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Scott's Reviews > The End
The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #13)
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Oy, how annoying!
Twelve books! TWELVE books posing question after question and mystery after mystery with twists and intrigue and all that for what? Not answers, that's for damn sure.
This book didn't tie anything together. The sugar bowl. The poison darts. The Schism. All dismissed in some silly existentialist philosophical conclusion about unanswered questions and the Great Unknown. Not cool.
It was a little bit thought-provoking, I guess, but come on! If I wanted thought-provoking, I'd have read a thought-provoking book. The first 12 books in this series were light, fun entertainment and I loved them. To suddenly turn that all around into some awkward, half-ass Philosophy 101 lesson is bad form.
So I'm a little pissed, as many people are. It was like he couldn't think of a clever way to answer his own questions. Lame and lame.
Twelve books! TWELVE books posing question after question and mystery after mystery with twists and intrigue and all that for what? Not answers, that's for damn sure.
This book didn't tie anything together. The sugar bowl. The poison darts. The Schism. All dismissed in some silly existentialist philosophical conclusion about unanswered questions and the Great Unknown. Not cool.
It was a little bit thought-provoking, I guess, but come on! If I wanted thought-provoking, I'd have read a thought-provoking book. The first 12 books in this series were light, fun entertainment and I loved them. To suddenly turn that all around into some awkward, half-ass Philosophy 101 lesson is bad form.
So I'm a little pissed, as many people are. It was like he couldn't think of a clever way to answer his own questions. Lame and lame.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
May 1, 2007
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Finished Reading
May 6, 2007
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Brillare
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rated it 5 stars
May 09, 2008 10:06AM
The whole point of the book was to show that there are not always answers to the 'why's' in life.
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I know, and in any other book series, that would be a great thesis. The first 12 books in this series, however, were a bunch of light amusements: cleverly-written little tales that dangled this increasingly tasty-looking carrot. There was no build-up to a message. There was build-up to a clever way to bring together all of those disparate plot points. To subvert that--message about "unanswered questions" or not--felt like a cop-out... to me. I understand how one might find value in what he did. I just didn't find it appropriate to the previous 12 books.
I understand where you're coming from.
Wow it's just a book.
Did Snicket/Handler say something in all of those 12 books that led you to believe there would be a satisfying ending?
The whole book tries to explain why does this book ( and any book) can't really have a end, and answers bring just more questions.
It does answer it. For VFD, it is whatever those who choose to be members decides it is - some people say it is a club for noble people to collect, others a fire extinguishing group, and others a group for those who like to start fires. No one told the orphans they were part of it, only that they decided they were, started redefining what that meant, and everyone simply accepted that. Given other parts of the book it seems that is always how the organisation worked.
I’m pretty sure that Beatrice was Lemony Snicket’s wife, and the Baudelaires Mom because the boat was named after the Baudelaires mom. At the end the baby read the paper that held the name of the boat which was Beatrice. Plus they think that one of the of the parents survived, which was Lemony Snicket. And Lemony Snicket is always talking about how he misses so yeah.
I agree completely!! We didn't ask for this philosphy, we just wanted a fun book, especially one we can reccommend to children.
I agree 100%. That ending screamed 'I just want to finish the series.' If he had at least concluded the strings he tied and guns he showed, then the little sprinkles here and there of questions could be theorized to be 'not yet answered,' but using that answer for every single thing is lazy and honestly just disappointing. I have recommended people away from this series by telling them about this.
