#41 Book the Twelfth: The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket

I love the crazy narration style of Snicket (which I hope you realize is a pen name for Daniel Handler, and not someone's given name), the strange asides he makes, the glimpses into his mysterious identity, the laugh-out-loud definitions he gives for the readers who may not know the "big" words he uses. My sister thinks that it's condescending but I think that it's just part of the bizarre charm of the series. And it is charming, despite my lackluster review, albeit, in a very bizarre fashion.

It had been a while since I read Grim Grotto, so I was a bit lost in the beginning as twelve picks up right after eleven. Book the Twelfth is not nearly as clever as its previous brethren. I felt like Peril didn't further the series's plot, and because it was missing out on that certain Snicket je nais sais quois, seemed longer than it was, which is the longest book in the series yet. While I thought that the series would never end, I was wrong and this really is the penultimate. I wonder if the Baudelaires will ever meet up with the Quigleys, if they'll ever be safe from Olaf, if Poe will ever stop coughing...

Here is a great example of why Snicket is so near and dear to me. The back story behind this quote is the Baudelaires are given blindfolds before their trial because "Justice is blind." They question this logic. just so you know, Sunny is less than two years old. This is the conversation that follows:

"The verdict of the high court was to take the expression literally," said the manager, so everyone except the judges must cover their eyes..."

"Scalia," Sunny said. She meant something like, "It doesn't seem like the literal interpretation makes any sense," but her siblings did not think it wise to translate.

Soon to come: the next nine books, goddess willing, but more importantly, pictures of the cutest rabbit in the whole world taken with my brand-spanking new digital camera.

Have a fantastic holiday everyone. Eat lots of yummy things.