Everything is right about "Mr. Holmes". The pace is slow and thoughtful, as it should be for a story in which the protagonist is a master of extraordinary reflection. It is a story about age, aging, generations, the passing on of traditions and the gathering of life's goodness, the feel of life's stings. Hence bees and wasps -- one makes honey, the other lives to hurt -- are central figures. It is delightfully English in the traditional sense of understated and careful; respect for the hierarchies of class; and communicating in a way where the less said the better, the more known -- well, better not say it. Mystery abounds. About our life as people. The consolation of place, landscape, nature, house and home, family and friends. The sanguinary need for telling tales. This odd species called human beings. And the unique Mr. Sherlock Holmes. For whom "Mr. Holmes" is a wonderfully respectful homage.
Review of Mr. Holmes
