Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - 221B: Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Collection

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221B: Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle

10 reviews

latida94's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

There's a reason we're still obsessed with Sherlock Holmes today!

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lucyhargrave's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I’m glad I finally finished this but I can’t say I particularly enjoyed listening to it. Some of the stories where intriguing and they kept you guessing but I couldn’t get other the (I suppose) period typical racism, sexism and the use of eugenics to sold the crimes. The N word is used throughout, anyone who isn’t British is described with negative connotations and women are either insipid lovelorn creatures or devilish temptresses with magical power over man. By the end I was over Holmes superior attitude and dislike of everyone but Watson.

I’m glad I read it purely due to the legacy Sherlock Holmes has left on literature and culture BUT I really couldn’t recommend it.

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peasandpancakes's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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alphabet_soup_books's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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laurareadsbig's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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emmonsannae's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

An old favorite! Fun to have on hand to be able to read in small chunks. ACD is truly the unparallelled small mystery author. I love how eccentric and kind Sherlock is. My favorite novel is still The Hound of the Baskervilles. Some notes: ACD's language is really rough with regards to racism/colonialism. These were written at the height of Britain's colonial empire in India, so the colonialism/racism in stories that deal with those themes is to such an extent that it is hard to read them (The Sign of Four is particularly difficult). It is worth reading, in my opinion, for the good historical tension of seeing how ACD was actually ahead of his time in some ways (racial equality in particular) even though his language is appalling by our standards now. It's also worth reading because those attitudes were real and reading them helps us understand that better. All in all, I enjoy the stories and appreciate them as an accurate window into a historical time/place—but I would be thoughtful about who I would recommend them to, and I wouldn't recommend them without discussing these things.

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diana_raquel's review against another edition

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adventurous

4.75

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular characters ever created by Arthur Conan Doyle. First appearing in print in 1887's A Study in Scarlet, the character's popularity became widespread with the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine, beginning with A Scandal in Bohemia in 1891. Overall, 4 novels and 56 short stories were created revolving around the character of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

All of the novels and short stories are set in the Victorian or Edwardian eras, between about 1880 and 1914. Most of them are narrated by the character of Holmes's friend and biographer John H. Watson, who usually accompanies Holmes during his investigations and often shares quarters with him at the address of 221B Baker Street, where many of the stories begin. As I said in other reviews, I maintain the opinion that the stories really benefit from being narrated by Watson. Not only because Watson helps the reader navigate the setting of Victorian society but also because it helps us understand Sherlock Holmes. Like I said in my review of A Study in Scarlet, Watson is a very emphatic character, so he's the one that helps to humanize the always-rational Sherlock, a character that may not be so loved by readers if the stories were narrated by Sherlock or in thrid-person. For instance, I didn't find "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier", one of the few stories narrated by Holmes, as interesting as the ones narrated by Watson.

But, overall, I really liked the stories and I strongly recommend them. The only thing that I would advise you to do is try to read the stories over time and not at once. This edition has over 1400 pages, and that can be very challenging.

Final notes: If you're looking for a good adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, I suggest the 1984 tv show adaptation produced by Granada Television and starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and David Burke and subsequently Edward Hardwicke as Watson. Between 1984 and 1994, 36 episodes and five films were produced over six series. It's one of the best adaptations of Sherlock Holmes that I've seen.

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