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George is so cantankerously British, I love him

Oh, I LOVE Isherwood’s writing style! So subtly witty and he doesn’t shy away from the less aesthetic quotidian stuff. George is certainly a grumpy character, but his pessimism also relatable. Isherwood’s character building is really good, and the humour is the cherry on the top. Can’t wait to read more.

Pages 273/274
This description of Watson’s grief was very heartbreaking to read. In so many Holmesian adaptations, Watson is overshadowed by the detective himself, but one of the things that I am liking so far about this novel is the attention paid to the doctor as equally as that of Holmes. I think the only other time where Watson’s depression after Mary’s death was explored as deep as this is in Sherlock…

Page 216: “Mousy Baxter [young, teenage member of the Irregulars] skipped out of the room, extracting a fresh Pasha cigarette from the packet as she went”
I just thought that this was a great example of juxtaposition between her childlike mannerisms (“skipped”)merging into adult behaviours (“cigarette”)- a subtle conceit about childhood innocence being tarred with the tough lifestyle of poverty in c19th.

Quotes that stand out to me so far:
Page 117: Vladek- “On Wednesday the vans came. Anja and I saw her father at the window. He was tearing his eyes out and crying. He was a millionaire, but even this didn’t save him his life”
Page 175: Art- “the photo (of his ‘ghost brother’) never threw tantrums or got into any kind of trouble… it was an ideal kid, and I was a pain in the ass. I couldn’t compete.”