MobileRead Discussion Thread: The Hound of the Baskervilles (spoilers)

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Laine

I buy lots of audio books. And I'm up to my 10th mp3 player - and not one has been an ipod.

Which one was it. There are several version of this at Audible. Who was the narrator/reader?

BOb

BTW: The only non iPod players we have bought have been duds.

[Kokomo Lee]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Yet, in the first chapter, Holmes ridicules Watson's bumbling attempts to deduce anything from a walking stick.

"When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth."

As I get older, I find I enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories less and less, due to Holmes' arrogant attitude and condescending treatment of Watson. Overall, the stories are still a good read, but I'm tempted to turn the page and skip ahead when Holmes is being snarky...

Two items stood out for me in re-reading The Hound of the Baskervilles after a long absence. The first is how much of this story is written in Watson's "voice". Sherlock Holmes appears in the chapters 1-4, then is absent until the last paragraph of chapter 11 when Watson learns the mysterious man inhabiting a stone hut is actually Holmes. Chapter 12 highlights the actions and thoughts of Holmes after he sends Watson to the countryside along with Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Mortimer. the narrative is again picked up by Watson, and continues until the final chapter, when Holmes summarizes what really happened and why.

The second item that struck me in HoTB was the classic mystery technique of stopping a crime from happening, then the hero and sidekick spend the following chapter explaining the villain's motive and how they solved the mystery. Although this technique was in use before 1901 (when HoTB was published), it is well-developed in this story, and certainly wraps up all the details in a bright red bow .

Sherri

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by SLMines

Two items stood out for me in re-reading The Hound of the Baskervilles after a long absence. The first is how much of this story is written in Watson's "voice".

Actually, ALL of the Holmes stories are as recounted/narrated by Watson.

BOb

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Actually, ALL of the Holmes stories are as recounted/narrated by Watson.

Not quite all, though I can't remember which ones aren't narrated by Watson.

Wikipedia says:
"All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Sherlock Holmes himself, and two others are written in the third person."

Update:
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" (told in third-person)
"His Last Bow" (told in third-person)
"The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" (narrated by Holmes)
"The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (narrated by Holmes)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Actually, ALL of the Holmes stories are as recounted/narrated by Watson.

BOb

No, there are two of the short stories which are narrated directly by Holmes.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, there are two of the short stories which are narrated directly by Holmes.

Yes... sorry.. should have said "All the ones I've read so far".

BOb

[curtw]

Originally Posted by Laine

Sorry, wasn't free.
I bought a set of 5 cds and transferred files to my Creative mp3 player.

I buy lots of audio books. And I'm up to my 10th mp3 player - and not one has been an ipod.

Laine

Maybe if one of them was an iPod, you wouldn't have had to buy as many? My third mp3 player (August 2003) was an iPod, and I STILL use it daily. My music library still just barely fits, so the only reason I can ever imagine retiring it is if I "outgrow" it.

[pilotbob]

Looks like a new Sherlock Holmes movie will be coming out in the fall. I am glad to hear that Watson won't be portrayed as a bumbling idiot. Although, I'm not sure I buy Robert Downey Jr as Holmes. He seems too short?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/...e.1-412612.php

BOb

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Looks like a new Sherlock Holmes movie will be coming out in the fall. I am glad to hear that Watson won't be portrayed as a bumbling idiot. Although, I'm not sure I buy Robert Downey Jr as Holmes. He seems too short?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/...e.1-412612.php

BOb

Neither one fits my image of the characters. But thats cinema for you.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Looks like a new Sherlock Holmes movie will be coming out in the fall. I am glad to hear that Watson won't be portrayed as a bumbling idiot. Although, I'm not sure I buy Robert Downey Jr as Holmes. He seems too short?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/...e.1-412612.php

BOb

Guy Ritchie is making him wear heels so he is taller.

Not a joke.

[pilotbob]

Hey... I got another Jeopardy question right tonight for having read this book. It is amazing how many Jeopardy questions are about the classics.

BOb

[Idoine]

For me the best Sherlock Holmes is/was Jeremy Brett in the Granada series. There Watson is considerated too, and I really love this series (had all of them in DVD !)
BTW, I have the Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes too, and the first two volumes of "Les Aventures de Sherlock Holmes édition bilingue" (paperback, though !)
I have A Study in Scarlet in LIT (free), and The Adventures and Memoirs in LIT (free), too, if someone is interested !

[HarryT]

Yes, the Jeremy Brett versions are certainly extremely faithful to the books. It's a pity that he died before he was able to complete the "canon".

[Billsuits1]

I just finished HOTB this week and it was truely a great read. I ended up reading half on line and half on my reader.

I always enjoy the narrative that Holmes gives where he fills in the pieces.

Jeremy Brett was Sherlock Holmes to me. I can't read any of the stories or novels without immediately visualizing him as I am reading.

[Billsuits1]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

It's a great show.

I thought the whole thing with Selden was weird too. They didn't really give a reason for it.

Seldon was needed for two reasons.

1) There needed a way to show that a real hound was at work. There needed to be someone who would wear Sir Henry's clothes and then die. The house keepers gave Seldon the clothes. This shows that it is not a legend but a real animal.

2) The reader had to be shown how Holmes was on in Dartmoor at the same time events Watson was relaying information. He is shown as the Moon rises behind him when Sir Henry and Watson are out hunting the convict.

THOB is my favorite book of all time. I've read it many times and also listened to the librivox collection over and over again.