The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13)
by Lemony Snicket
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lemony SnicketIllustrator: Brett Helquist
Illustrator: Michael Kupperman
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-10-01
ISBN: 0064410161
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: HarperCollins
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780064410168
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13)
Book Review: A Thoughtful Ending. Unsatisfying, but Somehow Expected
Summary: 5 Stars
I was initially sorely disappointed that The End did not divulge the secrets that we have been following thirteen books for - but then I understood any ending wouldn't have been able to live up to our expectations. All I can to is reflect on the long and strange journey it's been.
As the series progressed, so did the complexity and meaning. The first few books were funny and original, but that was it - children's fun, a bit brainless, seemingly. However, as the books went on, it was clear that Handler was slipping in more than just lighthearted whimsicalities - literary allusions, allegories, hidden themes and symbols. The downright cleverness (the hidden symbols! The ironic wit!) of the books astounds me, seriously. I honestly feel that these books ought to be considered "serious" pieces of literature, and analyzed as fitting to their genius.
But was it more than just cleverness and wit? Judging by half the review on this site, apparently not.
However, after reading a few thoughtful posts on the books' fansite, I am now somewhat convinced that the entire series may have had a deeper, symbolic meaning to it - an allegory disguised as a children's read. Here are two possible alternate theories I stumbled upon:
has been suggested that the Series has Jewish themes, and indeed that the suffering, guilt, questioning attitude, and constant wanderings of the Baudelaires reflect the plight of the Jewish people. In The End, they find a safe homeland(where their parents had lived), but at the expense of either killing everyone else or driving them into the sea. Perhaps notably, it is ruled by a man called Ishmael, the name of the alleged ancestor of the Arabs.
And also as taken from one of the fan websites, some of the fine points Snicket/Handler has made in social satire:
Snicket's Politics and Social Satire - by Antenora
« Thread Started on Jun 30, 2008, 3:54pm »
Mr. Snicket's Politics and Unfortunate Social Satire
We know that Daniel Handler is a liberal, and it appears that his character Snicket shares these views, based on the available evidence-- in his letters to Beatrice, he denounces "pre-emptive war"(the solution to Olaf's anagram "a wet viper perm") as an obscene concept, and expresses sadness over the fact that two women are not allowed to marry. While we know relatively little about the politics of the Snicket world, by our standards Snicket would also be a liberal. He would also strongly disapprove of the "anti-elitist" and anti-intellectual leanings commonly shown by some conservatives(but by no means limited to the Right-- consider how Hillary Clinton has dismissed the worth of economic experts). For Snicket, this kind of thinking(or non-thinking) goes hand in hand not only with evil, but with sheer absurdity.
"Several of the post-V.F.D. books contain notable social satire, presenting a world not entirely unlike our own:
1. The obsession with wealth, fashion and conspicuous consumption-- exemplified by the items sold in the aptly named Veblen Hall-- in TEE. Many of these items and fashions, such as keeping whole streets in darkness, climbing dozens of flights of stairs, and parsley soda, would seem unappealing if they were not, for some reason, declared fashionable.
2. The tyrannical government of the Village of Fowl Devotees, which resembles a theocracy or a cult with its devotion to crows, censorship of any suggestion of dissent, and medieval-esque method of punishment. Consider also their puritanical ban on "using one's mouth for recreation", which implies the sort of restriction of sensual pleasure seen in communities ruled by religion. Even these frightening figures have comical aspects, though, with their silly hats, forbiddance of their own rule books, and nitpicking about ice-cream sundaes.
3. The public's love of humiliation, freakishness, "violence and sloppy eating", shown by the visitors to Caligari Carnival. While people like the pimpled man are exaggerated strawman characters, their means of entertainment are not entirely unrealistic-- witness reality shows, torture-themed movies, media coverage of Michael Jackson and Paris Hilton, certain web pages, and rubberneckers at car accidents.
4. The corrupt-yet-absurd High Court in TPP. This is the most powerful political institution we see in ASoUE, and it reflects all the worst aspects of this world's authority and society. Members are either unfathomably evil or too "laissez-faire" to hold back evil-- one may draw a parallel to the executive and legislative branches of the current United States government. However, their Scalia-esque interpretation of "Justice is blind", like the crow hats, allows us to laugh as well as tremble.
5. Ishmael's government of "Olaf-Land", which forms an interesting counterpoint to the Village of Fowl Devotees. Instead of ruling with an iron fist, Ishmael appears gentle(and more sympathetic than the Council of Elders), and his government, while cultish, is more like communism than fascist theocracy. By restricting his subjects' access to knowledge, technology, and most material items, Ishmael attempts to stamp out greed and create a Marxist utopia, which as in our world ultimately turns out to be dystopic. This reflects the "horseshoe" theory of the political spectrum, in which the extreme right and the extreme left are more similar than they'd like to admit; it also supports the themes of moral ambiguity which become prominent in these later books, in which there is no clear path to goodness. "
Brilliant. I thank Mr. Handler sincerely for bringing into my boring life a few books that excellent served its purpose, as what any wonderful literature does - made me laugh, think, cry, and last but not least, extend my dismal vocabulary.
Summary of The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13)
Like an off-key violin concert, the Roman Empire, or food poisoning, all things must come to an end. Thankfully, this includes A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The thirteenth and final installment in the groundbreaking series will answer readers? most burning questions: Will Count Olaf prevail? Will the Baudelaires survive? Will the series end happily? If there?s nothing out there, what was that noise?
Then again, why trouble yourself with unfortunate resolutions? Avoid the thirteenth and final book of Lemony Snicket?s international bestselling series and you?ll never have to know what happens.
Ages 10+
Picking up from the final pages of the Pentultimate Peril, this farewell installment to the ridiculously (and deservedly!) popular A Series of Unfortunate Events places our protagonists right where we last left them: on a large, wooden boat in the middle of the ocean, trapped with their nemesis Count Olaf, who has armed himself with a helmet-full of deadly Medusoid Mycelium.
The situation quickly and--this being the Baudelaires--predictably deteriorates. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny find themselves tossed in a storm so terrible that our beloved narrator spends four pages describing how he cannot describe it. From this point on, fans of the series' smarty-pants wordplay and acrobatic narrative can rest assured that they're in for more of the same (and how) in this 368-page finale, and Daniel Handler's deadpan Snicket continues to tutor a generation in self-referential humor (including one particularly funny bit regarding three very short men carrying a large, flat piece of wood, painted to look like a living room). Snicket notes, of course, that if you read the entire series, "your only reward will be 170 chapters of misery in your library and countless tears in your eyes."
There's one big question, though, for anyone who's made it through "the thirteenth chapter of the thirteenth volume in this sad history": is the final book a fitting end? That question is probably best-answered by one of The End's most oft-repeated phrases: It depends on how you look at it. Those looking for conclusive resolution to the series' many, many mysteries may be disappointed, although some big questions do get explicit answers. Not surprisingly for a work so deliberately labyrinthine, though, even the absence of an answer can be sort of an answer--and reaction to The End can be something of a Rorschach test for readers. Or, as Lemony Snicket says, "Perhaps you don?t know yet what the end really means." --Paul Hughes
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