Two days ago I finished The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I enjoyed it very much, and although I have seen some of the oldest movies with Sherlock Holmes and the new one I found the book very intriguing.
It sets the character in a perspective from which you wished you could have known him better. Holmes is the prototype of the modern detective, with an eye for keen observations and the fine intellectual equipment for astounding deductions. I must admit that since I started reading this novel I tried to see more with my eyes and to understand the small clues all around me.
The elegance and the parsimony of actions really makes him unique. His energy and sense of action make him a great helper of those in need. Mycroft(his brother)could indeed say that Sherlock has inherited all the energy in the family, because Holmes not only makes hypothesis about the facts, he also tries to test them in various ways, often implying the art of metamorphosis and acting to make his impersonations plausible.
Although his archenemy only comes to light in his memoirs in the last adventure it only sets a comparison to the mind and intelligence of this brilliant character. Prof. Moriarty is the renown mathematician who runs the criminal world in London. It would only seem fair that they would find their end together in their last meeting. Two great minds, one in the service of good and the other one in the service of crime, two complementary parts that could only be reduced by one another. For this reason Holmes chooses to remain in the service of good and to sacrifice his life for it.
A great ending to a great man. It almost leaves me with a feeling of sadness and yet with a feeling of universal harmony in things. Maybe that was just Sir Conan Doyle's literary style, but nonetheless a truly enjoyable book.
