David Grann
The Devil and Sherlock Holmes is a fascinating book, but how much it interests you depends on how curious you are. Grann mentions in his introduction that all the ‘stories’ are true, but I thought it was a gimmick to add to the effect. (like say, The Bridges of Madison County) When I got to the third chapter, I actually got really curious and googled. He wasn’t bluffing.
The book begins with the death of a Sherlock Holmes (or rather Conan Doyle) expert, the mystery surrounding it, and the existence of a ‘curse’. The last chapter is about ‘Toto’ Constant, a Haitian warlord, who founded a death squad, terrorised a democratically elected president’s supporters, and when the chapter starts, is a real estate agent in the US! He was nicknamed ‘The Devil’. That is as far as the connections with the title will go.
The book is divided into three parts. The first is made up of mysteries, ranging from arson investigation to a grown man who masquerades as a child, to a Polish detective trying to figure out whether an author has written a post-modern novel based on a crime he himself committed. The second part is about ‘a strange enigma is man’ – people (and in one case, generations) who are devoted to a specific calling and just won’t quit. The last part is about the ‘wicked in the universe’ – organised prison gangs that are practically beyond the reach of law, a city in love with the Mob and yes, Toto.
This is actually a superb work of investigative journalism. It exposed me to people, lives and worlds that seem so out of the realms of possibility that it is difficult to believe that they exist. A thoroughly interesting read if you’re so inclined.
