Jayson’s Reviews > The Final Solution > Status Update
Jayson
is 53% done
Notes:
(1) Sherlock Holmes stories are essentially magic tricks. You're wowed by seemingly impossible feats of deduction but also anticipate the trick being explained so you can be wowed again. That's the charm.
- Chabon, on the other hand, plants no seeds and reaps no harvest. He pulls inferences out of thin air without connecting any dots.
- Moreover, his Holmes is dismissive of the idea he has to explain anything.
— May 31, 2025 02:50PM
(1) Sherlock Holmes stories are essentially magic tricks. You're wowed by seemingly impossible feats of deduction but also anticipate the trick being explained so you can be wowed again. That's the charm.
- Chabon, on the other hand, plants no seeds and reaps no harvest. He pulls inferences out of thin air without connecting any dots.
- Moreover, his Holmes is dismissive of the idea he has to explain anything.
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Jayson’s Previous Updates
Jayson
is finished
Notes:
(1) In very much the same way that comprehension is at the bottom of Chabon's narrative priorities, so is writing a Sherlock Holmes story. Because despite ostensibly meaning to, he takes every opportunity to not do so.
- This includes creating a Holmes character that doesn't resemble Holmes at all and devoting entire chapters to beekeeping minutiae, uneventful road trips and hearing a parrot's inner monologue.
— Jun 02, 2025 11:55PM
(1) In very much the same way that comprehension is at the bottom of Chabon's narrative priorities, so is writing a Sherlock Holmes story. Because despite ostensibly meaning to, he takes every opportunity to not do so.
- This includes creating a Holmes character that doesn't resemble Holmes at all and devoting entire chapters to beekeeping minutiae, uneventful road trips and hearing a parrot's inner monologue.
Jayson
is 84% done
Notes:
(1) Following the beekeeping chapter, we get an equally long and tedious car ride chapter.
- The only important thing occurs at the very end and, like everything else here, feels very un-Sherlock: pulled out of thin air and contrived.
- As I always say, showing off highfalutin vocabulary is Chabon's storytelling raison dêtre, and so bestrews his prose with turgid, labyrinthine gewgaws, comprehension be damned!
— Jun 02, 2025 07:05PM
(1) Following the beekeeping chapter, we get an equally long and tedious car ride chapter.
- The only important thing occurs at the very end and, like everything else here, feels very un-Sherlock: pulled out of thin air and contrived.
- As I always say, showing off highfalutin vocabulary is Chabon's storytelling raison dêtre, and so bestrews his prose with turgid, labyrinthine gewgaws, comprehension be damned!
Jayson
is 64% done
Notes:
(1) We get a very long and elaborate chapter where the old man (Sherlock Holmes) harvests honey from his beehives.
- The problem is this Holmes doesn't at all resemble the one everyone knows. Detective work aside, he doesn't do any of the familiar Sherlock Holmes things, not even play the violin!
- So, why do I care to follow this total stranger as he meticulously engages in his awfully niche and boring hobby?
— Jun 01, 2025 10:55PM
(1) We get a very long and elaborate chapter where the old man (Sherlock Holmes) harvests honey from his beehives.
- The problem is this Holmes doesn't at all resemble the one everyone knows. Detective work aside, he doesn't do any of the familiar Sherlock Holmes things, not even play the violin!
- So, why do I care to follow this total stranger as he meticulously engages in his awfully niche and boring hobby?
Jayson
is 26% done
Notes:
(1) "He had heard the tales ... assassins inferred from cigar ash, horse thieves from the absence of a watchdog's bark."
- These reference the "Golden Pince-Nez" and "Silver Blaze."
- The unnamed "old man" is Sherlock Holmes.
(2) If you ever listen to a Chabon book, don't do so with your fingers occupied. I'm constantly tapping rewind to figure out what's just been said.
- Mostly, I concede defeat and move on.
— May 29, 2025 02:20PM
(1) "He had heard the tales ... assassins inferred from cigar ash, horse thieves from the absence of a watchdog's bark."
- These reference the "Golden Pince-Nez" and "Silver Blaze."
- The unnamed "old man" is Sherlock Holmes.
(2) If you ever listen to a Chabon book, don't do so with your fingers occupied. I'm constantly tapping rewind to figure out what's just been said.
- Mostly, I concede defeat and move on.
Jayson
is starting
Notes:
(1) This is one of the worst books I've ever read, I'm saying that up front. Now, will it be one of the worst audiobooks I'll ever listened to? Without a doubt!
- You might wonder why I'm once more subjecting myself to a book that I've bestowed a super-rare one-star rating.
- It's simple: all my audiobooks must be re-reads, I'm not in the mood to start a multi-book series, and this was available at my library.
— May 27, 2025 09:35PM
(1) This is one of the worst books I've ever read, I'm saying that up front. Now, will it be one of the worst audiobooks I'll ever listened to? Without a doubt!
- You might wonder why I'm once more subjecting myself to a book that I've bestowed a super-rare one-star rating.
- It's simple: all my audiobooks must be re-reads, I'm not in the mood to start a multi-book series, and this was available at my library.
