Arsène Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes (2001) - Plot & Excerpts
The review from afar – No. 2Foreword to these overseas reviews:Being committed to a month-long work trip to Malaysia, I decided to forego bring a handful of paperbacks and carry my as-yet-unused, gifted Kindle 3G instead. In preparation of said trip, I visited the Project Gutenberg site and loaded up some old, but enticing titles. (No, not bodice rippers, sorry guys.) So, for the first time I am reviewing books deployed on 21st century technology rather than that of the 15th (earlier, if you credit the Chinese even though they never commercialized it.) Enjoy.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------It was not long before the very visible popularity and success of Arthur Conan Doyle’s World’s Greatest Consulting Detective produced two very strong and opposite reactions:1 Conan Doyle, despairing of his future as a “serious writer” sent Holmes on the vacation to eternity, leaving Watson holding the bag, as it were, for all the distraught readers.2 Enterprising sorts latched on to the idea, “if he can do it, so can I”. And thus, the Holmes clones and pastiches arose for the first time and have walked the Earth ever since.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arsene Lupin versus Herlock SholmesBy Maurice LeblancThis is another early (1906/7) pastiche of Holmes, but instead of altering his speech patterns and attitude, Leblanc transports Sholmes and Watson to Paris. Being French, one supposes it is natural, n’est-ce-pas? The volume contains two tales of the elusive, gentlemanly, and magnanimous thief/rogue and how he is pursued both by the French police and the English Duo. The stories were longer and more difficult than the Mystery of the Eleven Cuff-Buttons (but that may have been due to the additional fatigue of being snowed in for three hours before taking off to miss my planned connection in Tokyo.) What was surprising was to realize that the storyline alluded to another tale of Lupin in which Sholmes must have appeared even if as a minor character.Part one is the tale of The Blonde Lady. A mysterious woman who seems to have melted through walls (or thin air) after making mischief. The trail is both long and cloudy as Sholmes takes one erroneous turn after another while the Police go even further astray. Of course, it is not too long before Sholmes reveals that he has been paying out the line in the hope of catching the true mastermind, Monsieur Lupin. Evincing similar respect for ability, but much warmer in spirit and humor than Professor Moriarty, Lupin dances around his adversaries both literally (no spoilers, now) and verbally. The story is fairly long, lasting six chapters (none of your attention-span-of-a-gnat 1-page chapters, either.) It ends with a pretty good wrap up, also.Part two is the tale of The Jewish Lamp. While only two chapters long, it starts with an explanation-defying theft that almost immediately drags Sholmes back into conflict with the still affable Lupin. (I was reminded of the contemporaneous gentlemen troublemakers, such as Raffles when pausing between chapters.) A letter arrives at 221-B begging him to take up the chase. As he is reading it, a second letter arrives the contents of which madden him enough to take up the case that he had decided to blow off. So, it’s off to Paris again with his pet scribbler in two. Once again, we have the dance of the criminal and detective with moments of low comedy as well as humor keeping things lively. But, as things must always be, Sholmes solves the case, yet does not conclude it as he had set out to do.Given the age of the manuscript (it passed 100 five years ago) and the translation from the French, it is pretty readable (especially so if you are not in a tube of aluminum at 40,000 feet for tens of hours). It’s out of copyright and free in various flavors from the (always free and never linked to any charges) Gutenberg Project (and a few other sources.) If you like the Great Detective and bemoan the finite number of stories written by anyone about him, then this is a pretty worthy addition to the unofficial canon. Another solid tale that deserves Three Full Stars (3.0).
Kita semua tahu siapa itu Arsene Wenger, tapi adakah yang mengenal Arsene Lupin? Marilah kita berkenalan dengan sang pencuri cerdik nan licin dari Prancis ini lewat novelnya yang sebenarnya berisi dua episode kisah petualangan yaitu sang wanita berambut pirang dan lampu Yahudi. Dua episode menjadi satu? Belum-belum saya sudah kecewa dulu karena itu berarti 312 halaman buku terbagi jadi dua kisah yang tidak berhubungan, tapi kekecewaan saya langsung terobati begitu membaca halaman pertama dengan judul bab nomor 514, seri 23. Angka apa ini? Ternyata angka lotere untuk sang pemenang Monsieur Gerbois. Masalahnya, ada dua pemenang angka lotere. Siapa pemenang satu lagi? Arsene Lupin tentunya. Lewat serangkaian aksi lihai nan lincah, Arsene Lupin betul-betul membuat semua penegak hukum kalang kabut dengan ulahnya sampai akhirnya datang detektif dengan reputasi istimewa dari Inggris untuk memburu Arsene Lupin. Tebak siapa nama detektif Inggris tersebut? Jelas pasti Holmlock Shears. Maka perburuan Shears terhadap Lupin tak terelakkan lagi. Bagaimana akhir kisahnya?Sang pengarang Maurice LeBlanc (bukan Laurent Blanc lho) pertama kali membuat karakter Arsene Lupin ini pada tahun 1905. Sudah lama sekali, istilah sekarang mbahnya jadul. Namun karakter ini begitu populer sampai sekarang di seluruh dunia kecuali di Indonesia. Mungkin karena itulah penerbit Bukune dengan senang hati membawa kisah petualangan si licin Lupin ke jagat sastra nusantara ini dalam ruang lingkup karya terjemahan pastinya. Monsieur LeBlanc mengisahkan Lupin secara cepat dan gesit baik dalam alur maupun dialog, jadi kita membaca dengan sangat lancar dan sangat menikmatinya. Entah apa bahasa aslinya sebagus ini. Satu hal yang patut saya pertanyakan pada Monsieur LeBlanc mungkin hanyalah kok bisa-bisanya membawa detektif istimewa dari Inggris segala? Holmlock Shears lagi namanya. Bagi saya yang menggemari Sherlock Holmes tentu tahu siapa itu Holmlock Shears. Hanya sebuah anagram, mungkin begitu jawaban Monsieur LeBlanc kalau beliau masih hidup.Banyak unsur kebetulan di novel yang bergenre komedi petualangan ini yang melingkupi baik Lupin dan Shears. Keduanya sama pintar, sama licik dan memang harus saya akui, sama bejo (beruntung). Keduanya saling berdebat dalam dialog, saling memanipulasi data dan fakta satu sama lain dengan tujuan untuk saling mengalahkan dan mengklaim dialah yang terbaik. Memang keduanya sama hebat bagi kita. Hal ini menandakan betapa tipisnya batas antara protagonis dan antagonis, bahwa betapa wilayah abu-abu jauh lebih dominan dibanding area hitam dan putih belaka. Dominasi aksi di kedua kisah dalam satu buku ini memang mengasyikkan, tapi di sisi lain, sisi narasi jadi agak terabaikan. Tetap saja, novel ini terasa menghibur bagi yang membaca untuk mencari hiburan karena semua orang bisa menikmatinya, asalkan anda semua tidak mempraktekkan apa yang Lupin lakukan dalam kehidupan nyata.Salah satu novel komedi petualangan terbaik yang pernah ada!
What do You think about Arsène Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes (2001)?
Buku keren.... Saya bisa membayangkan kota Paris yang damai menjadi rusuh karna adanya Lupin si Pencuri.... selain kehebatan Lupin, ada Homelock Shere (yang menurut saya mungkin lebih nyaman di lidah menyebutnya Sherelock Holme)yang sangat pintar menangiani kasus.... Kita juga di buat penasaran dengan identitas "Wanita Pirang" yang ternyata kekasih Lupin sekaligus anak buahnya... wanita yang sama, yang juga membunuh seorang Baron saat baron tersebut mencoba untuk memperkosanya....^^ buku yang keren! mungkin yang menjadi kekurangannya hanyalah penggambaran kota Paris yang mungkin sulit di mengerti oleh orang awam tanpa menggunakan Footnote...so, 4 stars!
—Dicta VIP
A wonderful read, and a fine example of Victorian mystery novels. We finally see the great English detective (called Herlock Sholmes due to Sir Doyle's lack of support for a crossover) and his Gallic counterpart clash in a battle of wits. Although I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to Leblanc's work, as it was for me. Like Doyle, Lupin is not predominantly featured in the novels, the reader is only exposed to his workings as he hides in the background (although we do see him in the end undisguised and about), much like the person was experiencing an investigation unfold. Still a wonderful novel, and I find it a shame that Lupin's success has mostly been centered in the francophone world, unlike Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
—Edward Smith
I received a copy of this via NetGalley, for an honest review.My expectations for this book were incredibly high. I loved the first book, especially the last bit where Herlock and Lupin met, and I was really looking forward to this one.Unfortunately, I wasn’t blown away by it as I thought I would be. The first story wasn’t very entertaining to me. Herlock and Lupin’s interactions were amazing and I absolutely loved how cheeky Lupin was. That being said, I found the actual crime not interesting at all and both Herlock and Wilson were very dense. When he wasn’t talking to Lupin, Herlock acted just like the silly detectives that were trying to catch Lupin instead of a real match for the Thief.The second story, on the other hand, was more interesting. Again, Herlock and Lupin’s showdown was wonderful and I loved how Lupin teased Herlock about their roles being switched. Good but not as good as I expected.
—Lau
