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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.
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.
bookherd's review against another edition
5.0
A Slight Trick of the Mind. Although this is a book about Sherlock Holmes, it's really not a mystery. Instead, it is a novel about Holmes as a 93 year old man, frail and forgetful, long retired, but still encountering celebrity worship from people who know him from Dr. Watson's stories.
The Holmes in this story is vigilant about protecting his privacy and not allowing celebrity seekers to disturb his life. He has trouble keeping a housekeeper--he's so crabby that they leave before a year is up. This sounds consistent with the Holmes of Conan Doyle's stories, but in this novel we are allowed to see more of the complexity of his thoughts, his care for others, his confusion in emotionally difficult situations, his deftness in some situations and clumsiness in others. Near the end of the story, an angry woman asks him, "What would you know about love?" and while we have sympathy with her, it's also clear that the people Holmes meets have difficulty letting him be an ordinary person instead of the hero who knows all from the stories.
This is a delicate, beautifully written book about existential loneliness and what fuels a person through life.
The Holmes in this story is vigilant about protecting his privacy and not allowing celebrity seekers to disturb his life. He has trouble keeping a housekeeper--he's so crabby that they leave before a year is up. This sounds consistent with the Holmes of Conan Doyle's stories, but in this novel we are allowed to see more of the complexity of his thoughts, his care for others, his confusion in emotionally difficult situations, his deftness in some situations and clumsiness in others. Near the end of the story, an angry woman asks him, "What would you know about love?" and while we have sympathy with her, it's also clear that the people Holmes meets have difficulty letting him be an ordinary person instead of the hero who knows all from the stories.
This is a delicate, beautifully written book about existential loneliness and what fuels a person through life.
passionatereader78's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sherlock Holmes as an old man was interesting to read. I liked the reality of the story where he recognizes he's not as sharp as he was when he was at the height of his career. I love that he's still solving Mysteries for people. The bee element was interesting also.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
tacanderson's review against another edition
4.0
A retired Sherlock, raising bees and living in a post-WW 2 era. An excellent book with a ton of potential for the movie. Funny, gripping, thoughtful, sad and beautiful.
maddypertiwi's review against another edition
4.0
Di masa pensiunnya, Sherlock Holmes tinggal di daerah Sussex mengurus peternakan lebahnya. Di usianya yang mendekati hampir seabad, Holmes semakin sadar bahwa dia sudah tua. Apalagi dia sudah sering mengalami hilang ingatan alias pikun. Di masa tuanya ini, dia teringat akan dua kasus lama. Pertama, kasus seorang anak yang mencari keberadaan ayahnya. Kedua, kasus tingkah laku aneh seorang istri. Lalu terjadilah kasus ketiga di peternakan lebahnya. Sembari mengenang kembali kasus yang terjadi, Holmes pun menemukan suatu kedamaian tersendiri, terlebih mengenai rahasia cinta sejatinya...
Buku karangan Mitch Cullin ini benar2 berbeda dari buku2 mengenai sepak terjang Sherlock Holmes selama ini. Mungkin karena buku ini dibuat dari sudut pandang Holmes, bukan Watson. Buku ini benar2 membuat kita melihat sisi lain dari Holmes. Siapa sangka, ternyata Holmes hanyalah manusia biasa yang juga bisa bertindak melankolis dan merasa kesepian karena kehilangan sahabat2nya. Betapa dia sangat khawatir kalo dia kehilangan kemampuan analisisnya karena usia tua. Secara gak langsung, pembaca juga diberitahu bagaimana cara kerja Holmes selama ini secara lengkap.
Intinya, Mitch Cullin membuat tokoh Holmes lebih manusiawi. Maklum aja, selama ini kalo kita baca petualangan Sherlock Holmes, kita selalu disuguhi dengan sedikit aroma kesombongan dari Holmes (cuma dikit lho). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tidak memasukkan unsur emosi dalam setiap cerita Holmes. Yah mungkin waktu ketemu sama Irine Adler itu kali ya... Tapi waktu baca ini, kesimpulan yang gw dapetin adalah... he's only human.
Buku karangan Mitch Cullin ini benar2 berbeda dari buku2 mengenai sepak terjang Sherlock Holmes selama ini. Mungkin karena buku ini dibuat dari sudut pandang Holmes, bukan Watson. Buku ini benar2 membuat kita melihat sisi lain dari Holmes. Siapa sangka, ternyata Holmes hanyalah manusia biasa yang juga bisa bertindak melankolis dan merasa kesepian karena kehilangan sahabat2nya. Betapa dia sangat khawatir kalo dia kehilangan kemampuan analisisnya karena usia tua. Secara gak langsung, pembaca juga diberitahu bagaimana cara kerja Holmes selama ini secara lengkap.
Intinya, Mitch Cullin membuat tokoh Holmes lebih manusiawi. Maklum aja, selama ini kalo kita baca petualangan Sherlock Holmes, kita selalu disuguhi dengan sedikit aroma kesombongan dari Holmes (cuma dikit lho). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tidak memasukkan unsur emosi dalam setiap cerita Holmes. Yah mungkin waktu ketemu sama Irine Adler itu kali ya... Tapi waktu baca ini, kesimpulan yang gw dapetin adalah... he's only human.
hpuphd's review against another edition
5.0
Chapter 18 is my favorite—the scene in which Holmes, the cold, reasoning machine at age 93, goes to a lonely place near his apiary where he reflects on the loss of people close to him. A charming and mellow novel about the master detective in 1947, frail and alone, and how if we live long enough we have to accommodate the loss of our vitality and sharpness and the inevitability of the finish of life. His visit to Hiroshima brings out how the aged look around and find themselves in a world they don’t recognize anymore. Movingly written.
thomcat's review against another edition
2.0
I did enjoy the character of the elder detective in this short novel, but am not sure it fits Sherlock Holmes. The story threads seem disjointed until the very end, which is fitting I suppose, but this novel just wasn't my cup of tea.