Στις δώδεκα ιστορίες του βιβλίου ο δρ. Γουάτσον αφηγείται, ο Σέρλοκ Χολμς αποδεικνύει για πολλοστή φορά πόσο μοναδικά παρατηρητικός και οξυδερκής είναι, και ο σερ Άρθουρ Κόναν Ντόιλ προσφέρει στο αναγνωστικό κοινό την τέρψη που συνεπάγεται η ανάγνωση μιας ωραίας ιστορίας μυστηρίου (εις την δωδεκάτη). Ασήμαντη λεπτομέρεια ότι ανάμεσα στις δώδεκα αυτές ιστορίες που δημοσιεύτηκαν μηνιαία από τον Ιούλιο του 1891 μέχρι και τον Ιούνιο του 1892 βρίσκονται οι δύο που ο Ντόιλ είπε κάποτε πως είναι οι καλύτερές του («Η κορδέλα με τις βούλες» και «Η οργάνωση των κοκκινομάλληδων»). Αν ρωτάτε εμένα να διαλέξω, θα επέλεγα, όχι χωρίς δισταγμό «Το γαλάζιο ρουμπίνι» και «Το διάδημα με τα σμαράγδια»∙ α, και στιχομυθίες όπως η παρακάτω:

(δρ. Γουάτσον) «Φοβάμαι ότι τα γεγονότα είναι τόσο εμφανή που θα δυσκολευτείς να κερδίσεις αυτή την υπόθεση».
(Σέρλοκ Χολμς) «Τίποτα δεν είναι πιο απατηλό από ένα εμφανές γεγονός».

Classic Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle at his finest.

If you've read and enjoyed any books in the Sherlock Holmes series - then read them all, they are all consistently great. Sherlock Holmes must be one of the greatest literary characters ever created and the stories are so very well written.

Intriguing, compelling, intelligent, exciting, page-turning fun of the highest order.

• Escándalo en Bohemia 4/5⭐️
• La liga de los pelirrojos 4/5⭐️
• Un caso de identidad 3/5⭐️
• El misterio de Boscombe Valley 3/5⭐️
• Las cinco semillas de naranja 3/5⭐️
• El hombre del labio torcido 4/5⭐️
• La aventura del rubi azul 3/5⭐️
• La aventura de la banda de lunares 4/5⭐️
• El dedo pulgar del ingeniero 3/5
• El aristócrata solterón 3/5⭐️
• La aventura de la corona de esmeraldas verdemar 3/5⭐️
• La aventura de Copper Beeches 4/5⭐️

After “reading” lengthy audiobooks like  Vanity Fair I just wanted to read/listen-to something short. Then I saw the movie The Imitation Game (highly recommended) and I thought “Of course! Sherlock!”

I suspect reviewing an anthology by listing all the stories and commenting on each of them is probably inelegant and amateurish, but I never said I was a pro. So the game is afoot! Let the jollification begin:

A Scandal in Bohemia - Irene Adler is not Holmes' girlfriend OK? Stop shipping "Sherene" already! (sorry for this bout of Tumblrism). One of the best known SH stories ever, one with a great twist. Irene Adler is simply awesome. She is possibly the inspiration for Catwoman. Without spoiling anything I can tell you that she was never in any danger of being beheaded in the Middle East. Actually Holmes probably fancies her a bit, mostly for her brain.

The Red-Headed League - Holmes vs The Deadly Gingers! This is “a three pipes problem” according to Holmes. This story is subtly funny in places, Holmes and Watson even have a good laugh at his dimwitted client's expense.

A Case of Identity - One of the more comfy cases which Holmes can solve from his armchair. Funny thing about this story is that while it is good, when I looked at the title of the story a couple days later in the Contents page I had no idea what it is about. It's just too elementary. Note to self: This one is about a missing fiancé who leaves his nice but dim bride at the altar, he is not what he seems...

The Boscombe Valley Mystery - Murder (al)most foul. Number of pipes not specified, probably not more than four as the case involves a bit of traveling. Holmes says something surprisingly religious here: “You are yourself aware that you will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the Assizes."

The Five Orange Pips - A bit of an epic fail for Sherlock, it's a great story and Holmes did solve the case but the conclusion of the case is not one of his shining moments. If you receive five orange pips in the post you may as well kill yourself because even Holmes can’t help you (though he will avenge you which is not much of a consolation)

The Man with the Twisted Lip
Holmes vs a master of disguise! Great story with a surprisingly sweet ending. Holmes solves this one by “sitting upon five pillows and consuming an ounce of shag.” LOL! Mr. Holmes you are too many for me.

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
In which Holmes wouldn't say boo to a goose. Underneath the cold exterior he can be quite kindly and forgiving to newbie criminals. It's a gem!

The Adventure of the Speckled Band - Holmes assists a Stoner in a most serpentine tale! This is the most thrilling and sinister story so far in the book. Definitely a favorite.

The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb - Another case where Holmes does not have to do a lot of work. The poor engineer and his ex-thumb though. The climax is quite thrilling, you can almost feel the ceiling closing in.

The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor The titular Noble Bachelor turns out to be an upper class twit. Doyle is doing a bit of a social satire with this story I think. A relatively inconsequential story but still a lot of fun. The wedding scene reminds me of the movie The Graduate a little bit.

The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
A tale of thievery and familial trust issues. Holmes can be quite paternal and sentimental when he chooses to be, though here he does that stuff "off screen".

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
“They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're all together ooky”

It’s Holmes vs The Addams Family! Well, not quite but it’s not too far off. Marvelous story, featuring Violet Hunter, a resourceful and competent young lady, who is almost as awesome as Irene Adler. If Irene is Catwoman, Violet is surely Batgirl.

No Shit Sherlock* - Holmes battles his deadliest enemy, constipation! Dr. Watson to the rescue with a suppository.

Every story in this book (except that last one about constipation) is a gem. Gems come in different sizes of course, but the entire collection is definitely a treasure. Holmes is probably my favorite fictional character of all time. His intellect is practically of superhero proportion, he is also wonderfully inscrutable yet caring and staunch defender of the less well to do. Watson is an extremely important support for Holmes, his courage and loyalty to Holmes saves the sleuth’s bacon on many occasions. He is also definitely not an idiot as portrayed in some dramatization. He can be quite quick witted and observant, and of course he is our trusty narrator.

Of course it takes an actual genius to create such a vivid and convincing fictional genius. From the reader’s point of view it may seem easy to think up a crime and then retroactively create clues that will lead Holmes to solving them, but when you read these stories Holmes’ problem solving just seem so organic and natural. His reading of people’s background from observing the minutiae of their appearance is mind boggling even though we know the author create the observations to fit the characters’ appearance. The ingenious part is that Doyle makes it all so believable, and he writes with such wit, style and elegance.

If you never read any Sherlock Holmes before shame on you! I recommend starting with this collection, then go on to the novels and other collections.
_________________________________
* OK, I totally made this one up!

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Librivox audiobook read – nay performed – by David Clarke. Awesome job Mr. Clarke!

Para ser lo primero que leo del autor (hace lo que parecen ser mil años una de las lecturas obligatorias en mi instituto fue “El sabueso de los Baskerville”, pero eso no cuenta), estoy muy gratamente sorprendido.
Saltándome el orden usual, decidí comenzar con “Las aventuras” en lugar de con “Estudio en escarlata” para garantizarme una lectura sencilla, ágil y poco exigente. Que es justo lo que he tenido.
Me ha encantado entrar en el 221B de Baker Street y conocer estos ¿pueden llamarse casos menores? de Holmes y, si bien no todos tienen la misma complejidad ni, a mis ojos, calidad, sí que suponen un ejercicio de lógica entre lo fascinante y lo absurdo (en el buen sentido).
He disfrutado especialmente de “La liga de los pelirrojos”, “El misterio de Boscombe Valley”, “La aventura del carbunclo azul” y, por encima de todos, de “La aventura de la banda de lunares”.

Sherlock Holmes is one of the great characters of literature - who can resist the aloof arrogance and limitless self-satisfaction which stems from that intellectual superiority with which he squishes all the dodgy baronets and rum foreign coves that turn up in the mysteries presented to him by the clients who never fail, when recounting their tangled tales, to speak in perfect paragraphs full of precisely recollected speech in a style exactly like a Conan Doyle story? I love the love story between Holmes and Watson - they may or may not be closet cases, but yes it is rather interesting how in "The Man with the Twisted Lip" when Watson stumbles over Holmes in disguise in an opium den from where Watson is retrieving the erring husband of his wife's friend late one night, without a second thought, Watson packs the stoned husband into a cabriolet and sends him home whilst he goes off with Sherlock to spend the night – never mind what a fretting wife will be thinking! Watson is of course the Boswell to Sherlock's equally-eccentric Dr Johnson and just as the great doctor got rather aggravated at Bozzy at times and swatted him like a fly, so we get this rather grim pronouncement from Sherlock - they are discussing the accounts Watson writes and publishes of Sherlock's cases, the very accounts we have been reading in this book, yes, rather postmodern of Conan Doyle:

"You have erred perhaps in attempting to put colour and life into each of your statements, instead of confining yourself to the task of placing upon record that severe reasoning from cause to effect which is really the only notable feature about the thing."

"It seems that I have done you full justice in the matter," I remarked with some coldness, for I was repelled by the egotism which I had more than once observed to be a strong factor in my friend's singular character.

"No, it is not selfishness or conceit," said he, answering, as was his wont, my thoughts rather than my words. "If I claim full justice for my art, it is because it is an impersonal thing – a thing beyond myself. Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should dwell. You have degraded what should have been a course of lectures into a series of tales."

That's telling him.

But Sherlock, these are beautifully written tales! For instance, I love the pause which allows some conversation before the moment when the next agitated client twangs the Baker Street bell with another very unlikely tale. A pause where Sherlock makes some random, unexpected observations about London life or makes of tobacco or the problems of succession in Schleswig-Holstein. And then, in comes the client shaking an umbrella - Sir, a foreign gentleman cut off my thumb last night. Mr Holmes, my wife disappeared thirty minutes after we were married. Mr Holmes, they believe I killed my father. Sir, a person sent my father five orange pips through the mail, and he died shortly thereafter. Now I have received five orange pips through the mail.

The unlikeliness of the mysteries and their resolutions are delightful in many ways. Sometimes it turns out no crime has been committed. Sometimes Sherlock turns out to be the criminal! He has to break a law to obtain justice. And he dishes out summary punishments too. Sometimes the police never get involved, often they're flat-footed stooges or simply noises off. The stories become the vehicle to make many comments on England and the English – here's one I liked. Holmes and Watson are driving out into the Surrey countryside on a beautiful Spring day :

"You look at these scattered houses and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation, and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there."

"Good Heavens!" I said, "who would associate crime with these dear old homesteads?"

"They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside."


Always fascinating, glinting with intelligence, ascerbity and occasional indirect humour, and human affection, all these stories surpassed my dim memories of them and made me very happy that there are another four volumes to go.

Liked the novellas far better. Probably not the best short story collection of Sherlock Holmes.

n  Individual ratings:n
1) A Scandal in Bohemia: 5 stars
2) The Red-headed League: 4 stars
3) A Case of Identity: 2 stars
4) The Boscombe Valley Mystery: 2 stars
5) The Five Orange Pips: 3 stars
6) The Man With The Twisted Lip: 2.5 stars
7) The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: 3 stars
8) The Adventure of the Speckled Band: 5 stars
9) The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb: 3.75 stars
10) The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor: 3 stars
11) The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet: 3 stars
12) The Adventure of the Copper Beeches: 4 stars

Ratings averaged and rounded to 3.5 stars

Tengo pequeños comentarios individuales de cada relato en mi perfil, pero el promedio de todos dio: 2.4 ★

A Scandal in Bohemia ★ ★ ★
The Read-Headed League ★ ★
A Case of Identity ★
The Boscombe Valley Mystery ★ ★
The Five Orange Pips ★ ★ ★
The Man With the Twisted Lip ★ ★ ★
The Blue Carbuncle ★ ★ ★
The Speckled Band ★ ★ ★
The Engineer’s Thumb ★ ★ ★
The Noble Bachelor ★ ★
The Beryl Coronet ★ ★ ★
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches ★

4.5

Sherlock es un gran personaje y en estos relatos se confirma, intuitivo, observador, divertido. Watson un gran narrador se historias y el complemento perfecto de este investigador.
Mi favorito: Escándalo en Bohemia.

It’s been fun zipping through one of these stories each night for the past twelve nights. I’ve felt rather clever after guessing correctly on a few of the outcomes, even without counting “The Speckled Band," a story I remember well from grammar school. I’m not sure why I remember it after such a long time, except for it being one of several short-stories we read that year that opened up a new world for me--thanks to a favorite English teacher. (Other stories I remember from then were by Guy de Maupassant and, of course, O. Henry, as well as the very sad “The Scarlet Ibis,” which I didn’t remember was written by one James Hurst.)

However superficially clever I might’ve felt, my guessing the outcome is not the attraction for me with these stories: It’s seeing the original elements that have since become the stock-in-trade for works about two very different buddies, working together as their personalities clash.

I also enjoy Doyle’s disparaging remarks on his own (Watson’s) stories through the mouthpiece of Sherlock. The last story of this set (“The Copper Beeches”) starts off with Watson feeling ‘cold’ toward Sherlock after the latter has noted that Watson has embellished his published statements of Sherlock’s deductions instead of sticking to a record of severe reasoning from cause to effect, going on to admonish Watson that he has degraded what should have been a course of lectures into a series of tales. Doyle then goes on to pen his most sensationalistic tale yet. (Sort of meta, isn’t it?)

3.5

The fifty-six Sherlock Holmes short stories came out in five books after their initial Strand magazine publications. ‘The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes’ was the first, and covers the stories written between July 1891 and June 1892.

What can you say? It’s a pretty solid collection of stories with much to enjoy and reams of atmosphere. Of the twelve, I like four better than the others:-

‘A Scandal In Bohemia’ is the first Holmes short story and one of the best. Holmes tries to trick someone who will be forever known to him as ‘the woman’ into giving away the hiding place of a photograph. From the initial meeting with the ‘aristocrat’ giving him the case, to the diversionary action scene, to the final denouement in which Holmes is proven not to be as clever as he thinks, it’s a fine story.

‘The Red-Headed League.’ Why does a firm insist on employing only a man with red hair? Clouds of atmosphere envelope a bizarre mystery.

‘The Man With The Twisted Lip.’ A man goes missing, but his wife sees him in a dingy area of London. Even though I solved the case well before Holmes, this is still one of the better stories. Again, tons of atmosphere!

‘The Adventure Of The Engineer’s Thumb,’ sees an engineer called out to repair a strange machine. Though the end doesn’t live up to the rest of the story, it’s nevertheless another atmospheric tale which has a constant air of expectancy.

I have to say, though there are no bad stories here (or, maybe one), there are plenty which are really no better than middling. There are occasional passages which are really quite flat, even plodding - in which a heck of a lot of dull telling goes on. There are also some rather thin stories which struggle to hold the interest, such as the bizarrely uneventful ‘The Case Of Identity.’ Holmes doesn’t even leave his room to solve this one. Why doesn’t a man, who was seen to be entering a carriage at the beginning of his journey, not exit it when it reaches its destination. Mmm [Plot spoiler here] – he got out of the door on the other side. Tough one that for Sherlock!

At his best, Doyle’s a very entertaining writer – he’s written some of my favourite short stories. But there’s no getting away from the fact that he was extremely prolific and churned out his stories and novels at a fair old rate, to the point where it does show at times. Fortunately, he was able to mask some of the blander passages and plots of these tales with Sherlock himself.

Overall, these stories are understandably iconic and definitely worth the read (7 out of 10 in my scoring system). If you can get a copy with the original illustrations, all the better, for they add much to the pleasure. [I read these from 'Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Illustrated Short Stories' from Chancellor Press].