Title: A Study in Scarlet
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Pages: 142
Finished: March 1, 2021
First Sentence: In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army.
Summary: Dr. Watson, just home from Afghan wars, finds himself in need of a roommate. He takes up lodgings with the enigmatical Sherlock Holmes who, it turns out, is a consulting detective. Watson writes up the strange case of a dead man found in an abandoned house and how Holmes solved it.
Thoughts: Reading the source material for Sherlock Holmes is always interesting because I came to the source material after I was already aware of the character. My first remembered experience with Sherlock Holmes is from the Disney movie The Great Mouse Detective. Following that, I saw some various BBC versions - some actual Sherlock Holmes adaptations. At one point we listened to some Sherlock Holmes audiobooks on a family vacation. I remember the Speckled Band. Then there's all the various movies, Sherlock and Elementary, Data pretending to be Sherlock Holmes on Star Trek.
All that to say, I've seen so many Sherlock Holmes characterizations that coming back to the source was interesting. The book itself is broken into two parts. The first part is the set up of meeting Sherlock, the mystery, and the investigation leading to an arrest. The second part begins in America with two people on death's door being saved by Mormons. It was such a jarring switch that I actually thought the ebook I was reading had a different story in it. Nope, all good. It's just the context for why the murderer became a murderer. After we get all that context, we get the wrap up of how Holmes solved the case and the aftermath.
Weirdly enough, because I'm more familiar with pop culture Holmes, I found myself comparing the original to what I know. He's a cocky jackass for sure. I'm not sure if I'll continue reading more Holmes.
This does count as one book off my Classics Club list and I'll be using it for a category in Back to the Classics, though I'm not yet sure which one.
All that to say, I've seen so many Sherlock Holmes characterizations that coming back to the source was interesting. The book itself is broken into two parts. The first part is the set up of meeting Sherlock, the mystery, and the investigation leading to an arrest. The second part begins in America with two people on death's door being saved by Mormons. It was such a jarring switch that I actually thought the ebook I was reading had a different story in it. Nope, all good. It's just the context for why the murderer became a murderer. After we get all that context, we get the wrap up of how Holmes solved the case and the aftermath.
Weirdly enough, because I'm more familiar with pop culture Holmes, I found myself comparing the original to what I know. He's a cocky jackass for sure. I'm not sure if I'll continue reading more Holmes.
This does count as one book off my Classics Club list and I'll be using it for a category in Back to the Classics, though I'm not yet sure which one.
No comments:
Post a Comment