BOOK REVIEW: CLASSICS THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SERIES

Good Morning, I'm Smriti Kalra of class XB and today I'm going to be presenting a book review for the Sherlock Holmes series. Now before I actually start with the book review, I'd like to mention that I am an avid reader of mystery books and thus the book review is from a viewpoint of someone who loves the genre of mystery. The series are based on a private detective named Sherlock Holmes who is consulted by the police, which is the Scotland Yard, when it is beyond its depths in solving crimes. He often works for other individuals too. Contrary to perceptions, he is not in it for the money but rather the thrill of what seems an impossible case that drives him to solve befuddling case after case. In fact Holmes is described as an irritable and agitated man when he doesn't have a case to solve and is always scouring through dozens of newspapers but more often than not the case comes to him. He is an egoistic man whose work gives him such joy that he considers work the best anti dote to sorrow. At times he has a flair for dramatics and often entraps his suspects in a conniving manner. His mannerisms though odd at first are something I found quite endearing as the series progressed. The way he paces his room in the absence of an answer, the way he smoked his pipe when deep in thought, his abrupt silences, broken sentences that he barely bothers to explain, and his somewhat smug nature that comes across at the end of each mystery when he names the perpetrators. His calculative mind is beyond compare and I still remember reading his adept descriptions of a person's life and livelihood simply by looking at them once! The stories are narrated by the loyal Dr. John Watson who is Sherlock Holmes' roomate at their famous address 22 Baker Street. A perfect companion he accompanies Holmes whilst assisting the mastermind and his loyalty is out of question. The character of Dr. Watson is probably based a bit on the author himself much like Jameson Rook and Richard Castle! Sherlock Holmes adopts unconventional methods to solve cases. Usually it starts with an investigation of the crime scene where essential clues are uncovered and deductions are made, followed by his expert sleuthing, supplemented by his meticulous notes and some questioning of suspects at times. Another extremely effective weapon of his arsenal was his ability to disguise himself such that even Watson could not recognize him! Add to this his impeccable ability to act and his scientific skills, Watson described him perfectly when he said and I quoteThe stage lost a fine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime." The style of writing is crisp and fluent, which I know is not altogether usual when it comes to classics. The narrative is peppered with details some of which are essential clues. Fear not, the English of the 19th century does not lead to headaches although if you read it late into the night like I did you might suffer from one. Sherlock Holmes dialogues are iconic, sometimes laced with sarcastic humor and his eccentric personality lights up the narrative. Like with all mystery books you are bound to try and figure out the culprit yourself but needless to say I hardly ever met this challenge. I have read all Sherlock Holmes books except one and like any other fan I have a few favorites. I loved reading A Scandal in Bohemia where Sherlock comes

across Irene Adler who exceeds his expectations and is probably the most respected women in his eyes. Another spectacular case was the one titled the Dying Detective where a troubled shell-shocked Dr. Watson is called upon his former address and Holmes home to find him in a state of delirium and breathing what seems to be his last breaths, determined to save him, he follows every instruction and *spoiler alert* the case culminates with the arrest of the culprit who was trapped through Holmes genius ploy of faking his own death. Also probably his most popular case, The Last Bow is where Holmes encounters his arch enemy Professor Moriarty and the last scene is their fall from the cliff leading everyone to believe that their beloved detective was no more. A devastated Watson begs to differ but has no choice. The author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle decided to kill his popular character as he was bored of him but the fans were so disappointed that Sherlock Holmes had to be resurrected a decade later. Its indeed a classic in its own league having stood the test of time, TV, movies and of course generations of ardent fans and avid readers alike. I started reading the series when I was in 8th grade and even today I like revisiting those pages of murder and mystery and that I think that is the mark of good book. To end my book review which I hope wasn't boring, I'd like to recommend this book to all those who haven't read it. And to say it in our hero's famous words the choice to read this classic is "Elementary, Dear Watson, elementary" Thank you