A study in scarlet, Again

     Yes, I have read all the short stories and the novels involving Sherlock Holmes. But, every time I take up the study in scarlet, I am hooked on again. A contrast between introduction of Sherlock and Watson is what always grabs my attention. Everything about Watson is told to the reader. It is like, know the narrator first. Normally a narrator is given a one dimensional character.

    The narrator cannot change for anything. He will be true to his introductions. He does not want any share of the success but will be there for all the difficulties the main character undergoes. I saw the same pattern in "The Great Gatsby" and also "Brideshead revisited". The study in scarlet is different here. Watson is always with Sherlock. There are very rare situations where they are not together. There is one more difference. We dont know much about Sherlock Holmes. We are told what Watson sees. So, we, the reader, know as much as Watson wants us to know. 

    The character of Sherlock Holmes is not fully exposed to the reader. Whereas in other books, I state, the main character is more well etched than the narrator. There will be more dimensions to the main character. Sherlock Holmes is as unknown to me as he was known to me before reading all the stories he is involved in. I know a lot of Watson's character. However, he is not multi-dimensioned. His history is told as though it is a bored life. 

    Whatever life he now leads with Sherlock is what is important and significant. We also see that Sherlock himself does not like the way Watson writes his escapades though he is happy that he is doing it, since, Holmes himself would not have done it since it is too boring. Should we thank the single dimensional life of Watson or the multi-dimensional un-explored life of Sherlock. 

    This is exactly the reason there have been plenty of takes on this detective than any other ones. Dalgelish and Poirot are etched so beautifully to the last strand of hair on their face, it is very difficult to bring them out of their comfort zone. But, Sherlock does not have to be comfortable. He enjoys the un-comfortable. He cherishes it. To this day, I have not figured out Sherlock as much as the hardy boys, Nancy drew, Poirot or Dalgelish. But, I am happy that these people exist. They have drawn me out of many depths and have partnered me in re-energizing me on various occasions. Thanks to one and all. However, Sherlock.......

P G wodehouse's use. "Jeeves and the yule tide spirit"

Picked up another collection of short stories from P. G. Wodehouse. "Jeeves and the yule tide spirit". This is now quite a different collection of short stories. It is named jeeves because that is the most known and frequently used character in wodehouse's works. There are a couple of stories with jeeves as the central character. These stories have been culled from other collection of short stories, jeeves specific. The jeeves ones, I had already read them, so gave them a skip for the rainy days. I was really shocked by the variety of the stories chosen for the publication. In wodehouse's words, quite a "rummy" collection. Well, dont worry, you still have the aunts, the uncles, the cousins and of course school time buddies.

There are a couple of stories which would give all the light romance novels a run for their money. They are exquisitely designed and written. You are immediately in the thick of the action. It is good to see that he has tried his hand at all the genres of writing. There is a story combining romance, horror and crime writers. That in itself was a very heady mix. I liked that piece. There are a couple of cheeky ones which we are accustomed to while reading wodehouse works. And of, course how can the collection be complete without cricket and golf. They all have their presence in the collection. All the stories have that happy-go-lucky thing as the undertone. In the wodehouse world you have a solution for all the problems in the world. In fact, the problems are what ignite the comedy in the situations. Otherwise the wodehouse world is very boring because every body is going about their chores like there is nothing wrong. Action starts even if there is a little wrong and even at the slightest deviation from the obvious.

Everything in the world is still hunky-dory. And at last everybody is happy. And we the readers are transformed and for a moment dwell in that world. I would not call his works escapist. I would term them as small time capsules to be taken at one's own orders. For a moment you want to forget the present you are in or in any world you could have been up-till now, you get yourself transported to wodehouse world. Maybe there is a learning or two(Well that would make a great case study for managerial studies, will it?????!!!). You have all the same classes present in the world in his world also. The rich/poor, dark/white, north/south. But the way they gel in, the way they criss cross each other and then the way they settle down can only happen in his works. The conclusions to such kind of stories is quite remarkable. The conclusion doesnt look much complicated when you are in the flow. But, when you are out of it and think about the story, you think, that is freakingly unbelievable.

What a writer. I had plenty of chuckles during my transit(sometimes it was very vocal). But I loved every bit of the book.