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Has anyone read Sherlock Holmes, and if so, what are your opinions of it?

Yes, I'm not normally a fan of mystery, but Sherlock Holmes was a fun read.

I haven't read any. My former roomate got the anthology of them last year, I believe. I'm just not all that interested.

I had to read "The Hound of the Baskerville" for school years and years ago. I don't remember much about it, but I do remember it was fairly mediocre. I just didn't find it altogether that interesting.

I'm not sure if I read authentic sherloc holmes, or perhaps an excerpt, or a short story form, but I've indulged in the series a bit.

Some guys tried to rob the office of the world's most brilliant fictional detective since and including batman, and get away with it? Heck, turns out they were hiding in one of his secret passages for most of the story.

Even for such a small passage, it was very witty. Sherlock Holmes made exposition what it is today. Velma would not explain the crime at the end of the episodes if not for him. It would just be a show about stoners who are fucked up enough to run away from a dude in a sheet and think for a moment it would be a real ghost. (I hear sherlock holmes wouldn't just shoot the bastards either, but I've also seen Sherlock Holmes in the 22 century)

I read one where diamond thieves had hidden their stash in a thanksgiving turkey, and Sherlock had to deduce which turkey it was using his brilliant logic.

I'm not to big a fan of mystery, but I do love Sherlock Holmes. Mostly for Doyle's just amazing writing style. The characters are amazing, though stopping to think of it I can't recall the name of any of the stories I've read of it. (shame)

Sherlock Holmes is excellent and I think "Hound of the Baskervilles" is probably the opus of that series.

I've read every book except the final collection, which I dread. Not only is it the only one remaining for me, but it's also supposed to be easily the worst.

You should have started with it.

if you wish to be the best man, you must suffer the bitterest of the bitter.

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Is Sherlock Holmes gay? This a topic that has been subject to some debate in my circles. What do you think? Try to stick to the actual books and short stories rather than other media adaptations if you can.

He has many neurosi, which is the signature of a brilliant mind. We also know that many geniuses of past and present have had many quirks. Some as simple as ADHD or dyslexia, blah blah blah. Many scientists that have made break throughs can be said to have been nearly insanely obsessed. Sherlock Holmes is barely functional, and many geniuses are as well. Ghandi was a pervert, having women sleep naked with him to test his Sadness and loneliness. Poe was troubled. Einstein was dyslexic and could spend up to a year finding a single miscalculation in a formula proof on paper. A single error.

Now, I firmly believe that his behavior is not simply easily written off as being a homosexual. There is a very unique dynamic between the two, but there is no indication that there is any romantic feelings between them. Those that want to see a homosexual relationship there will see it, just like people who read twilight think it's a good book. I have nothing against a homosexual character, but he simply isn't. Harry Potter writter ended her series with Dumbledore dead, and after her final book was published, she announced he was gay. The 7th book goes into intensive detail to examine his life, and he never did anything gay. A character only exists withing it's medium, so if it is not gay within the medium he or she simply is not. No amount of analysis can prove it.

Sherlock has problems, yes, but the way he differs from others is partly to blame for his genius. Or it can be said his genius is the reason he differs. Ignoring the fact that the author probably wasn't gay himself or even pro gay, it just isn't there. Societal relations between men over a century ago can make their relationship seem non hetero, but it's wrong to judge people because of these differences.

I agree that being gay probably wasn't part of Sherlock Holmes' original character design, but I've been having a similar debate to this lately with other people* and my personal opinion is that when you right a book, or make a movie, etc., you're characters belong to the public, and from that moment become a matter of individual interpretation. Yes, Sherlock Holmes probably wasn't originally written as gay, but you have the right to interpret that character however you want, and if in your own personal cannon you want him to be gay, then I see no reason why he shouldn't be. Of course it goes both ways, if you see him as straight, then I see no problem with that as well.

AHMETxRock wrote: Now, I firmly believe that his behavior is not simply easily written off as being a homosexual. There is a very unique dynamic between the two, but there is no indication that there is any romantic feelings between them. Those that want to see a homosexual relationship there will see it, just like people who read twilight think it's a good book. I have nothing against a homosexual character, but he simply isn't. Harry Potter writter ended her series with Dumbledore dead, and after her final book was published, she announced he was gay. The 7th book goes into intensive detail to examine his life, and he never did anything gay. A character only exists withing it's medium, so if it is not gay within the medium he or she simply is not. No amount of analysis can prove it.

The only issue I take with this argument is that you're saying that straight is the default sexuality. If the character isn't given any romantic interests or anything like that, that doesn't mean he or she's straight, it means he or she was never given a romantic interest. But otherwise I do agree with the Dumbledore thing, I still think Rowling could have taken that a bit further.

*An English scholar recently published a paper theorizing that Anne from Anne of Green Gables had fetal alcohol syndrome.

AHMETxRock wrote:Societal relations between men over a century ago can make their relationship seem non hetero

Non-hetero as compared to modern social relationships, yeah.

smiley_cow wrote:The only issue I take with this argument is that you're saying that straight is the default sexuality.

Whether you want to see it or not, heterosexual is the default for written work from way back when. You cannot cannot cannot look at things written during a different era and assume that the worldview is identical to ours; believing otherwise leads to an incomplete understanding at best and a total distortion of the underlying themes at worst.

It's exactly like the claims that Einstein was Dyslexic. People look at a few completely understandable errors he made and blow them all out of proportion into a post-mortem diagnosis, because they cannot tolerate an icon being an actual regular human being who makes actual regular human mistakes. No, the person in question is either absolutely perfect or an heroic example of overcoming handicaps; nothing else can let the people idolise that individual without making them feel as if they are wasting their potential.