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#conandoyle
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Cuilin
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Daisey I enjoyed this one, but it‘s also one that I solved fairly quickly. The title and the initial details seemed pretty clear. I was in no way disappointed that there wasn‘t actually a crime. 2w
Librarybelle I was not disappointed it wasn‘t a crime, but I was surprised by the culprit. I‘m not up on my sea creature knowledge, so I had no clue that a jellyfish could resemble a lion‘s mane. 😂 2w
See All 15 Comments
Cuilin @Daisey @librarybelle When I saw the title I‘ve got to admit that I thought of mushrooms and wondered if someone would be poisoned. (edited) 2w
CatLass007 I think anyone who criticizes the story because there‘s no actual crime is missing the point that everyone thought it was a crime, including Holmes. 2w
Cuilin @CatLass007 🎯 exactly!!! That‘s the mystery. 2w
dabbe @Cuilin @Daisey @Librarybelle @eeclayton @CatLass007 Excellent observations, everyone! To me, this story proves that Holmes isn't just a crime solver; he's a true investigator, and his skills apply to scientific mysteries and not just human malice. Perhaps Doyle is daring to ask: “Must every villain be human? Can nature itself be the antagonist?“ In the world of conflicts, we have human vs. human, human vs. himself/herself/theirself, ⬇️ 2w
dabbe human vs. society, and human vs. nature. Kudos to Doyle for giving us one with nature as the so-called villain. Perhaps this “eco-horror“ story could be seen as a precursor to movies like JAWS or THE BIRDS. I found it a refreshing take and bold experiment in the canon. And I can't believe we only have three stories left! 2w
CogsOfEncouragement I agree with you all. A mysterious death requires answers and SH gets to the bottom of the matter. Entertaining short story. 2w
CatLass007 I may not participate in next Saturday‘s discussion. I am having surgery on Friday and I have no idea how I will feel on Saturday. But I will catch up and I will keep you posted. 2w
Cuilin @CatLass007 Hope all goes well. Let us know. 🤞for a speedy recovery. Jump in to a discussion whenever works for you. 2w
Cuilin @dabbe Yes, I love this take. More horror than cozy In nature do we ever fully know what‘s out there? I can see someone after reading this story, in the 1920s, living near the Sussex Coast going “well, I‘m not swimming today!”. 2w
dabbe @Cuilin IKR? 🩵🎯🩵 2w
dabbe @Cuilin P.S. I just sent you an email regarding the possible Sherlock pastiche reads! 🤩😍🤩 2w
31 likes15 comments
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Cuilin
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Librarybelle As I said for the first question, Holmes‘s telling is more methodical. I actually found this easier to read. Holmes is thorough, and we can see his thinking throughout. 2w
Cuilin @Librarybelle The two stories from Holmes POV are heavily criticised and considered dry. I agree with you. I think they‘re clear and easier to read. I love that we see him “show his work” 2w
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eeclayton I think there's less “clutter“ with Holmes. Since he knows what he knows, there is no need to fill the narrative with red herrings, descriptive details or false theories, which are often used by Watson when he has no clue about the solution of a case. 2w
CatLass007 @Librarybelle @Cuilin @eeclayton I agree with the three of you. When Holmes tells the story we get to see his thought processes and I find that much more enjoyable than going from Point A to Point C without going through Point B. It‘s actually easier for me to figure out things along with Holmes rather than having everything filtered through Watson. 2w
dabbe @Cuilin @Librarybelle @eeclayton @CatLass007 Agree 💯 with all of your points. To me, Holmes's narration reads more like clinical nonfiction, whereas Watson's reads like dramatic fiction. I enjoy both, but I prefer the dramatic flair of Watson and like trying to figure out the puzzle through his eyes because he is usually lost like the reader is. Holmes's tone is clinical, intellectual, and detached. Watson's is dramatic, admiring of Holmes's ⬇️ 2w
dabbe larger-than-life detective capabilities, and suspenseful. If Watson‘s stories are like watching Holmes perform on stage, “The Lion‘s Mane“ is like reading Holmes's private case notes—enlightening, but not as entertaining. 2w
CogsOfEncouragement I was amused how the reader was not told of SH‘s guess because it was withheld via convo with the Inspector and SH refused to tell him prematurely. SH was writing directly to us for other parts of the account, and then kept us in the dark this way. 2w
CatLass007 @CogsOfEncouragement I don‘t necessarily think that Holmes was keeping us in the dark. And I don‘t think it was a guess. I think he realized he needed a different theory. A theory is not a guess. This is in line with the clues that Holmes has and shares with us. Holmes realizes he doesn‘t have all the pieces yet and begins to do research based on something he read ages ago. 2w
24 likes9 comments
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Cuilin
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Librarybelle I liked this. Holmes‘s telling of the story is more methodical and laid out than a story told by Watson. The end was a surprise for me. 2w
eeclayton I liked it, too. For me personally, Watson is a more enjoyable narrator, but it's interesting now and then to have a closer look at how SH himself is thinking. 2w
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CatLass007 It made me sad that Holmes and Watson saw each other infrequently at this point in their lives. But I did like the narration by Holmes and I was unsurprised about the culprit in the murder. It was nice to hear Holmes admit he had been wrong when he thought the victim had not been in the water merely because his towel was dry. 2w
Cuilin @CatLass007 A humble Holmes!! Who‘d a thought! 2w
dabbe @Cuilin @LIbrarybelle @eeclayton @CatLass007 I believe this is the one story where we get a glimpse of Holmes's life in retirement. I loved the coastal setting and agree 💯 with @CatLas007 about missing the relationship between H & W. I did found it hard to grasp that Holmes is okay with doing nothing but beekeeping. This is the man who once took drugs because he couldn't handle idleness. But people do change over time--even our beloved detective. 2w
CogsOfEncouragement I thought maybe the death was not by human hands. Then when the answer was revealed, I remembered SH began this tale by saying “soothing life of Nature” and realized that was certainly meant as foreshadowing. 2w
24 likes7 comments
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LitsyEvents
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Repost for @dabbe

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin @LitsyEvents

Interesting discussion on Saturday, Sherlockians. Can you believe we're down to our last FOUR stories? 😱 Next up: “(TAo The Lion's Mane“. Discussion will be on July 19th and will be led by @Cuilin. Hope your week goes well.

Original post - https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2883166

dabbe Thanks for posting! 💚 3w
32 likes1 comment
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dabbe
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#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin @LitsyEvents

Interesting discussion on Saturday, Sherlockians. Can you believe we're down to our last FOUR stories? 😱 Next up: “(TAo The Lion's Mane“. Discussion will be on July 19th and will be led by @Cuilin. Hope your week goes well. 🩵

Link to summary and analysis (spoiler alert): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nR1U1fpvL5Nxwm-iBOH5jLM3tmWkbVpZ/view?usp=shari...

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Leftcoastzen
Sherlockian | Graham Moore
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Thought of you @dabbe 🤩

dabbe Sheer awesomeness! Thanks for sharing. I now have it as a birthday wish! 😍 2mo
Leftcoastzen @dabbe yay! 👏🫶 2mo
40 likes2 comments
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Cuilin
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Librarybelle We‘ve talked about Holmes‘ growth as a human throughout the canon. I think this shows that under all of the frustrations and somewhat harsh criticisms of Watson, Holmes really cares for him and recognizes him as a friend. 4mo
CogsOfEncouragement Oof. I understood at this point SH was faking illness and my heart still hurt for W hearing SH say: only a general practitioner w/very limited experience and mediocre qualifications. W was humble enough to move forward in getting help rather than concern himself with ego. It was a balm to read SH tell W he could only fool him at four yards, etc. and that W is only a bad liar, not a bad doctor. 4mo
dabbe I guess what Holmes did to Watson in “The Final Problem“ (letting Watson think he was dead for three years) was much worse than what he did to him (and Mrs. Hudson) here. He took a big chance with both of them in the hopes that Smith would confess to the crime of killing his nephew. But that's the magic of these stories. By now we know SH's relationships with both Watson and Mrs. H are solid, and they actually help him nab the villain. 4mo
34 likes4 comments
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Cuilin
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Librarybelle You have to suspect that Holmes is up to something, though as a reader, we‘re not quite sure what it is. I would say he fools Watson, but sometimes Watson isn‘t the keenest observer. As for Mrs. Hudson and Holmes‘ views on women, Watson lays them out at the start. Mrs. Hudson acts like a mother to Holmes; she‘s a nurturer. 4mo
CogsOfEncouragement Two times SH shows too much energy for a dying man, and if Watson wasn‘t so very worried for his friend he would have seen through the nonsense. I can‘t fault Watson for caring too much. Plus, I enjoy when Doyle gives us clues in this way. Very entertaining. 4mo
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CogsOfEncouragement Hudson and SH have a relationship established by him getting her out of a bad marriage, yeah? I‘ve always felt they have a history that allows SH much leeway in the annoyances Mrs. Hudson puts up with because it is SH. I don‘t think she would put up with such things from someone else. We have those relationships in real life I think. We give certain loved ones a pass here or there in their habits because we know they absolutely have our back. 4mo
Cuilin @CogsOfEncouragement I love this interpretation of Mrs. Hudson. I agree. I think she understands Sherlock and therefore makes accommodations. 4mo
Cuilin @Librarybelle As the reader I wanted to tell Watson “you know he‘s faking it right?” But I‘m aware that would not have been helpful to the plot. 4mo
dabbe My views on Mrs. Hudson might be warped due to the Cumberbatch SHERLOCK episodes. In those, she is one sassy lassie who adores Sherlock but doesn't take his BS without shelving out some of her own. I now see her in this way in the original canon, too, and I love their symbiotic relationship. 4mo
25 likes8 comments
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Cuilin
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Librarybelle I liked this one, and maybe I was in the mood for a story that features Holmes using deception to catch the culprit. Once again, we the reader do not know much of the backstory until near the end of the tale, so we‘re kind of left feeling a bit surprised—why does Holmes want to entrap the culprit. But, we‘re also finding out the clues as Watson does, so since he tells the story, I suppose that makes sense! 4mo
CogsOfEncouragement Another one where Doyle especially allows us to feel smarter than Watson. “In an instant, with a tigerspring, the dying man had intercepted me.” This sentence told me SH was faking an illness for some reason, and the trap for Culverton Smith soon became apparent. Nice touch to have Smith and Inspector Morton trying to hide smiles from Watson for very different reasons. An entertaining telling. 4mo
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Cuilin @Librarybelle I liked this one too, brevity being the soul of wit. 4mo
Cuilin @CogsOfEncouragement Very entertaining. 4mo
dabbe Now that we've read over 40 (gasp!) of these and Doyle was riding the SH gravy train by now, it'd be so easy to be totally formulaic--which many detective stories can be. Here, he totally breaks the mold. No start in front of the fire at 221-B; we have Mrs. Hudson thinking Sherlock's dying! Wonder if people back then were feeling “The Final Problem“ vibes when they first read this one! Well done, Doyle. 4mo
Read4life I enjoyed this one & liked how it opened with Mrs. Hudson. Well done, ACD! 4mo
Cuilin @Read4life yes this one was good. 4mo
Cuilin @dabbe I wondered that too, I bet it worried his loyal readers. 4mo
kelli7990 I enjoyed this story. 4mo
27 likes10 comments
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LitsyEvents
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Via @dabbe

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin
Good discussion yesterday, Sherlockians. Next up:
“(TAo) The Dying Detective.“ Discussion will be on 3/29 and will be led by @Cuilin.
Summary/analysis link (spoiler alert):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wDe28JDm2-cpV2zqoU3ofknukb9BfrN6/view?usp=shari...

dabbe TY! 🤩🤩🤩 4mo
30 likes1 comment