Book 13), The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events

I started reading these books about a year before "The Slippery Slope" came out. I have read the entire series, which are the best books I have ever read in my life. Lemony Snicket, (well the real author of the series is Daniel Handler), but he uses Lemony Snicket because the false name is actually a character in the book. Anyways, I read "The End" from the beggining to, well, to the end(no pun intended:). I liked the Island theme, and the new characters This book was the best I have ever read, beating Harry Potter.The end of "The End" was a cliffhanger, as you would expect from Mr. Handler(Snicket) would write. The whole reason the end of "The End" is a cliffhanger is that the moral of the entire series is that answers will only lead to more questions, which is stated in the book many times, and is the outcome, more questions. All in all,I give this book a four, because the moral left me a little sad that I might never know the fate of some characters, but, Mr Handler(Snicket) might just have another book in his typewriter, just waiting to be published..........

the series of unfortunate events was a mysterious and sad series, especially this book which was the saddest of them all. Not knowing there was another "book" to the book in the end. I found it great that there was another, but sad that the story had to end and in such a sad way. I would rate this 5stars because it's the best series I have ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery and lots of sadness. My favorite character is Violet, she is the oldest out of the three of them, she's my favorite because she always helps Klause and Sunny and in general is always nice and I would think she is a great sister. Well that's all I have to say.

Would definitely buy from this seller again. We ordered a new book, but we were sent a used book at a new book price. The seller, when notified, completely refunded the total amount of the purchase even though we only requested a refund of the difference between new and used. We are completely pleased. The book is in great condition, and we were able to conceal the previous owner's name by creatively writing our child's name over it.

Okay so first the beginning is really boring until you get to chapter 13. I had to force myself to finish this book, the ending is great though. I still believe the 5th and 10th book are the best ones though.

WHat started as a delightful young adult series has become a near philosophical meditation on the nature of good and evil, which is all well and fine, except what happened to the fun? I almost thought I had missed something at the start, when the orphans find themselves washed up on a beach somewhere with the evil Count Olaf. An island with it's own inhabitants that are leading a life free from the dangers of the outside world. One wonders if the author has been watching 'Lost' because this island holds as many mysteries as the one on the ABC show, and gives you about the same amount of answers. I can appreciate that the ending is mostly ambiguous, however for the kid (or adult)who's reading this hoping for a payoff, they're going to be quite disappointed.

This installment was difficult for me to write because I did not want to spoil The End for you, dear reader. Read On.

After escaping the fire at the Hotel Denouement, the Baudelaires find themselves at sea with Count Olaf. Due the great schism, the V.F.D. has been divided into good and evil factions. The fire was a result of the orphans escape from the hotel; the last safe place.

After surviving a horrible storm, the Baudelaires and the Count, are washed up on the coastal self, along with a fantastic array of flotsam.

An island is nearby. This island is inhabited by people who desire simple life in peace and safety, far away from the dangers and treachery of the outside world.

The island is ruled by a facilitator who uses peer pressure to ensure that no one "rocks the boat."

The orphans choose to live on the island. They especially appreciate the fact that the islanders will not allow Olaf on the island.

But the safety and security of the island comes at a price. There are secrets. When the islanders decide to mutiny, some spores of the deadly Medusoid Mycelium fungus (From the Grim Grotto) are released every one on the island must make a life or death decision.

At The End, we learn the truth about the orphans' parents. We learn about Kit Snicket. And we learn about the narrator, Lemony Snicket.

No cavalry coming over the hill. No secret discovery. No happy ending.

I strongly encourage you to read the series in order.

I just might get a commonplace book.

I finally finished! The End was certainly the best book in the series. Violet, Klaus, Sunny, AND Olaf are castaway on an island inhabited by other castaways and it is a curious population of people. Their facilitator (leader) Ishmael knows more than he lets on and it’s up to the siblings to find out what he’s hiding. When they discover evidence that their parents have been on the island and a large volume depicting its history, they finally get some answers, though even those are ambiguous.

Overall thoughts on the series: I liked the gothic tone, the literary allusions, and the intuitive, resourceful Beaudelaire kids. As I said before the ambiguity of the conclusion was mildly frustrating, but I’m glad Olaf finally met his end and the siblings survived unscathed. I may just have to obtain some of the supplementary material Lemony Snicket published to find out more about the greater general VFD plot (take my money please!).

Olaf and the Baudelaires are stranded on an eerie island as this story comes to a close. The island is one of my favorite settings in the series; its social elements are predictable, but as a setting it's unique and evocative. The End is approximately the end I expected from this series. In keeping with tradition, it doesn't provide many solid answers. That's a cop-out (and imagine what the series could have been, if the overarching plot were as complex as allusions make it out to be!) but it works; the revelations which do occur are large enough, and, as always, the real payoff is catharsis. The last two chapters, refusing to make a tidy end but lingering on the siblings's dynamic, make for a satisfying, necessarily bittersweet conclusion.

My opinion of this series is unchanged: its aesthetic and gimmicks are engaging, but overstretched by the series's length. It could have been better if it were shorter or if the overarching plot were complex enough to sustain that length. What it is instead is mildly successful, fun but never great.

And I could really do without the tired, vaguely gross, friendzone/unrequited love/fridging Lemony/Beatrice dynamic that motivated the metaplot.

The A Series of Unfortunate Events books have always made clear that the Baudelaires are only a small part of a much larger story that is playing out mostly beyond our view. That expansiveness isn't a problem per se, but it's very frustrating for this final volume to use it as an excuse to leave so much unresolved. Author Lemony Snicket tries to paint all the unanswered questions as a philosophical reflection on the nature of storytelling, but it really comes off more like a writer who didn't know where the story was going when he began and didn't manage to come up with anything before his publisher's deadline. This final adventure of the Baudelaire orphans is fine as an overall episode, but it's pretty awful as an ending to the series.