A Study in Scarlet

I’ll admit it.  The main reason I read this novel – the first in the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle – was because of the movie released last year starring the dashing Robert Downey Jr. Although it had always been in the back of my mind, the film edged it to the front of my “to read list.”  I know, I am almost as bad as the pre-teens who flock to the nearest bookstore just twice a year to pick up the latest Nicholas Sparks book turned sappy movie.  Slightly better though because it was Sherlock Holmes, and not a book with Miley Cyrus on the cover (although I have also read this book, don’t judge me.  More about that catastrophe later).

A Study in Scarlet was quite entertaining.  I’m always slightly weary when I read any classic because sometimes the language and style of the book are so different than what I’m used to, I have trouble getting into it.  I want to read them, because I feel, as a lover of literature you must read the classics to truly appreciate it, but to be honest I don’t want to.  There’s just too much wonderfully delicious contemporary literature calling my name that the classics lay forgotten on my shelves.  I own them, they just remain unread.  I try to crack into a couple each year, I have found success with Jane Austen’s novels, and now apparently, in Doyle’s.

I actually enjoyed his very proper use of language – and having a British accent in my head for a couple hours a day – and, of course, I grew found of his complex characters, and I enjoyed the organization of his mystery novel.  It was very different than any other mystery I’ve read.  It was split into two stories.  The first part explored how Holmes and Watson met, how they came to live with each other, and eventually spark a friendship and working relationship.  At the same time Holmes solves a murder case, but, as the reader, you don’t know how, you just know he does.  At first, this upset me because it seemed completely unbelievable that Holme’s knew who the murderer was based on very minor details and the murderer just happened to visit his home that day.  At least in the movie, it gave you a glimpse of how Holme’s brain works but in the book, he completely leaves you in the dark.

But than you begin the second part of the novel, which back tracks to the beginning of the case, from when the murder actually occurred to when Holmes was hired.  This is where you get a glimpse into the brilliant mind of Sherlock Holmes.  I liked how the two parts complimented each other.  Since I knew the outcome of the murder case I wasn’t distracted by it and this left me free to truly enjoy the mind of Sherlock Holmes: his intelligence, his wit, his unique way of thinking.  This is how it differs from typical mystery novels, it allowed for character development, which is probably why I enjoyed it.

I’ve already bought the second one in the series and I’m looking forward to reading it.  Plus they look so good together; Penguin came out with these awesome vintage covers and I really want the complete set!  Here are four of eight of them.

Also, it didn’t hurt that the entire time I read it images of Robert Downey Jr. (who played Holmes) and Jude Law (who played Watson) were racing through my mind.

P.S. Any suggestions of must-read classics?

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