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Sherlock Holmes

Started by garnish, August 16, 2018, 10:22:41 PM

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garnish

Fuck me if he doesn't use the word 'singular' a lot.

Shaky


Mister Six

That Avengers pitch needs some work.

I only read my first Sherlock Holmes story recently, 'A Scandal in Bohemia', and it kind of just confirmed my (probably irrational) prejudice that it's genteel gash that passes for genius among a particular kind of twee English 'I fucking love books' mindset

madhair60

Maybe you'd have enjoyed it more if it had some IDENTITY POLITICS IN IT EH

EH

YEAH!!

studpuppet

Not half as much as he uses the word 'ejaculated'. *snigger*

Quote from: madhair60 on December 16, 2018, 03:34:42 PM
Maybe you'd have enjoyed it more if it had some IDENTITY POLITICS IN IT EH

EH

YEAH!!

fucking owned

mojo filters

I loved reading Sherlock Holmes from a relatively young age. It was also a bonus that ITV put out those excellent Jeremy Brett adaptations around the same time (though the final seasons where they messed around with the stories and inappropriately inserted Mycroft to accommodate Brett's health issues were a bit dodgy).

As an adult I've occasionally gone back to it, normally when I find one of my old complete Sherlock Holmes books when moving. I find the short stories are still enjoyable, but Conan Doyle's writing style is not really good enough to sustain the full novels.

I suspect that if not for the fond memories combined with his intriguing stories, I would probably find more faults with the actual writing today. Fortunately I've now got the new BBC versions to find fault with, as though they started with some promise - that really descended into a shitshow quickly!

madhair60


absolutely shanked. still dizzy

Old Nehamkin

#10
Quote from: Monsieur Verdoux on December 16, 2018, 01:11:52 PM
I only read my first Sherlock Holmes story recently, 'A Scandal in Bohemia', and it kind of just confirmed my (probably irrational) prejudice that it's genteel gash that passes for genius among a particular kind of twee English 'I fucking love books' mindset

Are you a fan of adventure or mystery fiction in general? I don't think many people would argue that Conan Doyle is a literary heavyweight or anything, but I'd say his mastery of those genres is completely bona-fide. The Holmes stories were still pacy, atmospheric, inventive and funny the last time I read them. I do think it's the kind of fiction that has the strongest effect if you first encounter it at around 12-15, though.

As for it being "genteel," as easy a judgment that is to pass down from 2018, I don't think that word would have come to the minds of readers in the 1890s, what with all the gruesome murders, infidelity, international Mormon revenge schemes and so on.There's even a story about a mixed-race marriage (The Adventure of the Yellow Face) that has a finale that's about as boldly progressive as Victorian fiction gets. The stories- the early ones at least- certainly don't just doggedly reflect the social mores of the time (although there's definitely a xenophobic edge in some of the post-WWI canon when Doyle had decidedly lost his grip.)

daf

#11
Quote from: studpuppet on December 16, 2018, 03:36:13 PM
Not half as much as he uses the word 'ejaculated'. *snigger*

Agatha Christie is notorious for this - sooner or later someone will find themselves ejaculating between her pages :

Quote from:  The Mysterious Affair at StylesSilly ass!" I ejaculated. "I told him Wednesday was the one day she wasn't there!

Quote from: Murder on the Links withdrawing it a moment later with the brief and forcible ejaculation: 'Hell!'

Quote from: The Adventure of "The Western Star"he stiffened visibly. With an ejaculation, he handed it to his wife".

daf

"double post!!" I ejaculated