A review by alexampersand
The Hostile Hospital, by Lemony Snicket
5.0
The story is still getting thicker, but with this one for the first time we see one of the biggest themes of the series - moral ambiguity. The orphans realise that maybe they aren't so different to Olaf, creating schemes, lying, tricking people, and disguising themselves and their true intentions.
The Quagmires appear to have now left the story, in their hot air balloon, but we have a new twist - that a parent may be alive. However, call me cynical, but... I didn't really enjoy this twist. The photograph contained four people - the parents, Jacques, and a mysterious man. Upon first reading, I assumed this mysterious man was Lemony Snicket. He was turned away from the camera (as Lemony seems wont to do), and he is carrying a notepad and pen 'as if he were a writer'. But as we will discover in a few books' time (view spoiler) But I'm not sure why you would assume the parents did survive - after all, why include a photograph of four people, with a note discussing a fire that took place at a separate occasion?
From the perspective of re-reading the series, it is also fun to spot little signs. Such as the list of anagram patient names - including Daniel Handler, Brett Helquist, Lemony Snicket, and... Beatrice Baudelaire. And Red Herring. Of course.
It is interesting to see that the story is moreorless comfortably slotting into place already by this point, quite early on - we know that Jacques was a member of VFD, we know that Lemony Snicket has a tattoo of an eye, and if that is the insignia of VFD we know then that Olaf was a member too. We know from The Ersatz Elevator that Beatrice stole something from Esmé, and that Lemony Snicket loved Beatrice, and that Lemony Snicket stole the sugar bowl from Esmé.
It's almost (almost) difficult to see, when re-reading, why I was left with so many questions when first reading the books. But maybe that is the point - creating a mysterious setting, whilst leaving the answers in plain sight if the audience can piece them together.
The Quagmires appear to have now left the story, in their hot air balloon, but we have a new twist - that a parent may be alive. However, call me cynical, but... I didn't really enjoy this twist. The photograph contained four people - the parents, Jacques, and a mysterious man. Upon first reading, I assumed this mysterious man was Lemony Snicket. He was turned away from the camera (as Lemony seems wont to do), and he is carrying a notepad and pen 'as if he were a writer'. But as we will discover in a few books' time (view spoiler) But I'm not sure why you would assume the parents did survive - after all, why include a photograph of four people, with a note discussing a fire that took place at a separate occasion?
From the perspective of re-reading the series, it is also fun to spot little signs. Such as the list of anagram patient names - including Daniel Handler, Brett Helquist, Lemony Snicket, and... Beatrice Baudelaire. And Red Herring. Of course.
It is interesting to see that the story is moreorless comfortably slotting into place already by this point, quite early on - we know that Jacques was a member of VFD, we know that Lemony Snicket has a tattoo of an eye, and if that is the insignia of VFD we know then that Olaf was a member too. We know from The Ersatz Elevator that Beatrice stole something from Esmé, and that Lemony Snicket loved Beatrice, and that Lemony Snicket stole the sugar bowl from Esmé.
It's almost (almost) difficult to see, when re-reading, why I was left with so many questions when first reading the books. But maybe that is the point - creating a mysterious setting, whilst leaving the answers in plain sight if the audience can piece them together.