A Series of Unfortunate Events: Books 7-9

I think I've already covered the bases with my criticisms of A Series of Unfortunate Events so far, and so I won't repeat myself here other than to say that in this current trio of books, I'm still having trouble buying into a world filled entirely with evil or uncaring adults. I understand that young readers might be able to accept this vision of the universe (as I apparently did when I was younger), but as an adult* now, I find it a little pandering to a young audience and a little lazy on Handler's part in terms of how he keeps the Baudelaires in danger. (I could go into a longer discussion on that second point, but I'm hitting my tolerance threshold for extended discussions of Lemony Snicket.) That carry-over criticism from last time out of the way, on a more positive note, these three books are not nearly as repetitive as the past six were. In fact, The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, and The Carnivorous Carnival represent a change of course for the series. Not so much so that the books are unrecognizable, of course: the Baudelaires still outsmart their way out of harm; Count Olaf adopts new, horrible disguises; Snicket begs the reader to stop reading; etc.

But this time around, as if taking a cue from the parody in my previous post, the Baudelaires finally buck up some nerve (I could point out that they're more or less forced to after they're declared murderers but let's just go ahead and give them credit), ditch Mr. Poe, and set out on their own at the end of The Vile Village, thus ending the "Baudelaires-are-stuck-with-a-new-horrible-guardian-until-Olaf-shows-up" structure that has dominated the first half of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Charging unhappily forward, the series shifts its focus (or maybe reveals, depending on how deeply Handler thought the books out when he began them) to a web of mysteries. The books are no longer just about the Baudelaires' surviving Olaf, they're about the secret history that binds together the Baudelaire parents, Count Olaf, the Baudelaires' guardians, and even Lemony Snicket himself. How well Handler pulls this secrets shtick off in the long run remains to be seen (I have vague but unpleasant memories on this front), but in these books at least, it's a smart new direction that helps liven the series up.

That's it! Nice and short, this recap was. Next time: A Series of Unfortunate Events: Books 10-12! I'm almost done! Yay!

*Shut up.