The Sign of Four: With Introduction and Notes (Penguin Classics)

The Sign of Four: With Introduction and Notes (Penguin Classics)

Taschenbuch
4.05
KlassikerWeltliteraturSign Of FearSherlock Holmes Englisch

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Beschreibung

As a dense yellow fog swirls through the streets of London, a deep melancholy has descended on Sherlock Holmes, who sits in a cocaine-induced haze at 221B Baker Street. His mood is only lifted by a visit from a beautiful but distressed young woman - Mary Morstan, whose father vanished ten years before. Four years later she began to receive an exquisite gift every year: a large, lustrous pearl. Now she has had an intriguing invitation to meet her unknown benefactor and urges Holmes and Watson to accompany her. And in the ensuing investigation - which involves a wronged woman, a stolen hoard of Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian, a helpful dog and a love affair - even the jaded Holmes is moved to exclaim, 'Isn't it gorgeous!'

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Haupt-Genre
N/A
Sub-Genre
N/A
Format
Taschenbuch
Seitenzahl
160
Preis
7.51 €

Beiträge

3
Alle
4

A well written novel with no words or description used just for the sake of it. This one engages you more than the scarlet or the hound and you can use your own deduction skills piggybacking on Holmes' observation skills.

3

To be honest, I feel kind of guilty to have enjoyed "The Sign of Four". During the first half of it, the novel was not nearly as good as "A Study in Scarlet", but then everything twisted and turned and tampered and I was basically so hooked I couldn't take this story down. One advantage of Arthur Conan Doyle's writing in this novel has certainly been his decision not to include a random plot switch like he did in "A Study in Scarlet". The mystery's solution was actually told through John Watson's perspective rather than within a long-winded narrative about the murderer. Thus, the reader is able to follow Watson and Sherlock through the entirety of this novel, and yet ... the beginning was boring as hell. I know, I know. We had a murder. We had a treasure. We had Mary. We had John. We had Sherlock. But ... whew. To explain my feelings about this book more precisely: The first half included a lot of different interesting aspects, e.g. Sherlock's explicit use of cocaine as well as his ways to explain why he takes it, and the introduction of Mary Morstan. But I couldn't get rid of the feeling to be alienated from Watson, as though it wasn't really possible to get inside his head and take a look not only at the murder case, but also at the interesting characters surrounding this case, namely Sherlock, John himself and Mary. I think I like Mary's TV version with the brilliant Amanda Abbington more, because Arthur Conan Doyle kept her character on a rather one-dimensional level. In addition, the fast-building romance between John and Mary was weird to witness as a reader, because John's behaviour seemed quite irrational and rash, even for him. On the other side, Arthur Conan Doyle was able to write some breathtaking scenes, including a pursuit and an interesting perspective on the Indian Rebellion - but the plot was mostly foreseeable from the beginning of the second half on, so the story was never able to really surprise me. In conclusion, it was a good novel and offered an enjoyable read, but no excellent one.

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