Book 13: THE END
A Series of Unfortunate Events
by Lemony Snicket
illustrated by Brett Helquist
HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0064410161
ISBN-13: 9780064410168
Ages 10-up
368 pages

• Read an Excerpt

Near the conclusion of THE END, the thirteenth (and final) volume in A Series of Unfortunate Events, our hapless narrator reflects: "Perhaps you do not yet know what the end really means. 'The end' is a phrase which refers to the completion of a story, or the final moment of some accomplishment, such as a secret errand, or a great deal of research, and indeed this thirteenth volume marks the completion of my investigation into the Baudelaire case, which required much research, a great many secret errands, and the accomplishments of a number of my comrades, from a trolley driver to a botanical hybridization expert, with many, many typewriter repairpeople in between."

Lemony Snicket's many fans have been simultaneously awaiting and dreading THE END for some time now, and although they're likely to keep talking and arguing about the book for quite some time, they'll probably all agree on one thing --- this capstone to one of the most beloved children's series in recent memory is an accomplishment indeed.

The opening of THE END finds the Baudelaire orphans adrift at sea in a small boat, with no one but Count Olaf for company and nothing but white beans to eat. The children have no magnetic compass, and they fear that the many questionable acts in which they've been involved have left their moral compasses permanently out of whack.

Following a harrowing ocean storm, the three children wash up on a shallow continental shelf filled with detritus (a word that here means "everything but the kitchen sink") and near an island whose occupants are "facilitated" by the enigmatic, charismatic Ishmael ("Call me Ish"). Violet, Klaus and Sunny disregard one of the island's fundamental rules and soon find themselves enmeshed in one of the worst schisms they've encountered to date. They also discover a secret lair, a familiar reptile and, at long last, some more information about their parents. But Count Olaf (and the nefarious Medusoid Mycelium) is still on the loose, and before the Baudelaires reach the end, two key characters will come to gruesome and tragic ends of their own.

THE END shows off Snicket's wordplay at its most subtle and erudite. Baby Sunny is growing up, and her one-word answers to adults' questions have grown increasingly abstruse (and guffaw-worthy, for those in on the joke). Careful readers will also spot allusions to everything from Shakespeare's The Tempest (Miranda Caliban) to Captain --- er, Rabbi --- Bligh among the inhabitants of the island.

Snicket doesn't tie up all the loose ends --- not that anybody really expected a happy ending for a series that started with THE BAD BEGINNING. There is a certain satisfaction achieved by the weary Baudelaires, though, as they contend with the world's injustices to the best of their particular abilities. Surprisingly, Count Olaf sums it up best when he says, "You think you can triumph in this world with nothing more than a keen mind, a pile of books, and the occasional gourmet meal." But really, in the end, what more can one hope for?

   --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

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