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A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Hostile Hospital
Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins Publishers
Text copyright © 2001 by Lemony Snicket
Illustrations © 2001 by Brett Helquist
257 pages, illustrations before and after text included
Of the Unfortunate and the Fortunate
Although it is never a good idea for a 13-year old to just go around and pick up a book in a certain bookstore and buy it – all because the author’s letter looked intriguing – without thinking whether the book is part of a series, I am very glad I had picked up The Hostile Hospital.
When I laid my eyes on the phrase “before you throw this awful book to the ground and run as far away from it as possible” from the author’s letter, I knew right away that I had to have the book. So I did buy the book and discovered a little later that The Hostile Hospital is the eighth book among the thirteen books of A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was fairly interesting how I came to know the book when I was a mere 13-year old – while thirteen is a rather unfortunate number, I have reason to believe that having discovered A Series of Unfortunate Events when I was thirteen is very fortunate.
My discovery of the book is indeed fortunate, for I have discovered a book I would cherish for all time but while I am fortunate, I am afraid that I cannot say the same for the characters of this book.
Unfortunate is a word that no one wants to hear – unless, of course, that person is hoping for news such as, “It is unfortunate that your parents have perished in a terrible fire.”
And that line back there, with the exception of the, phrase, “it is unfortunate that,” was exactly what had started the unfortunate events following the lives of the Baudelaire siblings, Violet, Klaus and Sunny.
Unfortunate is never a wrong word to use to describe the lives of the Baudelaire siblings, given that wherever they go, unfortunate events follow them like their own shadows; in this case the phrase “unfortunate events follow them like their own shadows” means “a horrible and disgusting man named Count Olaf has decided that he wants their inheritance so he follows them wherever they go.”
Written by a man who goes by the pseudonym Lemony Snicket – A Series of Unfortunate Events consist of thirteen (which is a very unfortunate number) books telling of the misfortune and strife that the Baudelaire siblings have experienced because of the terrible fire that had engulfed their parents therefore forcing them to live with numerous guardians who have either decided to abandon them or were killed by Count Olaf.
A Half-built Hospital and ‘Cranioectomy’
Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire’s lives had been plagued with all the probable misfortune in the world. All this misfortune had led them to be accused of killing someone and now they are running for their lives.
In this book, they encounter the Volunteers Fighting Disease and they were mistaken for fellow volunteers, in spite of the fact that they are three wanted children.
Fortunately for the Baudelaires, the Volunteers Fighting Disease do not believe in reading the newspaper for they believe in the line “news is good news,” and they haven’t seen the children in the news stating that they are wanted criminals.
The children then rode a van with the said volunteers to the Heimlich Hospital, a hospital that was half-finished and contained a rather disturbing intercom system.
Upon their arrival, the Baudelaires discovered that Count Olaf had found them and was once again up to his sinister ways. Count Olaf’s evil and fashion-slave-girlfriend, Esmé Squalor (or as she likes to call herself, the city’s sixth most important financial advisor) was also in the picture.
The children decide to work in the hospital’s Library of Records and there they discovered that there was a possibility that one of their parents may have survived the terrible fire that was the beginning of all their misfortune.
Violet, the eldest Baudelaire, was captured by Esmé and unfortunately for the Violet, Count Olaf, disguised as a medical practitioner, hatched a convoluted plan involving surgery for her, which he called cranioectomy – wherein he will saw her head off. Fooling people is one of the things that Olaf did best and unfortunately, when he told the people that cranioectomy was a proper medical procedure, they all believed him.
Klaus, the middle Baudelaire, and Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire, decide to look for their sister in the wards of Heimlich Hospital and discovered that Count Olaf had kept her under the name Laura V. Bleediotee, which is an anagram of her real name.
Now if only they can save their sister before the murderous Count Olaf saws her head off and his treacherous associates torch down Heimlich Hospital and its Library of Records…
How Far Down is the Rabbit Hole?
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Hostile Hospital is a very interesting read, as the rest of the books in the series are. It gives a vivid description of events that it is almost like one is within the story itself. The contrast between the logical and the frustratingly irrational is enough to keep the reader glued to the seat and keep reading in spite of the danger of being attacked by vicious wolves.
One interesting thing about the book is that whenever a rather difficult word, phrase or thought is introduced, the author explains it to the reader – just like what I have been doing in the past paragraphs. All words, phrases and are defined in context to the book, of course.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a children’s book, however, I have difficulty agreeing with those who may have insisted that it is so. The book is rather intricate, not to mention frustrating. It doesn’t comply with the usual children’s book that contains the traditional formula; there are no happy endings (unfortunate endings are the theme here) and everything just seems plain confusing. In fact, it seems like the author has “taken a leaf out of Lewis Carroll’s book,” a phrase which here means, “wrote a disturbing book like Lewis Carroll’s famous children’s book, Alice in Wonderland.”
Alice in Wonderland may seem appropriate for a child to read because of its imaginative prose but its disturbing concept would make one wonder, if not haunt anyone who has about half a brain.
Both books have the same disorienting streak, which gives the reader an impression of falling down the rabbit hole, as in Carroll’s book; and if one insists on going down the rabbit hole, one may find oneself in a rather confusing place. The enchantment in A Series of Unfortunate Events lies in its intricately woven details and the confusion. When it comes to this book, the question “how far down is the rabbit hole?” may only be answered with “it depends on whether you want to keep going down.”
Note from the author:
A review of the last book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, which is The End, is soon to follow - along with a full blown review of the series itself.
Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins Publishers
Text copyright © 2001 by Lemony Snicket
Illustrations © 2001 by Brett Helquist
257 pages, illustrations before and after text included
Of the Unfortunate and the Fortunate
Although it is never a good idea for a 13-year old to just go around and pick up a book in a certain bookstore and buy it – all because the author’s letter looked intriguing – without thinking whether the book is part of a series, I am very glad I had picked up The Hostile Hospital.
When I laid my eyes on the phrase “before you throw this awful book to the ground and run as far away from it as possible” from the author’s letter, I knew right away that I had to have the book. So I did buy the book and discovered a little later that The Hostile Hospital is the eighth book among the thirteen books of A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was fairly interesting how I came to know the book when I was a mere 13-year old – while thirteen is a rather unfortunate number, I have reason to believe that having discovered A Series of Unfortunate Events when I was thirteen is very fortunate.
My discovery of the book is indeed fortunate, for I have discovered a book I would cherish for all time but while I am fortunate, I am afraid that I cannot say the same for the characters of this book.
Unfortunate is a word that no one wants to hear – unless, of course, that person is hoping for news such as, “It is unfortunate that your parents have perished in a terrible fire.”
And that line back there, with the exception of the, phrase, “it is unfortunate that,” was exactly what had started the unfortunate events following the lives of the Baudelaire siblings, Violet, Klaus and Sunny.
Unfortunate is never a wrong word to use to describe the lives of the Baudelaire siblings, given that wherever they go, unfortunate events follow them like their own shadows; in this case the phrase “unfortunate events follow them like their own shadows” means “a horrible and disgusting man named Count Olaf has decided that he wants their inheritance so he follows them wherever they go.”
Written by a man who goes by the pseudonym Lemony Snicket – A Series of Unfortunate Events consist of thirteen (which is a very unfortunate number) books telling of the misfortune and strife that the Baudelaire siblings have experienced because of the terrible fire that had engulfed their parents therefore forcing them to live with numerous guardians who have either decided to abandon them or were killed by Count Olaf.
A Half-built Hospital and ‘Cranioectomy’
Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire’s lives had been plagued with all the probable misfortune in the world. All this misfortune had led them to be accused of killing someone and now they are running for their lives.
In this book, they encounter the Volunteers Fighting Disease and they were mistaken for fellow volunteers, in spite of the fact that they are three wanted children.
Fortunately for the Baudelaires, the Volunteers Fighting Disease do not believe in reading the newspaper for they believe in the line “news is good news,” and they haven’t seen the children in the news stating that they are wanted criminals.
The children then rode a van with the said volunteers to the Heimlich Hospital, a hospital that was half-finished and contained a rather disturbing intercom system.
Upon their arrival, the Baudelaires discovered that Count Olaf had found them and was once again up to his sinister ways. Count Olaf’s evil and fashion-slave-girlfriend, Esmé Squalor (or as she likes to call herself, the city’s sixth most important financial advisor) was also in the picture.
The children decide to work in the hospital’s Library of Records and there they discovered that there was a possibility that one of their parents may have survived the terrible fire that was the beginning of all their misfortune.
Violet, the eldest Baudelaire, was captured by Esmé and unfortunately for the Violet, Count Olaf, disguised as a medical practitioner, hatched a convoluted plan involving surgery for her, which he called cranioectomy – wherein he will saw her head off. Fooling people is one of the things that Olaf did best and unfortunately, when he told the people that cranioectomy was a proper medical procedure, they all believed him.
Klaus, the middle Baudelaire, and Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire, decide to look for their sister in the wards of Heimlich Hospital and discovered that Count Olaf had kept her under the name Laura V. Bleediotee, which is an anagram of her real name.
Now if only they can save their sister before the murderous Count Olaf saws her head off and his treacherous associates torch down Heimlich Hospital and its Library of Records…
How Far Down is the Rabbit Hole?
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Hostile Hospital is a very interesting read, as the rest of the books in the series are. It gives a vivid description of events that it is almost like one is within the story itself. The contrast between the logical and the frustratingly irrational is enough to keep the reader glued to the seat and keep reading in spite of the danger of being attacked by vicious wolves.
One interesting thing about the book is that whenever a rather difficult word, phrase or thought is introduced, the author explains it to the reader – just like what I have been doing in the past paragraphs. All words, phrases and are defined in context to the book, of course.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a children’s book, however, I have difficulty agreeing with those who may have insisted that it is so. The book is rather intricate, not to mention frustrating. It doesn’t comply with the usual children’s book that contains the traditional formula; there are no happy endings (unfortunate endings are the theme here) and everything just seems plain confusing. In fact, it seems like the author has “taken a leaf out of Lewis Carroll’s book,” a phrase which here means, “wrote a disturbing book like Lewis Carroll’s famous children’s book, Alice in Wonderland.”
Alice in Wonderland may seem appropriate for a child to read because of its imaginative prose but its disturbing concept would make one wonder, if not haunt anyone who has about half a brain.
Both books have the same disorienting streak, which gives the reader an impression of falling down the rabbit hole, as in Carroll’s book; and if one insists on going down the rabbit hole, one may find oneself in a rather confusing place. The enchantment in A Series of Unfortunate Events lies in its intricately woven details and the confusion. When it comes to this book, the question “how far down is the rabbit hole?” may only be answered with “it depends on whether you want to keep going down.”
Note from the author:
A review of the last book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, which is The End, is soon to follow - along with a full blown review of the series itself.
