This book took me months and months. Because it's really more than one book, but rather four or five books in one. And while detective stories are enjoyable, to read too many at once is not so good for one's brain or looking over one's shoulder. Sherlock Holmes is famous for his eye for detail. He sees things many of us miss and is able to determine where they come from and what they signify. In every story, some of his reasoning is made clear to the reader, and it does not cease to amaze. Toward the end, there are some examples of Holmes even being able to follow Watson's train of thought and agree or disagree even without Watson saying anything. This is fun to read about and imagine, and although Holmes holds to it being simply scientific, I have a hard time believing something like this possible. It's at least really really unprobable.
One device that I enjoyed is the use of Watson. He is also a character, but is the narrator and chronicler and is written well enough that he could indeed be the author. Not just another character. Watson is often refering to cases that he cannot write up (because there are too many), which makes the stories he does tell seem even more real. All the details and places, people, history, weather .. combine to make Watson feel like a person instead of simply a character. And as good as Holmes is at discovering and catching criminals, it's too bad that these two people and their adventures are fictional. Ah well.
| Title: | Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume 1 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Date published: | 1887 |
| Genre: | Mystery |
| Number of pages: | 1059 |
| Notes: | borrowed from Amy |
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