Reviews

Un sencillo truco mental by Mitch Cullin

lizzye33's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Dementia

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

221bees's review against another edition

3.0

This novel was less of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche than a novel about death and aging--I guess you could also call it a character study. It's beautifully written, but, at times, I wasn't 100% convinced that the central character was Holmes. I also found Holmes' "love at first sight" story to be awkward. I've read stories where Holmes tackles love, and I don't think this novel accomplished a convincing Sherlock-Holmes-in-love story-line.

I mostly enjoyed the glimpses of Holmes at his cottage in Sussex because I felt like he was at his most introspective; I also liked the father-son relationship he had with Roger (the author handled these interactions well).

Honestly, I read this because I knew it was going to be a film in 2015. I'm looking forward to see how they adapt it.

starwarrior91's review against another edition

4.0

As a character study of Holmes, and as a late 1940’s period piece this story is fairly well done. I give the edge to the film adaptation starring Sir Ian McKellen simply because it has a much more optimistic conclusion.

bibispizzas's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

nianyigexiaodu's review against another edition

reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

michidoc's review against another edition

4.0

Come riassumere le impressioni che ho avuto da questo libro? Incuriosita naturalmente dal film da cui è stato tratto, e avendolo ricevuto come regalo, ho iniziato a seguire la narrazione, molto simile a quella cinematografica. Quello che però traspariva dall'uno, cioè la perdita della memoria e così la perdita di se stessi, la mancanza degli affetti perduti, il riallacciarsi a quelli odierni, la speranza verso ciò che verrà, sia esso vicino, lontano, inevitabile o meno, qui sono trattati in tutt'altra maniera o per nulla. Qui troviamo un Holmes imperturbabile come quello a cui siamo abituati, ma con un'anima profonda, poetica, sentimentale a tratti e piena d'amore, comunque lo vogliate definire, in altri. Lo vediamo confrontarsi con la solitudine, con il significato della vita, con le conseguenze e le cause delle cose, senza che, come un tempo, o come nei suoi romanzi, ne trovi un nesso, l'implacabile bellezza e crudeltà della natura. Alcune vicissitudini sono completamente diverse dal film, rendendo questa narrazione insieme uguale e differente. Emblematico in questo senso il titolo originale, "Un impercettibile trucco della mente", A Slight Trick of the Mind, come se tutto ciò che viene narrato, la vita, il vuoto, la solitudine, la morte, gli affetti, la natura, il fascino, il sublime, venisse riportato a questi trucchi della mente di un grande personaggio letterario, insieme fittizio e insieme reale.

jenniferstringer's review against another edition

4.0

What a melancholy story...I was looking forward to Ian McKellan in the role of Holmes, but if the movie is true to the book - the storyline will slay me and I will have to avoid it in the theater.

hoboken's review against another edition

3.0

Maybe I'm just shallow, but I thought there was less here than meets the eye. Couldn't tie the various threads together--maybe I'm just missing the point about Holmes's failing faculties, but I felt the disjointedness was the author's doing rather than Holmes's. And various anachronisms of language and grammatical errors were jarring. Haven't seen the movie--did they improve it?

susani_'s review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars

Quite a good book, witnessing Sherlock Holmes as you never seen him before.

carbolicious's review against another edition

3.0

I honestly don't know how I feel about this book. Well written and engaging, but depressing.