The End - Lemony Snickett

Synopsis

You are presumably looking at the back of this book, or the end of the end. The end of the end is the best place to begin the end, because if you read the end from the beginning of the beginning of the end to the end of the end of the end, you will arrive at the end of the end of your rope.

This book is the last in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even if you braved the previous twelve volumes, you probably can't stand such unpleasantries as a fearsome storm, a suspicious beverage, a herd of wild sheep, an enormous bird cage, and a truly haunting secret about the Baudelaire parents.

It has been my solemn occupation to complete the history of the Baudelaire orphans, and at last I am finished. You likely have some other occupation, so if I were you I would drop this book at once, so the end does not finish you.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket


Thoughts

Overall this series as a whole really made me tired. It took effort to go through the repetition and the story line began chasing itself in circles. However, the purposes of this book (and series) - expanding children's vocabulary, teaching ethics/morals, and introducing "the great unknown" (death) was very effective. The relationships and plots of this series are very complex and if you miss one detail you are lost, so I feel the series can only apply to a narrow age group - too simple to entertain older kids and too complicated for younger ones to understand, although its possible I underestimate children.

Despite my overall distaste for the series, I found this a very satisfactory ending to the series - this book was in the top three written for the series I would say due to mature ideas, great symbolism, and the ending of the book. Unlike most children's books, this series ends without answering all the questions - leaving the reader to decide the fate of the Baudelaire's, although *SPOILERS*the hints lean towards their probable death. *SPOILERS* This series really matured throughout its thirteen books.

Overall

I personally did not enjoy this novel or series. I read it because I started reading it and I HAVE to know how things end. I found the prose extremely irritating and the repetition of the plot only slightly less so. However, the mysteries that develop in each novel keep you hooked.

Recommended for

Children from the ages 8-13.