Me For Sherlock

[poliphilo]

There's a game they play on the Book Show, where they ask their writerly guests which character in fiction they'd most like to be. Last night I caught an episode where Ben Elton opted for Bertie Wooster because he is so sunny. Apparently in an earlier episode Seamus Heaney chose Jeeves.

So who would I like to be? The answer that immediately pops into my head is Sherlock Holmes. Really? Yes, really. Most of the people in books who aren't Mary Sues are sorry and suffering individuals- victims or one thing or another, or forced to jump through hoops in order to learn Life's Big Lesson. Holmes, it further occurs to me, is the only fully convincing portrait of a genius in fiction. I can't think of another. Can you?

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[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The thing about genius is that it singular and extraordinary- and only someone who is singular and extraordinary him/herself could possibly invent such a being.