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A review by alyssaehopper
The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
3.0
I can't help but love the setting, clues, and writing of the Sherlock series. This one was a bit too short for me to sink deep into the story and the mystery, but I still enjoyed it. There is a lot of offensive, racist imagery and speech toward Indians, making it very clear that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a man of Victorian England as it was (and not as I like to pretend it was). However, I still think this book was good and enjoyable. I'm reminded of a quote from Anne Fadiman, that I will repurpose:
"The invitation [Doyle] offers me is a far broader one: to enter a world that was very different from ours, but in its own 'pretheoretical' way possessed nobility and beauty. If I had to step into a polling booth and vote on [Doyle]'s [race] politics, I'd pull the NO lever strenuously. I am therefore very glad that [Sherlock Holmes] is a [book series], not a referendum."
"The invitation [Doyle] offers me is a far broader one: to enter a world that was very different from ours, but in its own 'pretheoretical' way possessed nobility and beauty. If I had to step into a polling booth and vote on [Doyle]'s [race] politics, I'd pull the NO lever strenuously. I am therefore very glad that [Sherlock Holmes] is a [book series], not a referendum."