tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post1986177718837854682..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: There is nothing at all new to me in the latter part of your narrative - in which I complain about a Sherlock Holmes novelAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-60462994213429480842010-02-05T10:57:28.265-06:002010-02-05T10:57:28.265-06:00Jane - I'm only speaking for myself, but what ...Jane - I'm only speaking for myself, but what I liked or did not like as a teenager is no longer a very helpful guide to much! My aesthetic sensibility back then was, how to say it, <i>narrow</i>.<br /><br />I should maybe mention that I don't mind that Doyle borrows so heavily from other writers. "A Scandal in Bohemia" is a blatant ripoff and simplification of "The Purloined Letter," but the conversations between Holmes and Watson are a great deal more fun than the equivalents in Poe.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-65181138867267937892010-02-05T10:49:24.574-06:002010-02-05T10:49:24.574-06:00Sarah, I want to argue with you. If you acknowled...Sarah, I want to argue with you. If you acknowledge a soft spot, and know that the level of quality differs, you're not undiscriminating! Quite the opposite.<br /><br />Note that the worst parts of those first two novels - the first one in particular - are the chunks where we are <i>not</i> in Holmes and Watson's company.<br /><br />Rebecca - that's exactly what I recommend.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-61071041509379917812010-02-05T10:45:42.116-06:002010-02-05T10:45:42.116-06:00I think I was in my teens when I actually last rea...I think I was in my teens when I actually last read a Sherlock Holmes story, but I have read them all a couple of times, and remember liking Study in Scarlett and Sign of Four. I thought your comment about them being a mishmash of Poe, Collins, et al, was interesting. Now that I've read more of Collins it would be interesting to read these stories again.JaneGShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11094501834387622997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-64050775273105945462010-02-05T06:51:52.056-06:002010-02-05T06:51:52.056-06:00I can't remember if i've read any Sherlock...I can't remember if i've read any Sherlock Holmes before. I probably won't start with the first two, then...Rebecca Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062252252301802298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-85400796375506345822010-02-04T22:14:13.635-06:002010-02-04T22:14:13.635-06:00I suppose I'm an undiscriminating Holmesian fa...I suppose I'm an undiscriminating Holmesian fan, as I have a soft spot for A Study In Scarlet and The Sign of Four. Yes, they are atypical and not up to the level of the short stories, but I enjoy anytime in Holmes and Watson's company!Sarahhttp://adevotedreader.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-52393543050778945682010-02-04T21:39:42.980-06:002010-02-04T21:39:42.980-06:00Bluestocking - glad it's not just me. There a...Bluestocking - glad it's not just me. There are some Holmesians out there who are, what's a not too impolite word, undiscriminating.<br /><br />Unlike LRK - I will incorporate your advice into tomorrow's post. I understand exactly what you're saying - even for the fan, the early novels give up everything they've got the first time through.<br /><br />Autodidact - I myself am essentially indifferent to the mysteries as such. But writers have used the form for a number of different purposes. Some are more interesting than others. Being interested in the mystery itself would help with these books, a little - although the murder mysteries aren't that great, either.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-85991951850007104662010-02-04T18:58:14.730-06:002010-02-04T18:58:14.730-06:00I've never liked mystery stories so I don'...I've never liked mystery stories so I don't know why I read The Hound of the Baskervilles but I did. And of course I hated it. I blame my mother, who forced me to watch Columbo and Murder She Wrote and Perry Mason and Matlock and on and on, ugh, shudder, rather than Sir Doyle.Unfocused Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17607033921530491078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-75248942938487498332010-02-04T17:24:13.269-06:002010-02-04T17:24:13.269-06:00Well, I love the short stories more - I think I ma...Well, I love the short stories more - I think I may actually have begun with those, whenever it was I did begin with Holmes, but that was probably 25 years ago or so. The short stories I've re-read many times - I don't think I've re-read either "Sign of Four" or "A Study in Scarlet" (or "The Valley of Fear" either for that matter). I will though, but I always look forward to re-reading the short stories, and I cannot say the same for those novels.<br /><br />I do love Sherlock, though! :)<br /><br />LRKAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-32465796682816443532010-02-04T11:57:31.533-06:002010-02-04T11:57:31.533-06:00The first Holmes stories really are rough reading....The first Holmes stories really are rough reading.Bluestockinghttp://tinyurl.com/Belles-Lettresnoreply@blogger.com