Bookish Thoughts

The final book in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events  is more of an epilogue than a conclusion. Anything that Snicket intended to answer was answered in the last book. In this one, the orphans come to terms with the fact that you don't always get to learn all the answers, and they figure out how to move on. I knew going in that a lot of people were disappointed with this book. I set my expectations low and was ultimately pretty pleased with it. The book leaves the reader with a lot of uncertainty, but it's ultimately about the uncertainty of life, so it makes sense. The orphans get some answers about their parents, but it's from a journal that was written before they were born. They have to reconcile that information with what they knew of their parents growing up, and the result is ultimately ambiguous. But they have to make decisions on that ambuguity. Because that's how life goes. This series, overall, has been about growing up. It's been about...

The Penultimate Peril is the longest book in the Series of Unfortunate Events , and it took me by far the longest to read. Okay, that was mostly the fault of Hallowiener, but still. This book was exciting, with twists I didn't see coming, though I should have. And it actually provides more answers than new questions, though there are still a few mysteries remaining for the last book. The Baudelaires are now full-fledged volunteers, and they spend much of the book trying to figure out who they can trust and what is going on. Of course they're still children and pretty new at this whole spy thing, so they don't figure out much. But they get some answers anyway. The sugar bowl is still mostly a mystery, but by the end of the book its location is known. Olaf's motives are finally revealed and it adds a new dimension to the story, further muddying the waters between right and wrong. The mysterious J.S. is finally revealed, and some of the less awful guardi...

This was not my favorite in Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. It mostly boils down to the gimmick we get this time around. Every book so far has had a gimmick of some sort, and I've mostly been able to enjoy or ignore them. But here it just grated. We meet the captain of a submarine who repeats everything he says 3 or 4 times in different words. And uses "Aye" the way you use "stop" in telegrams - between every sentence. The Count Olaf and his group show up with the most annoying new laugh ever. I skipped whole paragraphs of dialogue because I couldn't stand to read it. Apart from that, it's a good installment. The stakes are definitely getting higher. The Baudelaires meet a new friend only to be betrayed by her. Sunny has a very close brush with death. The whole good vs evil starts to become murkier, as one of Olaf's henchmen reveals hidden depths and motivations. There are still a lot of questions to be answered, but this...

The tenth of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events is definitely my favorite so far. It slows down enough to let the story breath and to let the Baudelaires finally find some answers. All three of the orphans grow in different ways, and it's so rewarding to see how far they've come. Sunny's vocabulary in particular is getting to be a lot of fun as the nonsense words she spoke in the beginning are being traded in for words that apply to her situation, such as lox or futile. It's becoming much easier to interpret her meaning, and that plays against Snicket's interpretation in fun ways. The mysteries are also beginning to unravel. As I expected, VFD stands for Volunteer Fire Department. But it also stands for nearly everything else, which results in some fun connections and wordplay. The third Quagmire triplet, Quigley, is revealed to be alive, and I'm looking forward to his reunion with his siblings. And we got some appearances from pa...

Given the title of the series, and all the bad things that have happened to the Baudelaires thus far, I shouldn't really be surprised when the story takes a dark turn. But man does this book get dark. People get thrown to the lions. The orphans have very real and difficult concerns about whether they are crossing too many lines in their attempts to capture/escape from Count Olaf. By the end, Sunny has been separated from her older siblings and is being held captive by Olaf and his associates. In this book the kids start failing hard. Violet is unable to complete her invention. Klaus loses access to an incredibly useful library. An adult seems to be both willing and able to help them, only to betray them and die a grisly death. They lose any advantage they had over Olaf, and are plunged into their most perilous circumstances yet. Not to say there isn't hope. But I can't really bring myself to believe that one of their parents is alive. Still, the next book ...

The Baudelaire's are on the run! In this book they don't have to deal with some sub-par guardian for the first time. But that means that they're fending for themselves. More than ever they're relying on each other to stay alive and one step ahead of Count Olaf. In fact, in this book, the orphans go on the offensive. They're actively looking for information that will help them defeat Count Olaf once and for all. There's more of a mystery surrounding the death of their parents than first appeared, and so far there are more questions than answers, but that just means that the story is starting to get really exciting. My favorite part, though, is Sunny's amazing vocabulary. She still speaks in single words that Snickett then translates for the reader. But those words are getting longer. They are often directly related to their meaning. Once or twice Sunny says exactly what she means. I'm really excited about where this series is going. No...

I'm just past the halfway point of Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, and I have to say that it's getting really good. The seventh book brings the orphans to a village, where instead of a single guardian they will be raised by the proverbial village. It doesn't work out so well, although they do meet Hector, who may be the best adult they've ever encountered, other than Uncle Monty. They have to evade Count Olaf while searching for the Quagmire triplets (who are handily nearby). There's a series of poems that form a puzzle. The answer was obvious pretty early on, but I actually couldn't figure out how it related to the poems until Snicket laid it all out. There are also clues towards the greater narrative. Another eye tattoo appears, this time on the ankle of a would-be ally who appears to be a relative of the author. The "v" in VFD appears to stand for volunteer (volunteer fire department? I'm trying so hard not to spoil m...

Snicket continues to play with the formula, resulting in what is my favorite book of the series so far. It's nice when the Baudelaire's get some good mixed in with the bad. It makes the story more interesting. Never-ending misery is ultimately boring (try reading  The Two Towers ). A few bright spots keep the story fresh and interesting. More importantly, they keep hope alive. So the Baudelaires are sent to a married couple. And while the wife is greedy and treacherous, the husband is kind. Even if his good intentions come to nothing due to his weak will and distaste for arguments, at least he tries to treat the orphans well while they're under his care. Additionally, Count Olaf is barely in this book. He sneaks around the edges even more than usual, so the orphans have to be more proactive than usual. They uncover his plot and come close to thwarting it. They find the Quagmire triplets and come close to freeing them. Alas, it's only the sixth book, so nothing can q...

Snicket continues to tweak his formula just enough to keep me interested in the Baudelaire orphans. In the fifth book they are sent to a boarding school, rather than to live with another long lost family member. Although things don't really improve for them there (their lives have been getting steadily worse since poor Monty died), they do finally make some friends their own age. I also liked that Count Olaf's plan was a little subtler this time around. Although I could see what he was doing, the poor orphans were completely at a loss. And they still came close to defeating him. As close as they ever do anyway. With hostages to free, a solid clue about why all of this is happening, and a promise of more complicated plots, I'm excited to keep reading. The formula will change up eventually (I think in the seventh book - halfway through). In the meantime, it's fun to watch the orphans grow ever more resourceful.

In  The Miserable Mill , the Baudelaire orphans once again encounter an uncaring guardian, a plot by Count Olaf to get their money, and an almost complete lack of help from the adults around them. Snicket isn't making huge changes to his formula (yet), but he's having a lot of fun playing around with the details. This time around, Count Olaf stays off page for more than half the book. Everyone knows he's going to show up eventually, and waiting for it to happen creates some great tension. And when he finally does arrive, it's even a bit surprising because of his disguise of choice this time around. We also get some more hints at his past. This book introduces and then kills Dr. Orwell, another of Olaf's associates who hadn't yet been introduced. But she is also associated with the eye Olaf has tattooed on his ankle. It appears on the cover of her book and her home/office is designed to look like it. Violet and Klaus are also forced to switch places a bit thi...

Another book, another distant relative, another dastardly plot from Count Olaf. I can see how these books could start to feel repetitive. But since they're aimed at a much younger audience, that is probably part of the point. The thing to do is look at the details. The new guardian is not quite as wonderful as Uncle Monty was. She's terrified of everything. She's constantly correcting everyone's grammar, even that of infant Sunny who barely knows real words yet, let alone proper grammar. So even though she sees through Count Olaf's latest disguise as Captain Sham, she fails to do anything to protect the children in her care. She's ultimately eaten by leeches (probably. I wouldn't be too surprised if she showed up again in a later book. There's some good stuff in here about facing your fears and finding courage. And also about how annoying pedantry is. The plot twists and turns in exciting ways, and the orphans once again team up to save the day, desp...

In  The Reptile Room  we begin to settle into what will be the pattern of the series. The Baudelaire orphans are sent to live with a distant and eccentric relative. Everything is wonderful for a few days. But then Count Olaf finds them, insinuates himself into their life, and kills the new guardian. The orphans find themselves needing to thwart yet another of his plots. This one involves poisonous snakes and a trip to Peru. This series could easily get repetitive, but given that it's written for 10-year-olds, that's probably part of the point. Kids like things to be repeated over and over. I still find comfort in the familiarity of a story where I know what's going to happen in broad strokes. The real pleasure always comes in the details, and the details here are pretty great. Snicket has a better grasp of his language and humor. His wordplay is more specific to the story at hand, and he has fun with some tongue twisters that need to be logicked out. The plot is a bit m...

Because what I need in my life right now is yet another series with more than ten books. At least these can all be read in a single sitting. The Bad Beginning  is the first in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. I first read it and the second book years ago when I was baby-sitting for my cousins. But at the time the series wasn't complete and I had no real incentive to track it down and read the whole thing. Then I kept hearing about it. Then Netflix announced their adaptation of it. Then it was my birthday. So I finally bought The Complete Wreck and doubled the length of my reading list in one fell swoop. But it is a very short book. 160 pages, with illustrations and large type on small pages. I read it quickly and found it delightful. Even though these books are about the terrible things that happen to the Baudelaire orphans, beginning with them becoming orphans, Snicket has a sense of humor that elevates the story. It's funny and charming while refusing to...