Hello All,
Spurred on by my love of the new BBC series Sherlock (that I discussed here) I decided that this year I would delve into the world of the famous detective. I wanted to avoid overwhelming myself, as I often do, so I decided that I'd do two short stories a month. So for January I started off with "Scandal in Bohemia" & "The Red-Headed League". An excellent start I have to say.
Although I find myself plagued with one thing: I can't stop picturing the main characters as their film versions. (By the way I'm referring to Mr. RDJ, Mr. Law, and Ms. McAdams. Strangely it's not the wonderful gentleman from the recent BBC series. Perhaps it's because the BBC series performances and stories are so well adapted to the modern world.) It's clear that Holmes & Watson, initially are a bit of a blank slate. A reader's interpretation is built up over a series of stories, they do not jump immediately off the page. In a movie you only have 5-10 minutes to establish the main characters, so it's up to the actors, writers, directors, etc. to create a distinct character right off the bat. Whereas Doyle, as an author, is clearly more plot driven.
I am reminded of Wilkie Collins detective character Sergeant Cuff from The Moonstone, who was wonderfully distinct in a dickens-esque way. I guess since Doyle was writing for the serials, he didn't feel compelled to include character moments over fast-moving plots. I'll wait till I read a few more to see if this is true.
Highly enjoyable tales both of these, and easily readable in one sitting.
Have a great week! Book Slave.
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