Book 479: The Wide Window (A Series of Unfortunate Events #3) – Lemony Snicket

If I weren’t reading this for book group, I don’t think I would keep reading the series. The exponential increase of negativity and darkness is too much for me. I’ve struggled with the balance of the darkness and the humor. Thankfully, the one person in our group who has read them told us that they’re not all as doom and gloom as the first few and that other story lines develop, so needless to say I’m looking forward to that.

This one was once again even darker than the one before, and the reason I wrote about the above. There was a scene where the person who was supposed to be the Baudelaire’s guardian offered them as a sacrifice instead of themselves and I was like WTF, this is just too much. I also felt the appearance of Count Olaf and the rapidity of the demise of the guardian was even faster than the previous books.

This put me on edge and is why I asked about if they were all like this at an increasing crescendo because I’m not sure I can handle it. So us reading them for book group is both reaffirming the terror of the world’s current state of affairs, but also simultaneously a bit too much to handle.

Recommendation: I’m looking forward to the next few books, if only to find out what happens and to see if my friend is right about the story taking a turn. I’m less excited about more and more death and doom and gloom. We’ll see what happens. Give it a go.

Opening Line: “If you didn’t know much about the Baudelaire orphans, and you saw them sitting on their suitcases at Damocles Dock, you might think that they were bound for an exciting adventure.”

Closing Line: “To have each other in the midst of their unfortunate lives felt like having a sailboat in the middle of a hurricane, and to the Baudelaire orphans this felt very fortunate indeed.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers.)

Additional Quotes from The Wide Window
“Just because something is typed—whether it is typed on a business card or typed in a newspaper or book—this does not mean that it is true.” (50)

“Tears are curious things, for like earthquakes or puppet shows they can occur at any time, without any warning and without any good reason.” (67)

“You are very intelligent children, but even the most intelligent people in the world often need the help of a banker.” (74)

“If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats.” (95)