These books are amazing. This book is a little darker than the first. It tells you right from the beginning that Uncle Monty will be killed. Other examples of darkness: p. 51 ...he would slit the throats of the Baudelaire orphans as easily as you or I might eat a small butter cookie. p.76 If I wanted to harm you, orphan, your blood would already be pouring down these stairs like a waterfall.p.88 The hallway was strangely quiet, and blank as the eyes of a skull.p.96 It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try to readjust the way you thought of things.This last thought, about losing a person you love, is so true and poignant. I love these books for this reason. One of the most brilliant and touching aspects of these novels is the support, love, and intelligence of the Baudelaire orphans. Snicket really emphasizes the great blessing it can be to have brothers and sisters. One particular thing that I noticed in this book was how helpful it is to have people with shared memories. One of the greatest things about siblings is you have shared memories about how your parents were, how your house was, what growing up was like, etc. This is mentioned in The Reptile Room (page 39).There are a few instances of profanity in this book. No profanity was used in A Bad Beginning. "Damn" and "hell" are the words used, and they are used by the villain and frowned upon by the orphans. I don't take any issue with the profanity in this book - ten-year-olds will have heard these already and I thought they were appropriate in the context (pages 94 and 98).The most hilarious scene is when Mr. Poe panics in the Reptile Room of Uncle Monty's house. I laughed out loud.Here is a great example of Snicket's writing style:It is very difficult, experts have told us, to find a needle in a haystack, which is why “needle in a haystack” has become a rather hackneyed phrase meaning “something that is difficult to find.” The reason it is difficult to find a needle in a haystack, of course, is that out of all the things in a haystack, the needle is only one of them. If, however, you were looking for anything in a haystack, that wouldn't be difficult at all, because once you started sifting through the haystack you would most certainly find something: hay, of course, but also dirt, bugs, a few farming tools, and maybe even a man who had escaped from prison and was hiding there. p.161 I also adore the feminist sprit shown in this book. Upon learning that Violet Baudelaire has picked a lock, Mr. Poe reacts with dismay:“How did you do that?” Mr. Poe asked. “Nice girls shouldn't know how to do such things.”“My sister is a nice girl,” Klaus said, “and she knows how to do all sorts of things.” p. 168 Way to go, Klaus! He stands up for his sister and also understands that she can be "nice" and also be a "mechanical genius" at the same time. A very powerful message for girls.It's obvious throughout the book that the siblings have each others backs. They are all intelligent in their own way, they all contribute to their plans. They have such a strong bond that is only getting stronger the more it is tested by Olaf and other villains. A highlight of this book is that Sunny finally starts using real words instead of her normal gibberish. I think she has two real words in here: Aha! and Brilliant. She is becoming more independent and more communicative and it is a joy to see. Just as in real life, when you watch children grow up and become their own people with their own opinions and distinct personalities, so Sunny is illustrated here with her burgeoning vocabulary and personality. Once again I want to mention how smart and educational these books are in addition to being funny and entrancing. Here are some words and concepts children will learn when reading this book: dramatic irony, alcove, segue, giddy, nemesis, surveillance, vainglorious, preempt, generic, brummagem, adding insult to injury, unblemished, hackneyed, inner sanctum, strangulatory, conjunction, tenebrous, hue, perpetuate his deception, swarthy, ruffian, and lampoon. Most of these are explained in a fun and stylistic way by Mr. Snicket, but others will have the child reaching for the dictionary.I would also like to note the subtle Agatha Christie joke on page 126. Adults who are fans of Christie's work will get a chuckle out of this.Kudos to Lemony Snicket for another thoroughly charming read.
So, Celyn and I cruised on to book 2, pausing only for breath.This book sets a pattern, a formula, that is repeated in each of the books we've read so far.The children move to a new place. All the adults are idiots. Count Olaaf arrives in disguise and at some point a selected member of his theatre troop will show up, also in disguise (someone may have been bumped off to make space for one or both of them). The children see through his disguise in an instant.The adults don't believe them.Count Olaaf insinuates his way into their lives and gets them to refer to him by his assumed name (via some kind of threat).Interesting words are introduced and defined amusingly in context by the narrator.Sunny makes short random utterances that are interpreted by the narrator as lengthy and cogent observations.The three children use their given skills (respectively inventor, bookworm, biter) to solve the problem of not letting Count Olaaf gain control of them.At the end Mr Poe is called in and Olaaf's disguise is revealed.Count Olaaf runs away while Mr Poe coughs then phones the police.Rinse and repeat.Because this is book 2, and because Lemony Snicket is an entertaining writer, the formula has not yet grown old.Things get darker in this book. Actual murder is done. Olaaf repeatedly threatens the children with a knife and with death.As the books progress there is a slow progression toward the cartoony and surreal. In this book though the action is still largely believable and the world recognizably 'real' - only the bizarre reptiles referred to in the reptile room take us toward make-believe, and only Sunny's contribution in 'biting rope into shorter lengths' takes us toward cartoony.This is then, a well written and entertaining book that establishes a formula LS proceeds to beat to death every book hereafter (at least as far as we've read). Fortunately LS's skills mean that this isn't as painful experience as one might think.
What do You think about The Reptile Room (1999)?
La stanza delle serpi, secondo capitolo delle disavventure degli orfani Baudelaire, ci presenta un quadro che, almeno all’inizio, è piuttosto piacevole per i bambini.Sfuggiti al conte Olaf nel primo libro, i piccoli vengono ora portati dallo zio Montgomery Montgomery, detto Zio Monty, un famoso erpetologo.Certo, la strada che porta alla sua casa non è delle migliori, ma una volta arrivati, Violet, Klaus e Sunny scoprono che avranno ognuno una propria camera da letto, che potranno leggere tutti i libri che vogliono e che presto partiranno per una spedizione in Perù con lo zio.Tutto sembra andare per il meglio insomma: uno zio gentile, una bella casa, una stanza piena zeppa di serpenti provenienti da tutto il mondo e il conte Olaf lontano da loro.Almeno così sembra, finchè un giorno si presenta alla porta Stephano, il sostituto assistente dello zio Monty, che li accompagnerà nel viaggio in perù.Ma Stephano è in realtà Olaf sotto mentite spoglie.Gli orfani lo capiscono subito, ma farlo capire agli adulti è tutta un’altra questione.Come andrà a finire? Gli orfani riusciranno a partire? Smaschereranno il perfido conte?Per non fare spoiler non vi anticipo niente, ma questo secondo capitolo l’ho apprezzato maggiormente rispetto al primo.In parte perché è un po’ più leggero rispetto al precedente, almeno per una buona parte; in parte perché mi è sembrato scritto meglio, più fluido e più coinvolgente.Si leggono questi sfortunati eventi senza sapere cosa succederà dopo ( o intuendolo, se si è visto il film) e aspettando con trepidazione e timore il momento in cui rientrerà in scena il conte Olaf, che io continuo ad immaginarmi con le sembianze e la voce di Jim Carrey, secondo me bravissimo ad interpretarlo nel film.Zio Monty è un personaggio un po’ svampito ma a cui ci si affeziona subito, forse perché, fino adesso, è uno dei pochi che tratta come si deve questi sfortunati orfani.Lemony snicket è bravo a mescolare umorismo nero e insegnamenti sulla lingua e sulla vita.Una serie di libri davvero carina, adesso mi aspetta il terzo capitolo, la funesta finestra.
—Alexis Drake
A wonderful follow up of the series. As you were being brought into a new place, you will be thinking is this a new villain. Heck no! There were mysteries revolves in the 2nd book which makes it more interesting. Author never fails to interact with his audience still, which is a good thing to stray your mind aways from some "tense" moment. Haha! As I was reading, I am aware that that the Baudelair children are more mature now. Sunny is one character that caught me by surprise in this book.Let's see what the 3rd book has to give. #WLGYLemony Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 starsMy Blogspot Review
—Jbb Lim
After escaping from Count Olaf Violet, Sunny, and Klaus are sent to like with Dr. Montgomery, another distant relative who researches reptiles. Uncle Monty, as he tells the kids to call him seems to be a very nice man and seems to genuinely care for the children. Unfortunately his normal assistant, Gustav has resigned and he has to hire another assistant. Of course the new assistant is Count Olaf, who is disguising himself as a man named Stephano. The kids really enjoy staying with Uncle Monty, and even get to help him prepare for his trip to Peru. Uncle Monty discovered a new snake which he names The Incredibly Deadly Viper. He gives this snake that name to play a joke on his fellow scientists who makes fun of his name, Montgomery Montgomery. Sunny and the snake develop a great relationship because they both like to bite things. Once Stephano arrives the children of course notice that he is Count Olaf is disguise. They try to tell this to Uncle Monty, but he doesn't believe them. Count Olaf kills Uncle Monty by injecting snake venom into his veins. All the adults think that Uncle Monty was bitten by a snake. Violet finds the evidence that Stephano is in fact Count Olaf, but Count Olaf gets away once again.
—Nikinnia Smith garcia
