A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Ninth

“Freaks.” That was perhaps my favorite pejorative in my repertoire in high school. Whoever you were, and whatever you did, if I thought it was silly or lame, I called you a “freak.” Now that I’ve heard Count Olaf say it about 1,000 times in this book to the Baudelaire orphans and their new co-workers, I realize how mean a name it really is. What a jerk I was!

That’s not the only thing I, the adult, learned from this book as I listened to it on audio with my kids (ages 8 and 10). We also learned lessons of interdependence and burden-sharing, because these kids are family and they’ve got each others’ backs. All the time.

This ninth book in Lemony Snicket‘s Unfortunate series takes the children even further into the Hinterlands. Past The Vile Village, the Last Stop store, and The Hostile Hospital, there exists this carnival, rusted and moth-eaten and covered in vines. It’s where members of both sides of the schism go to learn the latest news from Madame Lulu, the gypsy with her crystal ball.

Still on the lam, the three Baudelaire children must disguise themselves from Count Olaf and his troupe, and so they become freaks in the show. Klaus and Violet wear a large shirt together and pose as a set of Siamese twins, while little Sunny dons a beard and poses as Chabo, the Wolf Baby. Together, they join an ambidextrous “freak” whose two hands are freakishly equally strong, a hunchback, and a contortionist in the carnival’s freak show. When Count Olaf takes over the carnival, he devises a way to off the freaks, much to the pleasure of the oddball crowd, and much to the dismay of the Baudelaire kids.

This story offers up some wickedly interesting tidbits regarding the overall mystery of the series. There’s inklings of a surviving parent, and a secret message from Lemony Snicket stating, “My dear sister, I am still alive.” We have no idea about the sister, but my daughter and I have some guesses about the parents. We both ultimately speculate that Beatrice might be Mrs. Baudelaire, and that the father may still be alive somewhere. But we honestly have no idea.

This installment was a great deal more entertaining than The Hostile Hospital, and we feel a bit like we’re beginning to pick up speed on the downhill stretch. One line from Chapter 6 sticks out, a fitting line that defines the collection: “A series of unfortunate events can happen to anyone, no matter what they want.” I wonder how true that is.

©2021 E.T.

Read More in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket:

1. A Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (1999)
2. The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket (1999)
3. The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket (2000)
4. The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket (2000)
5. The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket (2000)
6. The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket (2001)
7. The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket (2001)
8. The Hostile Hotel by Lemony Snicket (2001)
9. The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket (2002)
10. The Slipper Slope by Lemony Snicket (2003)
11. The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket (2004)
12. The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket (2005)
13. The End by Lemony Snicket (2006)