Sherlock Was Wrong?

David Loftus of California Review  took a look at the recently-released (in the U.S.) book Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong by French literature professor and psychoanalyst Pierre Bayard. In the book, Bayard turns to the same analysis of classic detective fiction he did in Who Killed Roger Ackroyd? The Mystery Behind the Agatha Christie Mystery and asserts that in fingering Jack Stapleton and his hound, Holmes nailed the wrong suspect(s): "… I feel there is every reason to suppose that the generally acknowledged solution of the atrocious crimes that bloodied the Devonshire moors simply does not hold up, and that the real murderer escaped justice." Bayard also adds that the most famous mystery novella of all time features "A murder without a weapon, without a threat, without an insult, where the victim puts himself to death while the other characters applaud — it would be hard to find a finer triumph in the annals of crime."

Of course, if you're ready to throw tomatoes, fear not, the work is satire and a new subgenre which Bayard calls "detective criticism." As reviewer Loftus asks, "Why does he [Bayard] do it? Is it one of those pomo French things intended to show that everything is relative and you can prove absolutely anything you choose, no matter how absurd? Not entirely. These books are indeed a kind of witty parlor game, certainly. But though Bayard occasionally gallops into the high alpine meadows of literary and psychoanalytic theory, he still sticks closely to the text he’s given. And though he probably doesn’t believe half of what he’s saying, it does pass the logical plausibility test. It has an inner consistency, and that makes it worth doing — as a challenge, as a joke, and (dare one say it?) as a work of art."

Hopefully, someone will also translate one of Bayard's other works,  Enquête sur Hamlet, in which he apparently proves that Claudius did not kill Hamlet’s father. In the meantime, you can more easily find the English version of his 2007 bestseller, How To Talk About Books You Haven’t Read—just in time for all those Christmas parties.