The Penultimate Peril

“Some people think destiny is something you cannot escape, such as death or a curdled cheesecake, both of which always turn up sooner or later.”

As the Baudelaire's near the end of their destiny, they find themselves in "the last safe place" -- the Hotel Denouement -- where nothing is necessarily as it seems and no one is necessarily who anyone else thinks they are.

After being taken to the hotel by the mysterious, pregnant Kit Snicket, the Baudelaires work as concierges as they try to solve the many mysteries of the hotel and differentiate the volunteers from the villains.

The Baudelaires have become older and wiser through their many misfortunes.

“But the three siblings were not born yesterday. Violet was born more than fifteen show more years before this particular Wednesday, and Klaus was born approximately two years after that, and even Sunny who had just passed out of babyhood, was not born yesterday. Neither were you, unless of course I am wrong, in which case, welcome to the world, little baby, and congratulations on learning to read so early in life.”

But with wisdom has come the realization that the truth is not always so clear. They encounter many faces from their past, including many of the adults who have let them down, whether unintentionally or willfully. And they must face the fact that their own actions have not always been entirely honorable.

“But we can also ask for something we are much more likely to get, and that is to find a person or two, somewhere in our travels, who will tell us that we are noble enough, whether it is true or not. We can ask for someone who will say, “You are noble enough,” and remind us of our good qualities when we have forgotten them, or cast them into doubt.”

By the end of this book, the children are left wondering if they are indeed, noble enough, or as villainous as Count Olaf, with whom they find themselves unexpectedly connected. show less

[4.5] my favourite book out of all of them in this series!! the setting of the hotel, the fact it’s organised like a library, the fact it’s actually a decoy the whole time, and the fact that lemony snicket is incapable of writing sets of siblings that aren’t triplets / sets of three - all of it just feels so on brand for what the series is about and still manages to encompass the feeling of getting closer to solving all of the mysteries, and exploring the theme of what is right vs. wrong, good vs. evil, etc. i think the clues / plot / everything is genius in this book particularly, and especially the fact that it ends almost full circle with the baudelaires going back to just them and count olaf.

"For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came."

This book is probably the most daring in the series, literarily speaking. GR's spell check is telling me "literarily" isn't an actual word, but it's wrong. "Literarily" can be derived logically, so deal with it, spell check.

Snicket *crafts* this book. There are whole passages in mirror-writing. There's a "Not A Chapter." There are three chapters in a row that can be read in any order, because they take place simultaneously. None of this is whimsical or tossed carelessly onto the page. It's deliberate, significant, and a pleasure to read.

There are also show more numerous literary references, as is typical for the series. None of them are to the book of Job; but I quoted the verses above because to me they sum up the arc of this book perfectly.

The Baudelaires are fleeing from peril, as they have been all through this series. They come to what has been called "the last safe place." In the last few books, they have grappled with serious moral issues. They've agonized over whether their behavior is distinguishable from their enemies', and wondered if they really are standing on moral high ground.

In this penultimate peril, they learn that the most terrifying thing that can happen to heroes and heroines is not to be caught and captured by a villain, but to spark his admiration. Not because he's seen the error of his ways, but because he has a soft spot for the error of other people's ways -- especially people who have been in the habit of scorning his badness and taking their own virtue as a given.

As always, Snicket leaves me wanting to read more -- of his books and of those he quotes. show less

The series of unfortunate events is nearly at its end. As the title clearly indicates, this is the penultimate book in the records covering the lives of the Baudelaire children. After narrowly surviving their underwater ordeal in the last book, they were whisked away by Kit Snicket, the mysterious person awaiting them after they decoded the message with a secret meeting spot. This book picks up at the moment the last one concluded, as Kit drives the Baudelaires to an impromptu picnic outside the fashionable Hotel Denouement, revealing a delicious spread set out by an anonymous volunteer that appears as if by magic in front of the tired and hungry children. Kit informs the Baudelaires that they must infiltrate the hotel, in the disguise show more of concierges, to determine whether it is still a safe place. The next meeting of the VFD is scheduled to occur in just three days, in this last safe place, but they suspect it is safe no longer. The Baudelaire's mission is to spy on the volunteers and villains, determine if the hotel is still safe, and send up a signal if they deem the hotel too big a risk.

Kit speaks in riddles and mysteries, as do all the adults connected with the VFD, and the children are still bewildered by the variety of strange occurrences surrounding them. One answer is always obtained at the expense of several more mysteries. However, of one thing they are certain, and that is that they must help the noble VFD stop villainous persons like Count Olaf. They agree to their task.

Their new adventure is replete with outrageous and hilarious characters, verbal sparring, ludicrous analogies and metaphors, mistaken identity and an abundance of disguises; all trademarks of the series. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are dispatched to different floors of the hotel on their first day of work, where they observe nefarious plots underway. Violet is unfortunate enough to meet Esme Squalor and Carmelita Spats, who don't recognize her in the concierge uniform, and request a harpoon. Klaus meets Sir and Charles from the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, and Sunny overhears a conversation with criminal overtones shared by their old principal and teachers from the Prufrock Prepatory School. Much is stirring at the hotel, but the siblings can't fit all the clues together. When they meet the third Denoument, a secret triplet that knows where the real secret of Hotel Denouement is kept, they are reunited with two people from their past, Justice Strauss and Jerome Squalor, and feel unexpected tinglings of hope. These good thoughts are soon dashed, however, when Olaf appears on the scene and indirectly brings about the death of the third Denouement triplet. The Baudelaires and Olaf are then imprisoned until their trial the following day, where Justice Strauss assures the children that the High Court will end this villainy once and for all.

Readers of the series will be unsurprised to hear that the High Court does not work out so well. This is a chronicle of unfortunate events, after all. To begin with, the judicial system takes the phrase justice is blind far too literally, and when the Baudelaires recognize the voices of the other judges and remove their blindfolds, they discover that all of the judges besides Justice Strauss are villains. The failure of the judicial system pushes the children to take matters into their own hands, resulting in a climax that involves a kidnapping rescue, a burning building, and an improbable escape by boat from the roof of the hotel.

As the series draws towards its conclusion, the black streak of humor runs just as dark as in previous stories, and the absurd antics remain delightfully ridiculous. The author indulges in a verbal profusion of zaniness that embraces the potentials of language and exploits them. This story doesn't reach the fever pitch of insanity evident in other books in the series, but on the other hand, it devotes more time to bringing some points of the intricate plot to a conclusion. Of course, whenever Handler (Snicket) resolves one mystery, he makes sure to bring in at least two others. Still, the plot of this series is clearly heading toward its climax and resolution. The Baudelaires have evolved a great deal since the bad beginnings, and have retained my sympathy and support throughout. Despite Snicket's constant assurances that everything will end badly, I am hoping the Baudelaire's find a future more hopeful than the threats warrant. While the adults continue to be useless, it was nice to see the children fully aware of this flaw, and to see a couple of old characters return to prove that not all the grown ups in the story are as gullible and manipulated as they seemed. Olaf continues to be truly evil, and hilarious, and even picks up a slightly softer side in this book. I am happy with how the series has progressed, and think this book continues the momentum. A fun series for readers who appreciate finely done black comedy. show less

My feelings about this second-to-last book in A Series of Unfortunate Events are divided. On one hand, it is an impressive tying together of the series, a wonderful penultimate journey through the previous eleven books. On the other, it is unsettling, a fatalistic blow that buries the most redeeming aspects of the series beneath a darkness with implications I shudder to think about.

First, the good. The Penultimate Peril brings together many familiar characters and places them in a situation that is entertaining and appropriate. Those reading the story aloud will have to strain to remember the voices of so many characters throughout the series and keep them straight (not an easy task, but I was up for the challenge). The drama, action, show more and humor are all turned to full for this chapter in the Baudelaire story. It's a good mix, and certainly a wonderful addition.

But the decisions made by our “heroes,” well, they seem out of character, though there was some indication of it in the previous volume. This sudden change in approach, this resignation to despair and acceptance of fate is very fatalistic. I understand—and have liked—Snicket's growing maturity throughout the series, forcing bigger words and larger questions as the book number increased, but this may be going to far. Not only does it all seem forced, but the reactions themselves are rather insipid. Perhaps this is merely an indication of what is to come in the final book—maybe this change is purely a plot device for the final chapter—but in the meantime, the only heroes a child can have in this series have been dashed against the cliffs of a pessimistic philosophy. As the Baudelaires would say in this chapter of their lives, eventually they'd only have failed you anyway.

Though a series of unfortunate events, A Series of Unfortunate Events has always shown some glimmer of hope, if in no other way than in the hearts of the Baudelaires. Now, looking out at the coming horizon, it looks quite bleak. I guess Snicket said all along it wouldn't be a happy ending, but I didn't expect the darkness to infect everything. Here's to hoping Snicket left a ray of light in The End.

A Series of Unfortunate Events:
The Bad Beginning – 3.1
The Reptile Room – 3.2
The Wide Window – 3.6
The Miserable Mill – 3.3
The Austere Academy – 3.4
The Ersatz Elevator – 3.3
The Vile Village – 3.1
The Hostile Hospital – 3.4
The Carnivorous Carnival – 3.9
The Slippery Slope – 3.6
The Grim Grotto – 3.9
The Penultimate Peril – 3.4 show less

I'm going to review all four of the last books in this series in one review, since I read them all at one go due to the quick plot pacing, and now they've mushed together in my brain. These are wonderful! When I first started, this series, I was underwhelmed, but Snickett grows up his books like he grows up the Baudelaires. Unlike many coming-of-age stories, this one manages to avoid the trite and the untrue. Despite Snickett's fantastical style and plot twists, there is deep reality at the core of these books, which manage to show the world in all its nastiness and how difficult it is to be a "volunteer instead of a villain," and yet it conveys the desperate need for each of us to try. It also teaches voculary, is subtley hilarious if show more you already have a big one, and imparts a love of science, literature, poetry, and even good cooking. Highly recommended for all the young, and old, people in your life! show less

I admit, as this series has gone on, I’ve gotten increasingly nervous. I was burned badly by the XF, and I’ve wondered how on Earth Snicket plans to resolve all his conspiracy plots. I still don’t know, but I’m hopeful. In this volume – possibly the next to last, though it’s never smart to rely on what series writers tell you midseries; it’s the writerly equivalent of “I’ll pull out, I promise�€? – some mysteries are cleared up, while others merely accumulate more clues. The setting is a hotel whose rooms are labeled and organized according to the Dewey Decimal System (there is really a hotel like this, though it got sued for trademark infringement), which is both quirky and disconcerting. Sunny continues show more to develop, though her speech remains limited. All three Baudelaires confront the trouble with conspiracy – how do you know you’re on the right side? – and struggle with their complicity in evil deeds, even if only by accident. There’s a surprising amount of power lurking in the storytelling here, from the ways in which the Baudelaires are brought to question their own goodness to the ominous mention of fire early on in the volume. I can’t wait to see what happens next. show less