Book Report #93 - When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket

Book 17 of 52
Page Count - 288

The second installment of the All The Wrong Questions series.

Snicket is proving himself to be an apt investigator.  After his adventures of the first book Lemony is making friends and forming alliances.  He may be twelve or thirteen years old but he is much smarter than his age would lead you to believe but, just like anybody, his lack of experience sometimes get the best of him.

In this adventure Snicket and his chaperone are tasked with finding a missing girl.  But is she truly missing?

More of this fantastic world is developed and a larger conspiracy is brought to light.  The twists and turns make this book such a treat, I really feel like I'm in a privileged position just being able follow in the author's imagination.  He is less concerned with the story making sense than creating something special.  The real treat is that the stories DO make sense, eventually, in their own way.

What fun.

Daniel Handler AKA Lemony Snicket

 

Book Report #92 - Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket

Book 16 of 52
Page Count - 258

Book one of "All the Wrong Questions" series.

This is a very strange little book but, then again, what would you expect from Lemony Snicket? (AKA Daniel Handler)

I read him for the language and the wonderfully twisted worlds he creates.  It may be a children's book but he has never talked down to his audience and even makes his use of explaining more difficult words by throwing it in to the dialogue.  Handler is obviously a highly intelligent person and that comes through in his writing style.  I have never come across anybody who writes quite like him.

The plot is loosely follows Snicket's first adventure, he is an apprentice to a secret society, in the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea.  Stain'd-by-the-Sea is a dying, one-industry town, that used to make the world's best ink.  Snicket and his chaperone are assigned to recover a statue of the Bombinating Beast.

The Bombinating Beast

The assignment is not as important as the world building that takes place in the book.  In Snicket/Handler's hands I actually enjoy the exposition more than the plot.

Because it's a children's book it is also filled with illustrations, something that was much more common during the days of the pulps.  I would love to see them make a comeback in some way.

I really enjoyed this first installment.

Daniel Handler AKA Lemony Snicket