Re: how big everything is: I agree with you that one gets the strong feeling Asoueland is a pretty tiny place. It's a conclusion I've always disliked, at that; it makes V.F.D. feel too small, if all the main areas of interest to it can be put on a fairly small map; it feels as though it ought to be world-spanning. And by the same way it also much reduces the scale of the Baudelaires' tribulations. But it's also a fairly unavoidable conclusion.
There are some mentions of places that are further away - we know Winnipeg has some ties with VFD, and there's a London branch of the Herpetological Society. But it does seem like the main story is taking place within, say, a hundred mile radius.
Is Beatrice standing between Lemony and Bertrand? The text introduces first Jacques, then Lemony, then the Baudelaire parents in the photograph, implicitly standing in that order, but as I read it it doesn't appear to directly state where everyone's standing left-to-right.
Good point - I guess I just assumed Beatrice was standing next to Lemony. It's not that important either way, but, as I said before, I think it makes the most sense to place the photo as having been taken while they were still together.
The store seems pretty huge. It also seems strange to have such a place in the middle of nowhere. My guess is that the Hinterlands used to be a busier area, but everyone/everything left at some point
.Interesting idea - it seems like VFD is in a decline at the time the series is taking place, so this could tie in with that.He could also just regret this in a more general way, since it seems like they stole the sugar bowl soon before they broke up, even if it wasn't the direct cause of the break up.I don't think he knew the Baudelaires were there before Esme found them in the Library of Records. I think initially Olaf and co. were just looking for the Snicket File. I don't think we should assume that these people were actually patients at Heimlich during this time under assumed name, but it's possible Olaf put these extra anagrams on the patient list to confuse the Baudelaires.
Yeah, this seems like a good way of reconciling various clues. More on that when we get to TUA.
Chapter Eight
I love the illustration of Klaus holding Sunny with the balloons in front of their faces - it's one of my favourites of Helquist's.
'Heimlich Hospital is gone now," Since we've never actually seen Olaf burn something down thus far, on a first read it would make sense to assume that this is just thrown in there to give the book a slightly more eerie feel, along the lines of the 'Prufrock Prep is closed' passage from TAA.
What is Olaf actually trying to do here? Presumably he wants to use Violet's death to blackmail Mr Poe into handing over the Baudelaire fortune - sending him her head or something. But one wonders why he is announcing it like this. It's possible he wants to lure Klaus and Sunny into the operating theatre, where they can subsequently be caught. I guess he could use them as part of his blackmail - tell Mr Poe they'll die too if he doesn't give them the money.
Chapter Nine
I love how the anagrams are so easy to skim over on a first read, especially for a child reader - it adds an extra layer to the story. When I did notice it, it felt like such a cool moment to have picked up on something I'd previously missed.
'"Only Dr Flacutono and his associates will be allowed into the ward until the patient is dead'" - This is odd, since lots of people are in the operating theatre later. Maybe Olaf just adds this to lure Klaus and Sunny into his clutches more quickly.
I like the way the series switches from Olaf wearing disguises to the Baudelaires doing this, and how this book acts as a middle ground between that.
'There were obstetricians carrying babies, hurrying to deliver people's children.' Huh? If they are carrying the baby, surely it would have already have been delivered? Or is this just meant to be a play on the word 'deliver'?
Chapter Ten
The story of Mr Sirin is amazing.
Is it at all possible Olaf's associates recognise Klaus and Sunny? It seems like Olaf
wants them to be present for the surgery so he can grab them afterwards, and while their trying to knowingly force Klaus to cut his sister's head off is extreme, it could be seen as part of Olaf's plan for revenge against the Baudelaire parents.
'"The brat's little brother and sister haven't been captured yet,"' Okay, this makes it seem less likely that Esme recognises them, but maybe she thinks they'd run away if she blew their cover and wants to lull them into a false sense of security.
Again, it seems like Fernald and the bald man don't recognise Klaus and Sunny, but I suppose they could just be toying with them.
'"I've been waiting to get hooks on her since she escaped from marrying Mattathias."' Yikes. Hard to think why he'd have been so angry about that specifically. Knowing what we eventually find out about his character, it's possible he wants to quell any sentimental/sympathetic feeling by being as violent as possible. Or else, if he knows Klaus and Sunny are there, maybe he's trying to cause them emotional distress on Olaf's orders.
The argument between Olaf's associates is great.
The 'sleeping beauty' comment is also very creepy.
Chapter Eleven
The audience members in the illustration mostly look like they're wearing Tudor-era clothes.
'"There is a chance that Laura V. Bleediotie might die while the operation is being performed,"' How could anyone think she
wouldn't die?
The Baudelaires' second brush with mob psychology. Again, it doesn't go particularly well.
Geraldine Julienne puts in her first appearance, though she's not named as such. We also get our first '"Wait until the readers of The Daily Punctilio see that!"'
If Olaf's troupe did see through the Baudelaires' disguises the whole time, their plan is extraordinarily clever, since they would have been able to get Klaus and Sunny to take the fall for the murder.
'"We didn't want to destroy the file," Klaus said, "we wanted to clear our names."' What? The Snicket File must have been compiled before the Baudelaires were wanted as criminals, and certainly that's not why they broke into the Library of Records - they just wanted to see if the file would have answers about VFD.
'"The Library of Records is boring as we speak."' So why didn't Hal set off a fire alarm immediately instead of spending time arguing about the Baudelaires stealing?
Chapter Twelve
'Once I was a content man, with a comfortable home, a successful career, a person I loved very much, and an extremely reliable typewriter, but all of those things have been taken away from me, and now the only trace I have of those happy days is the tattoo on my left ankle.' I presume the 'happy days' Lemony is referring to here are those of his relationship with Beatrice, since that's what's implied by the rest of what he's saying, and his childhood in VFD doesn't appear to actually have been particularly happy. It's odd that his tattoo would remind him of that, but maybe Beatrice reminds him of what he thinks is good about VFD. Also, considering we haven't been told the significance of the tattoos yet, it's quite a bombshell to hear that Lemony also has one.
'As I sit in this very tiny room, printing these words with this very large pencil, I feel as if my whole life has been nothing but a dismal play, presented just for someone else's amusement, and that playwright who invented my cruel twist of fate is somewhere far above me, laughing and laughing at his creation.' Oh, the irony. I hope Handler wasn't laughing at Lemony, though. At least he's no longer imprisoned, even if he has lost his typewriter again.
How could anyone think the fire was set by the Baudelaires when they've been in the operating theatre the whole time? I guess people think they set it before they came there, but then the building would be much further along in the burning-down process by now.
This is a nice inversion of the end of TRR - I like how that's brought up here.
'"We're going to capture only one of you,"' I guess Esme and Olaf have given up on their original plan here, but it seems like they're still trying to use the remaining orphan to blackmail Poe into giving them the fortune.
'"No one will ever believe you," Esmé said in a sinister whisper,' The Baudelaires have been slowly realising this for quite some time, but I think this is where it really sinks in.
'"I want to go to Café Salmonella," Esmé snarled,' Clearly, they're near enough the city to get back in time for dinner, even if that's not where they end up heading.
Sunny biting Hal foreshadows her treatment of Justice Strauss later - the Baudelaires first flaunt conventional authority by running away at the end of TVV, but this is their first time trying to escape from someone who is genuinely a good person.
I love the 'rash decision' pun.
Chapter Thirteen
The Baudelaires might well be putting everyone into more danger by asking them to go to the unfinished wing of the hospital. I guess it's not yet on fire, but it could well catch aflame, whereas prior to Violet's announcement, most people were safe outside. It's hard to see what else they could have done in this situation, though.
Fittingly, then, this is the point where they really start to question their morality.
'"Olaf has to do tricky things," Violet said, "to save his life."' I'm not sure his life has ever been in danger up until this point in the story, so I don't think that is really a fair assessment. Sunny is right, it
is different. Still, we start to think of this as an insight into how Olaf started his villainous ways.
'I do not know where the Baudelaire children are now, or if they are safe, or if they are even alive.' Lemony can't be writing this sentence just after the events of THH, but could be writing it as he researches TE, for example, and of course in Chapter Fourteen he also says he doesn't know where they went next, so it could be an even later revision. However, his lack of knowledge is framed very differently here to how it is there.
The Encyclopedia of Escaping Arson must have been written by a volunteer.
This is Olaf's only physical appearance the whole story, making this book very unusual within the series.
Up until now, Olaf and his henchpeople have at least ostensibly displayed an 'honour among thieves' mentality, but now we see how callous he really is, in stark contrast to the Baudelaires.
Here, Olaf and Esme seem to think of VFD as being much more unified than we later see, and don't count themselves as members. They must mean the noble side here, but it's still strange to see it phrased this way in light of later plot developments.
Again, Violet seems to think the Snicket file will clear their names despite having no evidence of this.
This ending doesn't have quite the same impact as that of tVV, yet the Baudelaires being in Olaf's car provides a tantalising hook into the next instalment.
Timeline notes: the Baudelaires spend two nights at the hospital, and escape in Olaf's car during the afternoon of the third day.
To My Kind Editor
This is where the editor letters get physically hard to read, which is annoying.
What is DOOBY kilometres?