It is interesting to notice how in this book, out of necessity, the children’s roles are inverted: Violet is the one who finds a way out of a bad situation by reading stuff in a book (a feat more difficult for her than would have been inventing something, but she was the only one available) to do it at the time. Also, Klaus has to invent something and do it quickly in order to prevent a very grave accident — which he does, albeit not on the very first try. As a reader I have enjoyed the change, breaking out the monotony and defying my expectations from each of the characters. As for Sunny, she puts her teeth to a novel use too: she uses them as a weapon in a swordfight, no less. The Count himself has suffered a minor change: he is now disguised in a woman instead of a man :P

One of the things I’m beginning to be quite curious about when starting a new book in the series is how the warning of the author at the very beginning will sound. Without further ado, here’s this book’s:

“So now that I’ve told you that the first sentence will be “The Baudelaire orphans looked out the grimy window of the train and gazed at the gloomy blackness of the Finite Forest, wondering if their lives would ever get any better,” if you wish to avoid an unpleasant story you had best put this book down.”

As always I do agree with the warning, especially as the poor children are to have in this book their worst adventure yet (including their time at Count Olaf’s home). To make matters worse, they didn’t even have a library to revel in! (while Justice Strauss had a library of law books, Uncle Monty had a library of books about reptiles and Aunt Josephine had a library filled with grammar books, this new relative does have a very beautiful library only it’s almost empty as he was too cheap to actually buy any books)

What I liked most: First of all I have to note that I am back to appreciating the way the author explains each difficult word (it seems to definitely depend on my mood :) ).
Also, I have found these two passages quite amusing:

“I once loved a woman, who for various reasons could not marry me. If she had simply told me in person, I would have been very sad, of course, but eventually it might have passed. However, she chose instead to write a two-hundred-page book, explaining every single detail of the bad news at great length, and instead my sadness has been of impossible depth. When the book was first brought to me, by a flock of carrier pigeons, I stayed up all night reading it, and I read it still, over and over, and it is as if my darling Beatrice is bringing me bad news every day and every night of my life.”

“”Optimist” is a word which here refers to a person, such as Phil, who thinks hopeful and pleasant thoughts about nearly everything. For instance, if an optimist had his left arm chewed off by an alligator, he might say, in a pleasant and hopeful voice, “Well, this isn’t too bad. I don’t have my left arm anymore, but at least nobody will ever ask me whether I am right-handed or left-handed,” but most of us would say something more along the lines of “Aaaaah! My arm! My arm!”"

What I liked least: The part where Klaus uses gum to move a pile of logs. I know I’m not supposed to be too harsh with a children’s book (and quite an enjoyable one too), but that part defied the laws of physics simply too much for me not to dislike it.

Recommend it? Yes, definitely, I think it’s my favorite book of the series so far :)

This book is a sequel to:
The Bad Beginning
The Reptile Room
The Wide Window

This book is followed by:
The Austere Academy
The Ersatz Elevator
The Vile Village
The Hostile Hospital
The Carnivorous Carnival
The Slippery Slope
The Grim Grotto
The Penultimate Peril
The End

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