I read much else besides novels...
It's Like: Well, I mean Sherlock Holmes is kind of the classic detective; any detective story that's similar is probably based on Holmes to begin with. Technically Doyle got a number of ideas from Edgar Allen Poe's stories about detective Dupin... but Holmes is the one that became the household name.
Summary: At this point, I probably should just forgo this section; it hasn't helped much in the last few posts, and it certainly won't help in a collection of Holmes stories... Though it is important for novels, so I guess I'll keep it around for the next time I review a novel, which *SPOILERS* won't be for a few posts.
Notes:
- There are many collections of Doyle's famous stories. The one that I possess is the Barnes & Noble Classics edition that has Holmes stories chronologically by publication: from A Study in Scarlet to The Hound of the Baskervilles. There are way too many stories to review (and I, umm, started reading it a long time ago and forgot a lot of the earlier stories...) so I'll just pick a few of my favorites and talk about those. Sound good?
- Well, I mean you can't really respond to my question, so it doesn't matter if it sounds good to you or not...
- Though I appreciate feedback!
- Too bad you can't give feedback in real time... Like live blogging? But then you'd see how atrocious these posts are before I edit them and how many mistakes I make spelling-wise... Probably a bad idea. :/
- Anyways...
- A Study in Scarlet: It's a very odd and convoluted case, and it is easy to tell that it is Doyle's first attempt at a detective story. There is very long section of narration of the murderer's back story, which has been considered tedious by some. Doyle is a great writer, but he figured out pretty quickly that people liked his stories for Holmes's personality, actions, and deductions, which is why his other stories don't really have sections of narration like this. I thought the somewhat tangential back story was interesting, even though Doyle ended up having to apologize profusely for the way he portrayed Mormons in it. It's a well-developed story and gives just enough information about the main characters, Watson and Holmes, for later stories (giving a lot of information is unnecessary in detective stories since they are plot, rather than character, driven).
- The Adventure of the Red-Headed League: I'm not quite sure why I like this story so much. It might be because the plot is rather silly... I really enjoy the idea of getting paid for sitting in a room for hours copying the entirety of the Encyclopedia Britannica for some reason! I think it's because it sounds like something I would do, honestly. I would definitely get carpel tunnel from it, though... It is also focused on gingers, whom I, like John Green, am very partial towards :)
- A Scandal in Bohemia: This will forever be my favorite Sherlock Holmes story for one reason: Irene Adler, a.k.a. "the woman." It's also why Season 2, Episode 1 of Sherlock is my favorite! Holmes is an almost invincible character, a man that can always find the answers and is very rarely beaten to them. Now I wouldn't consider myself a super feminist, but I adore strong female characters (Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Eyre, Hermione Granger, and Tris Prior to name a few) and I applaud Doyle making a woman one of the only characters that has outsmarted Holmes and that Holmes sees almost on par with him intellectually. My only wish is that Doyle wrote another story with her...
Recommendation: For any Sherlock fans out there, you should really read the original stories, if only to satisfy your cravings between episodes of the third season. For the rest of you, Sherlock Holmes is a classic so you should probably read it anyways. :)
The only good episode of Sherlock is the season 2 finale (it actually makes you think!). All other attempts at doing Sherlock in movies, tv shows, etc. pale in comparison to the books. The only good interpretations of Sherlock Holmes that I actually like are the 2002 BBC adaptation of "The Hounds of Baskerville", and the first Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. The former does a good job of staying pretty loyal to the story, while also providing an interesting Watson character. The latter, while not really based on one particular story, does a real good job of creating a sense of mystery and an unsolvable crime/villain (with a satisfying reveal at the very end of the movie).
ReplyDeleteI agree that versions do not always do the books justice, but I find they hold their own and they're equally as enjoyable because it has been interpreted in a way that is faithful to what Sherlock Holmes represents. I personally find the 1980s TV series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes very good, though I watched it before reading the book. Jeremy Brett does a fantastic job as Holmes.
ReplyDelete