A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room

The second book in A Series of Unfortunate Events is my favorite. Granted, I've only just started book 9, so things could change.

Book 2 begins where Book 1 left off; Violet, Klaus and Sunny have narrowly escaped Count Olaf's dastardly plan to steal their fortune and are now headed to live with another distant relative. This relative happens to be Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, their late father's cousin's wife's brother. I think I've got that right.

Uncle Monty (as he prefers to be called) is a herpetologist - one who studies snakes - and turns out to be very welcoming. In fact, I relaxed a bit, thinking that maybe the Baudelaires had found a wonderful home with someone who was kind, generous and understanding of their recent misfortune. How naive of me to think so.

While planning an expedition to Peru in order to study snakes, misfortune finds the Baudelaire orphans yet again. Uncle Monty's assistant suddenly goes missing and a man named Stephano shows up at their doorstep, claiming to be a replacement assistant. The problem is that Stephano is actually Count Olaf in disguise.

Violet, Klaus and Sunny try desperately to tell Uncle Monty about the true identity of his new assistant, but their warnings fall on deaf ears.

I thought maybe I shouldn't spoil the ending, but then I realized that if you really wanted to you could read all about it on Amazon.com because there are plenty of spoilers there. So, I might as well spill the beans and save you an extra click.

Misfortune strikes yet again and the children find themselves without a guardian. Poor Uncle Monty is found dead in the Reptile Room. Count Olaf, I mean, Stephano, claims that Uncle Monty's favorite snake - the Incredibly Deadly Viper - is to be blamed for the death. The Baudelaire orphans know that the Incredibly Deadly Viper is, in fact, completely harmless and must find a way to prove that to Mr. Poe and the authorities before Count Olaf snatches them and leaves the country.

So, why is this my favorite book? An innocent man died for crying out loud! Trust me, I wasn't happy about that part. What I did love was that for once, Violet, Klaus and Sunny had found someone who cared about them. Someone who could give them a good home and help to ease the pain of losing their parents so tragically. In a series that promises nothing good will happen, something good did happen - even if it was only for a short time.

On a side note, have you seen the movie version? It's quite different from the books because they had to pack 3 books into one movie, but I thought Jim Carrey did a fantastic job with the part of Count Olaf. My absolute favorite is his interpretation of Stephano. Really, every time I watch it I laugh so hard I can't stop, and tears stream from my eyes. You should see it - at least once.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning

I started reading this series years ago, when I worked at a bookstore and was aware of every new book to hit the shelves. I read the back cover and was immediately intrigued.

Lemony Snickett warns readers not to read the book, but to put it down right away because the story of the three Baudelaire children is a miserable one. I thought it must be some kind of joke, so of course I decided to read it.

As it turns out, Mr. Snickett wasn't joking. There really isn't anything happy in the story of Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire. Tragically, their parents die and they are sent to live with a distant relative, Count Olaf. Nothing could have prepared them for the misfortunes they would encounter while under the care of this cunning and repulsive man.

Perhaps I should have given heed to the warning on the back cover of this book, but it's too late for that now. I'm immersed in the story and I must find out what happens to these brilliant, yet unfortunate children. I may as well mention that my 5 year old son is very much engrossed in this 'Series of Unfortunate Events', and thankfully, has not suffered any ill effects from the sad tales found therein.