The Ersatz Elevator
A Series of Unfortunate Events #6
by Lemony Snicket
259 pages
fiction/young adult
HarperCollins, 2001
Read in 2 days
My Rating: ★★★★★
"The book you are holding in your two hands right now--assuming that you are, in fact, holding this book, and that you have only two hands--is one of two books in the world that will show you the difference between the word "nervous" and the word "anxious."
Review: In every book there are vocabulary words defined, friends made, new enemies discovered, and above all, there's a series of unfortunate events to avoid. Count Olaf is at it again, working tirelessly to entrap the Baudelaire children in such a way that he will end up with their life in his hands. We all know what will happen to them if this should ever happen. They will be killed and he will have come up with some way to own their vast fortune.
I won't bore you with the background of who the orphans are. You should know that by now. Nor will I bore you with who Count Olaf is. What I will bore you with is the unfortunate event that takes place in this book. The title says it all actually. That is, if you know what "ersatz" means. I must admit I initially thought it was some made up word just for the book. I was surprised when it not only turned out to be a word found in the English dictionary, but I checked myself just to be sure I wasn't falling victim to some fiction fantasy. I won't tell you what it means. Look it up why don't ya? Or better yet, read this book and find out the answer.
I will make one small pet peeve I've come across with these books as I'm reading them. The series and stories make the books bigger and bigger in page count. I appreciate that. Like the Harry Potter series only not as many pages. What I don't like is that no matter the page count, each book is thirteen chapters long. This means that in this book each chapter was an average of 20 pages each. I'm sure most people don't notice things like that but I do. I prefer books where the chapters aren't so long. I'm a bit OCD with books and I rather put a book down remembering what chapter I'm on rather than the page number. With this series I've more often than not had to remember the page number. Otherwise, no story or character complaints whatsoever. I shall keep reading them till I reach The End.
I won't bore you with the background of who the orphans are. You should know that by now. Nor will I bore you with who Count Olaf is. What I will bore you with is the unfortunate event that takes place in this book. The title says it all actually. That is, if you know what "ersatz" means. I must admit I initially thought it was some made up word just for the book. I was surprised when it not only turned out to be a word found in the English dictionary, but I checked myself just to be sure I wasn't falling victim to some fiction fantasy. I won't tell you what it means. Look it up why don't ya? Or better yet, read this book and find out the answer.
I will make one small pet peeve I've come across with these books as I'm reading them. The series and stories make the books bigger and bigger in page count. I appreciate that. Like the Harry Potter series only not as many pages. What I don't like is that no matter the page count, each book is thirteen chapters long. This means that in this book each chapter was an average of 20 pages each. I'm sure most people don't notice things like that but I do. I prefer books where the chapters aren't so long. I'm a bit OCD with books and I rather put a book down remembering what chapter I'm on rather than the page number. With this series I've more often than not had to remember the page number. Otherwise, no story or character complaints whatsoever. I shall keep reading them till I reach The End.
Summary: In their most daring misadventure, the Baudelaire orphans are adopted by very, very rich people, whose penthouse apartment is located mysteriously close to the place where all their misfortune began. Even though their new home in the city is fancy, and the children are clever and charming, I′m sorry to say that still, the unlucky orphans will encounter more disaster and woe. In fact, in this sixth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, the children will experience a darkened staircase, a red herring, an auction, parsley soda, some friends in a dire situation, a secret passageway, and pinstripe suits.
Both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted, A Series of Unfortunate Events offers an exquisitely dark comedy in the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl. Lemon Snicket′s uproariously unhappy books continue to win readers, despite all his warning.
The woeful saga of the Baudelaire orphans continues as evil Count Olaf discovers their whereabouts at Esmâe Squalor's seventy-one bedroom penthouse and concocts a new plan for stealing their family fortune.
Both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted, A Series of Unfortunate Events offers an exquisitely dark comedy in the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl. Lemon Snicket′s uproariously unhappy books continue to win readers, despite all his warning.
The woeful saga of the Baudelaire orphans continues as evil Count Olaf discovers their whereabouts at Esmâe Squalor's seventy-one bedroom penthouse and concocts a new plan for stealing their family fortune.
To learn more about Lemony Snicket, visit his site here.
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