Courtesy of publicbookshelf.com
I know what you’re saying: “Why isn’t this in the Books on Screen segment?” Well, because I’m actually not going to talk about the movies…not this time, anyway. I’m currently reading the first collected series of Sherlock Holmes stories as written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I must say, it’s an interesting experience.
In a lot of today’s mysteries, the reader can normally tell what happened and who did it as the story is being told. In every Sherlock Holmes story, you’re kept in the dark the entire time. The Sherlock Holmes story typically begins with a customer coming to 221B Baker Street with some kind of dead body, missing property or some other problem. The reader then just is thrown into watching Holmes investigate and not really understanding the reasoning for it. Holmes then catches the thief or the murderer and the caught person tells what happens to wrap up everything in a nice bow for the reader. In some stories, it even goes further into the caught person’s backstory because it relates so much to the case itself. If Holmes and the criminal didn’t say what was going on, the reader would have no idea what had occurred. I feel like because of this, people have to approach Holmes as simply a story that they’re reading rather than having the hope or expectation that they will ever be able to figure out what was going on before it’s explained.
The stories in the collections are all diverse and interesting in their own ways, so readers won’t get bored of them. They also have very interesting villains, yes, including the infamous Moriarty. The characters Watson and Holmes are also very unique. We delve inside Watson’s head for every story, so it’s interesting to see his personality and how he develops in his interactions with Holmes. It’s also interesting to learn about Holmes’ quirks and other interests.
I would more than recommend this series to anyone that loves good stories, mysteries, the element of surprise, and a new way to look at one of the most iconic figures of all time. Until next time, happy reading!
-Lauren Pirc, Assistant Blog Editor
