I just realised this now that I have finished reviewing book 3 in this thirteen book series. With the way that I read and review on this platform with series that are already out it will take me three years to complete reviewing this series. I am truly in this for the long haul. And I hope you guys are too.
So anyway, here’s book three of a Series of Unfortunate Events after rereading it.
Now staying with their most paranoid Aunt Josephine, the Baudelaire children find themselves in a state of forceful happiness. That is until they find Count Olaf in disguise trying to thwart them once more. And when Aunt Josephine disappears with a suicide note being proof of it, the three of them are convinced it was Olaf’s doing. They must follow the breadcrumbs to prosecute him before they are once again in his clutches with their fortune.
I don’t remember much about the first time that I read this book so I’m just gonna skip this bit. I remember scenes in it and that’s it.
What this book did well was hinting. It took time for the children to work things out in spite of the hints, and even though I knew the solutions I was glad that the solutions didn’t come up straight away for them. Like all good characters, they had to work for it. This was what I now realise the movie adaptation failed to do. Working for these puzzle pieces truly made the stakes rise higher and made these smart children not seem unbeatable. Hell. Yes.
I should also mention how this novel is the epitome of Chekhov’s Gun like nothing else. It is basically a rule that dictates anything that is pointed out or theorised will happen is actually going to happen, and oh boy did everything happen. This was of course done in a comedic fashion but it made it all the more satisfying and tight. I love a tight plot! The tighter the plot the more that I will enjoy it.
This series is getting a little bit monotonous now. It felt a look like a reskinned version of the previous installment. I get that this is a children’s series and kids appreciate a routine that’s easy to follow, but give me a break. It was just different enough to keep me reading, but it almost felt like I was reading save the cat word for word. Or the hero’s journey word for word. Or whatever was used to outline this story.
I seriously hope that my memories of book four being different will serve me right.
The Wide Window gets a score of 3/5. The Reptile Room Part II, Electric Boogaloo
Yours in writing
Amy