The Penultimate Peril
By Elle Maurer
As we've approached the end of the year, I've found myself doing all of my schoolwork for the week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then having completely no idea what to do with myself for the rest of the week. This week I decided to just read all day, and boy, it was honestly somewhat thrilling. I started the second to last book in my journey through A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril. This post will contain many spoilers, so move forward with caution.
The Baudelaire orphans have had many an adventure, all surrounding Count Olaf and the mysteries of the mysterious organization, VFD. This book is where all the mysteries are revealed and everything begins to make sense. The children have to make it to "the last safe place" by Thursday for a meeting of the volunteers involved with VFD. This "last safe place" is the hotel Denouement which is organized by the Dewey Decimal system. They disguise themselves as concierges and perform tasks for the many people all linked in some way to their past. The story comes to a head when Dewey Denouement reveals himself to the children and his underwater library chronicling all the secrets in the world. Count Olaf then shows up and shows some serious character development, which unfortunately ends in the death of Dewey Denouement. A judge then shows up and orders everyone to a trial, but once again the judges are corrupt and allow Olaf to escape, but this time the kids help and escape with him as to avoid their own certain doom.
In my opinion, this book is a little bit too convenient and wraps everything up a little bit too fast. I understand that this is the literal point of the book, but it was still very hard to follow at times. The plot felt scrunched and things started to not make a lot of sense if you didn't pick up on all the subtle revelations in each and every sentence. I usually don't like books where there is a break from the action, but this book sorely needed it. However, I do like that the author took some time to develop Olaf as a character and show the true sides of him as opposed to the seemingly every present villain front he put on. It is shown in this book that Olaf has depth and can stand up for himself, because in the previous books he is just walked all over by his girlfriend and henchmen. It's hard to feel for this villain, but I don't think it is necessarily the worst thing in the world.
Overall, this book was a pretty great book with a thrilling plot line and revelation after revelation. It moved too fast in some parts and some things just seemed too convenient to be true, but I couldn't put it down and I truly finished it in one day. This book cannot be read as a stand alone novel to understand each and every part, so I recommend this to a person who is willing to start from the beginning of the series and make their way to this book. I rate this book a 3.5/5 bologna slices.
Have a great summer everyone and don't let corona get ya too down.
As we've approached the end of the year, I've found myself doing all of my schoolwork for the week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then having completely no idea what to do with myself for the rest of the week. This week I decided to just read all day, and boy, it was honestly somewhat thrilling. I started the second to last book in my journey through A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril. This post will contain many spoilers, so move forward with caution.
The Baudelaire orphans have had many an adventure, all surrounding Count Olaf and the mysteries of the mysterious organization, VFD. This book is where all the mysteries are revealed and everything begins to make sense. The children have to make it to "the last safe place" by Thursday for a meeting of the volunteers involved with VFD. This "last safe place" is the hotel Denouement which is organized by the Dewey Decimal system. They disguise themselves as concierges and perform tasks for the many people all linked in some way to their past. The story comes to a head when Dewey Denouement reveals himself to the children and his underwater library chronicling all the secrets in the world. Count Olaf then shows up and shows some serious character development, which unfortunately ends in the death of Dewey Denouement. A judge then shows up and orders everyone to a trial, but once again the judges are corrupt and allow Olaf to escape, but this time the kids help and escape with him as to avoid their own certain doom.In my opinion, this book is a little bit too convenient and wraps everything up a little bit too fast. I understand that this is the literal point of the book, but it was still very hard to follow at times. The plot felt scrunched and things started to not make a lot of sense if you didn't pick up on all the subtle revelations in each and every sentence. I usually don't like books where there is a break from the action, but this book sorely needed it. However, I do like that the author took some time to develop Olaf as a character and show the true sides of him as opposed to the seemingly every present villain front he put on. It is shown in this book that Olaf has depth and can stand up for himself, because in the previous books he is just walked all over by his girlfriend and henchmen. It's hard to feel for this villain, but I don't think it is necessarily the worst thing in the world.
Overall, this book was a pretty great book with a thrilling plot line and revelation after revelation. It moved too fast in some parts and some things just seemed too convenient to be true, but I couldn't put it down and I truly finished it in one day. This book cannot be read as a stand alone novel to understand each and every part, so I recommend this to a person who is willing to start from the beginning of the series and make their way to this book. I rate this book a 3.5/5 bologna slices.
Have a great summer everyone and don't let corona get ya too down.
I wish I had the same problem as you -- I still put off all my work till the last day possible. Just reading your summary, this book seems overwhelmingly face paced. I'm really impressed that you read this book in one day, and I can sympathize with the disappointment of a story that seems too convenient. Thanks for the thoughtful review as always
ReplyDeleteMan, those first few sentences feel like an unattainable paradise (I'm currently a few days behind in work). A Series of Unfortunate Events was too dense and/or dark for my tastes back in middle school - after reading this post, I want to give it a try again! Thank you for this review!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great review! I used to really enjoy reading the Series of Unfortunate Events books because of the combination of comedy, action, and a dash of horror. I do not like when these great books wrap up with such a quick and seemingly rushed ending though. During quarantine, I find myself rereading some of my favorite books, and this post reminded me of one of my favorite series. Great job!
ReplyDelete