The Only One in the World: A Sherlock Holmes Anthology by Various

Around the World in 80,000 Pages - Prologue: iii

The Only One in the World: A Sherlock Holmes Anthology by Various (edited by Narrelle M. Harris)

You can read about my Around the World in 80,000 pages challenge here.

If you have read some of my previous posts, you may remember I had intended to read four 'prologue' books, to inform the rest of my challenge. The third book was going to be The Art of Happiness by Epicurus, with the idea being that this is going to be an Epicurean, as well as literary world tour, and with that in mind I should probably know what Epicurus's philosophy actually was.

For many, I think Epicurus is lumped in with the hedonists (eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die, etc) This is not altogether unfair, as Epicurus teaches that pleasure is the ultimate goal in life. But he takes an almost Buddhist view in what pleasure actually is, boiling it down essentially to the absence of mental anxiety and bodily pain. He pushes for a simple life, teaching we should only look to 'things' to remove the barriers to happiness (such as hunger) and that the pursuit of excessive pleasure leads to long-term discomfort. He also holds that there is no afterlife and the gods can do one - so you've got to respect that.

So far, so good. But the book itself was interminably dry. I got ten pages into the massive introduction, flicked through to the main section, then gave up altogether - and I haven't given up a book in some years. And so my knowledge of Epicurianism will have to stay at the level of a few Wikipedia searches (I shall remain...Epicurious).

So now there are only three books in the prologue, the third being The Only One in the World. TOOitW is a Sherlock Holmes anthology, with the premise that each story takes the characters of Holmes and Watson and transplants them to a new place or time. I thought this fit in rather neatly with my broader plan to look at depictions of Holmes from various cultures.

Holmes is a fascinating character. I can not think of any other created so recently who has become so independent of the original source. Everyone recognises Holmes, with his deerstalker hat and calabash pipe, despite most having never read a word of the stories. (And even though the calabash, along with his catchphrase - "elementary, my dear Watson" didn't actually appear in the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories). The world has adopted Sherlock Holmes in much the same way they have Robin Hood, Aladdin and King Arthur. The only contemporary of Holmes' who comes close is, I think, Dracula. Maybe James Bond will in time, but currently his appearances are too controlled.

So what is it that makes Holmes so adaptable? Part of it is that Holmes never really changes throughout the stories. In most works, the protagonist goes through various trials and tribulations (which could be jumping out of an aeroplane followed by Nazis, or coming to terms with the estrangement of a neglectful parent) and thus change and grow as a person. The protagonist at the end of the book is different from that of the outset. This often leads to sequels having diminishing returns. There are only so many times a character can face their demons before the reader gets bored. But not so with Holmes. Holmes walked into the world perfectly formed in A Study in Scarlet, and didn't face up to any of his shortcomings or foibles all the way through to The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place. Even when he shocked himself at the danger he had put Watson in during The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, one can imagine him doing exactly the same thing a week later, whilst in the grip of another case. Sometimes we see different facets of Holmes' character (and he is ever full of contradictions) but these have been there always, and will shortly be hidden from veiw once again.

The Holmes stories work, primarily, because of the mystery. It is very much like a crossword puzzle, we are given all the clues and there is great satisfaction as they are slotted into the grid. Even if we can't solve the puzzle ourselves (and often we can't because we have not been given all the clues) there is still gratification in observing how they fit in (I knew it was something to do with the way the carpet had been rolled back! - Of course, why didn't I remember about the missing brick!). And like a crossword puzzle this can be repeated ad infinitum. The clues and solution are different, but the process is the same. And Holmes is always there, enigmatic and unchanging, like a god.

And also like a god, Holmes has been passed down, altering slightly between cultures and times. Sometimes the changes are superficial: Jupiter being a recognisable rip-off of Zeus (Solar Pons, I'm looking at you here). Other times it is vague concepts or motifs which are inherited, like the chariots of sun-gods (and the irascible, solitary nature of detectives). 

As I have pontificated before, there are two broad approaches to writing a Holmes story. Firstly, you can do something clever with him, adding your own twist, making the story your own. Or you can go straight up pastiche, writing a tale that could have been written by Arthur Conan Doyle. TOOitW obviously takes the first approach - what if Holmes was a viking? (Yeah, I know technically speaking 'viking' does not encompass everyone who lived in Dark Age Scandinavia, only those who went a-viking.) What if Holmes was an AI? Or how about an Irishman? But, I think, it also carries with it much of the baggage and expectation of the second category. Anyone who buys a Sherlock Holmes anthology is going to be a Sherlock Holmes fan and is going to want (to some degree) a recreation of the original stories, even if they do have a spin.

And this is where the main hurdle with this anthology lies: there is too much for the writers to do in a single short story. To my mind, for a Holmes fan to be satisfied with a Holmes story there need to be three elements:

The Mystery - As above, this is what makes the story satisfying. (Admittedly, there are a couple of canon stories that don't really have a mystery, but they aren't the best.) 

Holmes & Watson - Sometimes, at a push, you can do without Watson, but you're running uphill. Although the premise of TOOitW is that Holmes and Watson have been transposed to a new era or place, they still need to be recognisable, otherwise it isn't a Holmes story.

Evocative Setting - Conan Doyle wrote his stories very much in the vein of the penny dreadfuls. His stories were not set in the real London, but rather the London of gothic fiction, of Sweeny Todd, and to a lesser extent Dickins. And likewise when he ventured from "the great cesspool", the locations were larger than life and owed more to the adventure writing of Dumas and his cronies than geography. In turn, many Holmes pastiches evoke the literary amalgam of Holmes' London. But when they are set elsewhere, it should still be a world where danger lurks in every shadow.

Most of the stories in TOOitW fall short in at least one of these categories, but it's hardly surprising when you consider that, as well as delivering these three facets, they also need to spend time putting their own twist on Holmes and Watson. That's not to say the book is unenjoyable. It's an interesting exercise to ponder exactly how Holmes would fit in elsewhere - some of the stories do this very cleverly, others less so. In almost every case, the mystery takes a back seat, some just plain don't work, others feel like they are tacked on. 

There is one standout story for me: The Adventure of the Fated Homecoming by Jayantika Ganguly, which managed to pull off all three elements, and in less than 20 pages, that's pretty impressive. Honourable mentions must also go to Atlin Merrick's S.H.E.R.L.O.C.K., Raymond Gates' The Enemy Within, and Shakura Homura and the Iron Heart by Jason Franks, who fell a bit short on the mystery front, but were very fun reads anyway. Most of the other stories are OK. There are a couple of duds, which I won't name.

Overall the book is interesting, and just entertaining enough to scrape ★★★☆☆ (63/140).

For our accompanying music track I have chosen Holst's Jupiter, as performed by Ayako Iskikawa. Jupitar has been set to words a few times (or at least the central melody, known as Thaxted), most famously in I Vow to Thee, My Country, but also The World in Union, which was commissioned by the International Rugby Football Board for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Its stirring tune and prominent violin seemed fitting, and the world peace aspect and Japanese slant are suitably global.