tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8529327841739785142.post5296374559750719188..comments2023-11-02T05:15:06.723-07:00Comments on The Consulting Detective: The Giant Rat!Nick Cardillohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941093024318184603noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8529327841739785142.post-83354317570229474192013-02-04T08:13:21.783-08:002013-02-04T08:13:21.783-08:00Unfortunately, there are no English translations. ...Unfortunately, there are no English translations. For there to be any, we'd have to assume that the publishing industry in France and in the English-speaking world gave a damn about quality fiction instead of hunting for the next multimillion dollar hackwork in the grand tradition of "Twilight" or "Fifty Shades of Grey".Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8529327841739785142.post-76934543914562192582013-02-03T08:56:02.537-08:002013-02-03T08:56:02.537-08:00My knowledge of French is somewhat limited. Do you...My knowledge of French is somewhat limited. Do you know of any English translation that I could find? I have read your glowing reports of that collection. <br /><br />I still highly recommend the 1987 version by Richard L. Boyer. The writing is brilliant and the plot twist at the end (which I will not spoil) is genuinely surprising.Nick Cardillohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12941093024318184603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8529327841739785142.post-21493591223036643692013-02-03T08:03:17.275-08:002013-02-03T08:03:17.275-08:00French author Rene Reouven has said that his favou...French author Rene Reouven has said that his favourite of his Sherlock Holmes pastiches is "Le Rat" (The Rat), a story found in "The Bestiary of Sherlock Holmes" about this Giant Rat of Sumatra. I haven't read it yet and so cannot comment on its merits, but if you can read French then Reouven's pastiches are very worthwhile. He came up with what I consider the definitive tale of the mysterious death of Cardinal Tosca-- in a locked library no less! His spin on the Addleton tragedy is another story I consider the definitive take on one of Watson's throwaway references.<br /><br />As for the Giant Rat... frankly, I've yet to read a version of the story that satisfies me. I've read a handful of them and remember being dissatisfied with each one, though at this far-removed date I couldn't tell you who wrote them or what it was about. I don't think I read Davies' take on the Rat, but maybe it's just one of those stories that works better in your own imagination, letting you conjure up the wildest visions of the Rat and how Holmes came across it inside your own head instead of relying on an interpretation.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.com