Would you rather sprain your ankle, bruise your hip, and lose a toe to frostbite on the same day? Or would you rather have these accidents happen on three different days?
This electronic collection of volumes 7 through 9 in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket is the e-equivalent of having three ghastly accidents right in a row. Contained here are such unpleasantries as kidnapping, disguise, murder, paperwork, another disguise, heart-shaped balloons, false allegations, stiletto heels, a shattered crystal ball, a cryptic map, an irritating song, and quite a few more disguises, all bundled together into a continuous barrage of horror and dismay.
The more sensible approach would be to read The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, and The Carnivorous Carnival months or even years apart from one another, so you have time to recuperate from the misery each volume offers—or better yet, to turn your eyes away from Mr. Snicket's work and find an electronic experience that would cause you no distress whatsoever.
Lemony Snicket had an unusual education and a perplexing youth and now endures a despondent adulthood. His previous published works include the thirteen volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Composer is Dead, and 13 Words. His new series is All The Wrong Questions.
I feel like these books are getting more depressing the more I read. I don't know if worse things are actually happening or if it's just gone on so long that it's wearing on the characters and making them sadder. Either way, it's effective. These are some very unfortunate events.
These books are okay if you were a fan of the first one, but if you've read one, you've pretty much got the gist for the series: many bad things will happen, the children will soldier on, and Olaf is a slimy bad guy. I'm mixed about the exposure to new vocabulary. On one hand, it's great that people learn new turns to language and new words; on the other hand, the definitions in these books are often incomplete and humorously narrow, and students get absolutely no practice in figuring out words by context, which is a very important skill. I have to admit, though, that they serve a purpose: students who are reluctant to read can often be tempted with a silly and predictable series (they can trust that the language won't be a huge struggle), so this is a great choice for such cases. Also, one of my students who finds the Harry Potter books just a little too creepy finds the unrealistic, outrageously tragic Snicket books much more to his taste.
Hostile Hospital: I'm not kdding, it keeps getting better! More questions about the links between Olaf, the children, and Snicket have me on the edge of my seat! I was impressed with this installment which did not contain the intro to a new guardian, but the children on their own.
Carnivorous Carnival: I am so pleaded that the books are not getting formulaic. My curiosity is bursting though, and I am so eager to see how it all comes together. Most ineresting aspect of this book: the children struggle with doing the wrong thing for the right reason.
I continue with my binge-reading. Actually, I determined that I can read most of these faster than I could watch a television adaptation of the same book (it takes me about 1.25-1.5 hours to complete one of these).
The Vile Village brings some new lows for the Baudelaire's, but the mystery really starts to pick up. The Hostile Hospital flies by with some pretty convincing moments of peril. The Carnivorous Carnival returns to ridiculousness while increasing the stakes.
Je reprécise que j'ai décidé de reregardé la série au même rythme que j'avançais dans les tomes afin de voir si elle était vraiment fidèle à l'œuvre originale. Conclusion ? Oui, sans conteste possible. Pour les curieux tatillons, voici un petit comparatif des modifications "majeures" entre livres et série :
TOME 7️⃣ L'ARBRE AUX CORBEAUX 🌳= épisodes 5 et 6 (S2) 📌 L'arrivée au village 📌 Présence de Poe, de la Bibliothécaire, Jacqueline et Larry 📌 Importance de Jacques Snicket 📌 Mé/connaissance des Beauxdraps vis-à-vis de VFD/VDC 📌 Mention sucrier
TOME 8️⃣ PANIQUE À LA CLINIQUE 🏨 = épisodes 7 et 8 (S2) 📌 Première mention claire du vol du sucrier dans le livre 📌 Olaf et sa team dans l'épicerie La Dernière Chance 📌 Personnage de Babs (personnalité, physique..) 📌 Récupération du trousseau de clefs + dossier Snicket 📌 Hôpital insalubre et angoissant de film d'horreur vs aile en construction + aile rénovée
TOME 9️⃣ 🎪 LA FÊTE FÉROCE 🎡🎠 = épisodes 9 et 10 (S2) 📌 Introduction, dans la série, par une soirée mondaine VFD + début de la signification des initiales au cours de l'épisode 10. 📌 Liens entre Olaf et Madame Lulu qui n'est pas que Lulu... 📌 Détails. Prénoms de monstres différents, archives existant sous d'autres formes, présence de Poe...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
That's box 3 of 4 of the Lemony Snicket books done. The Dilemma Deepens containing book 7, 8 and 9 continues the story of the Baudelaire orphans in the same brilliant way as the previous 6 books! Highly recommended read!
Als dit enkel "Het doodenge dorp" en "Het horror hospitaal" was geweest, dan kreeg het boek 4 sterren van mij.
"De koude kermis" is echter zo'n saai boek (ik las de andere 8 elk op 1 dag uit, dit boek kostte mij een week om er door te komen), dat ik een volle ster ga aftrekken van het eindtotaal.
Ik ga nog "Het grimmige gebergte" proberen om te zien of die wat beter is, maar waarschijnlijk zijn mijn avonturen met de Baudelaires hiermee ten einde...
OK, I know that this is the Series of UNFORTUNATE events, but as the series progresses, they seem to end even less happy than the last. I still enjoyed Snicket's humor. I also love the many creative ways he incorporates a library into the children's adventures. CC was too sad for me.
ok so what's the deal? why is there jsut random individual books and then just groups??? anyway....book 7....book 8....individual review...book 9.....love them carnival folk....
The poor Baudeliere children can't find a break. They are always falling into the hands of Count Olaf and his hanchpeople. These three books keep the reader on the edge of their seat the whole time.