I liked it; it was good
The final book, and the Baudelaire orphans finally get to escape from Count Olaf, having grown up in this brand new world of secrets along the way.
Read: Nov 18, 2024
Genre: Absurdist Fiction, Dark Comedy
Audience: Children
Book contains: murder, deadly weapons, arson
Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca
Trapped on a boat with only Count Olaf for company, the Baudelaire orphans find their salvation in an island where everything eventually ends up. Count Olaf is left behind, but are the inhabitants of the island worse than the evil actor?
Nothing fancy; it’s just “the end”. The end of the series. The end of this long tale of misfortune in the Baudelaires’ lives, caused by Count Olaf. Of course, their story continues, but this is where Snicket draws his close. As promised from the very beginning, there is no “happily ever after”. It’s actually quite an unsatisfying ending, if I do say so myself. But it’s what this series was leading to.
One big change in the structure of this book was the addition of a final, fourteenth chapter at the end. The epilogue that tells us what happens to the Baudelaires after it was all over. It’s the longest book by far, still with Snicket as the narrator.
I couldn’t stop on the last book, so I finished off the series once again listening along to Tori (or V) on YouTube. She finished the whole series a while ago, so I didn’t have to wait for these final few videos to come out. Her quality of reading was just as excellent as all the books before.
The Baudelaires have come a long way since they first received the tragic news of their parents’ death. They’ve all gotten older, but mentally they’ve grown up much more. They were indoctrinated into a world of secret codes and important missions, and they survived it. It’s truly a testament to their strength and the way they make up for each others’ weaknesses.
In this book, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny actually get to feel much closer to their parents than ever before as they learn so many of the things that were kept hidden from them. It challenges what they know about their parents, but also strengthens that bond as they choose how to live their lives going forward, now knowing what they know.
Though I wasn’t entirely happy with the ending of this book, I can’t fault it. It’s exactly what we were promised, and it leaves the world open to fans’ interpretation. What happened to the other characters? Will the sugar bowl ever be found? What is the great unknown? We just don’t know, and that’s fine.
The pacing was just a bit slower in this book, but that’s so we could spend ample time with these characters in the final book. Our burning questions are answered, though many are also left unanswered.
This lack of answers is partly why the ending was so unsatisfying, but Snicket never promised a happy or satisfying ending. This is exactly how the series was always going to end. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 1: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 2: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 3: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 4: The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 5: The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 6: The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 7: The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 8: The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 9: The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 10: The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 11: The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 12: The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 13: The End by Lemony Snicket
The Chronicles of Narnia Book 1: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Alice in Wonderland Book 1: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
*The Wicket by Carlee Coton*
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Tigerpetal Press is a small book press dedicated to publishing local authors and poets.