TheAsh
Formidable Foreman
Posts: 175
Likes: 99
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Post by TheAsh on Apr 26, 2020 4:06:26 GMT -5
From this article:Writing as Lemony Snicket, Handler wrote a hilarious Reader’s Companion to a 2016 paperback reissue of the book. Here’s a sample “suggested activity” from Section One: “Either by reading a newspaper or eavesdropping, learn about a recent kidnapping and rescue the kidnapping victim yourself. When my instructor first suggested this activity, I thought she was talking nonsense, but four years later, as I untied her and led her out of the cave hidden behind a very large magazine stand, I realized this was a valuable activity indeed.” Anyone has the reader's companion without me having to buy the book?
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Post by Dante on Apr 26, 2020 4:52:26 GMT -5
It would have helped if you had copied out the full text of the excerpt (given that the article is unavailable in Europe) so that it was clear exactly which book is being referred to here. As it happens, it's not one of Snicket's own:
The article is wrong, incidentally; the reader's companion (and introduction) by Snicket were first added in a 2005 reissue, not 2016 (and thus long predates the conception of, for instance, S. Theodora Markson). As for the reader's companion, it is almost forty pages long, so no, I do not imagine anybody will be transcribing it; it's a significant enough addition to the text to deserve the price of admission. It is also probably not what you are imagining; if you're picturing something like a canon text in the Averse, it is nothing of the kind. The part quoted is merely one of Snicket's usual asides, interspersed with discussions on ghosts, cocktail recipes, and existential questions as part of Snicket's exploration of the text.
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Post by Hermes on Apr 26, 2020 6:10:07 GMT -5
I'm inclined to say anything written by Snicket is a canon text in the Averse, since that is the universe in which Lemony lives. And if I remember rightly, the companion contains references to Violet and, implicitly, to Quigley. (And even if the instructor in question is not specifically Theodora, this does seem to be a reminiscence of VFD training.)
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Post by Poe's Coats Host Toast on Apr 26, 2020 9:50:43 GMT -5
Plus, The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily IS a cool book with pretty illustrations.
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Post by Reba on Apr 26, 2020 12:23:00 GMT -5
yeah buy the book
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Post by Optimism is my Phil-osophy on Apr 26, 2020 12:24:48 GMT -5
Reba , is your nickname a tribute to this book?
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Post by Reba on Apr 26, 2020 12:40:45 GMT -5
Reba , is your nickname a tribute to this book? yes.
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Post by Dante on Apr 27, 2020 3:10:07 GMT -5
I'm inclined to say anything written by Snicket is a canon text in the Averse, since that is the universe in which Lemony lives. And if I remember rightly, the companion contains references to Violet and, implicitly, to Quigley. (And even if the instructor in question is not specifically Theodora, this does seem to be a reminiscence of VFD training.) I suppose I should unpack that remark. What I mean is that the companion text is not about the Averse. It may make occasional allusion to it, or draw vague parallel to it; but it does so in the same manner that Averse texts themselves might make allusion to some outside literary work. If your interest in the Reader's Companion is with the idea that it might contain hidden clues about the Averse, or generally be some kind of smuggled extension or promotion of Lemony Snicket's work, then you are going to be disappointed. If, on the other hand, your interest in the Reader's Companion is in Lemony Snicket writing about his favourite book in his customary style, then you may indeed wish to lay hands upon a copy. I simply don't wish people to approach the text with false expectations based on a highly selective excerpt.
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TheAsh
Formidable Foreman
Posts: 175
Likes: 99
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Post by TheAsh on Apr 27, 2020 4:21:29 GMT -5
I'm inclined to say anything written by Snicket is a canon text in the Averse, since that is the universe in which Lemony lives. And if I remember rightly, the companion contains references to Violet and, implicitly, to Quigley. (And even if the instructor in question is not specifically Theodora, this does seem to be a reminiscence of VFD training.) I suppose I should unpack that remark. What I mean is that the companion text is not about the Averse. It may make occasional allusion to it, or draw vague parallel to it; but it does so in the same manner that Averse texts themselves might make allusion to some outside literary work. If your interest in the Reader's Companion is with the idea that it might contain hidden clues about the Averse, or generally be some kind of smuggled extension or promotion of Lemony Snicket's work, then you are going to be disappointed. If, on the other hand, your interest in the Reader's Companion is in Lemony Snicket writing about his favourite book in his customary style, then you may indeed wish to lay hands upon a copy. I simply don't wish people to approach the text with false expectations based on a highly selective excerpt. Thanks for the clarifications. Anyone know if the ebook has the illustrations? A hardcopy is in the 40 buck range and is too expensive.
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Post by Dante on Apr 27, 2020 5:03:23 GMT -5
Thanks for the clarifications. Anyone know if the ebook has the illustrations? A hardcopy is in the 40 buck range and is too expensive. I checked out Amazon's Look Inside for their Kindle edition, and it certainly appears to have the illustrations intact. With that said, as far as I can tell it's only the classic hardcover editions which are going for an exorbitant forty monetary units, and those wouldn't include the Snicket material; the more recent Snicket-inclusive paperbacks are priced far more reasonably.
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Post by Christmas Chief on May 13, 2020 8:59:22 GMT -5
I owned the paperback copy for some time, then lost it and tried to replace it with the hardback copy, which as Dante mentioned did not have the companion text. If you're in the U.S., you can find the right version of the book for less than $15 (including shipping). Dante is also right that the companion is Snicketian in style but does not reference characters or places in the Averse. To give you an idea, the last item in the text is a poem; though my copy is long lost, I memorized it at the time. In typing it out below, I was was happy to find I could remember almost all of it, save the last stanza (or two?). If you do buy it, TheAsh , I would be grateful to know how it ends. Gather your friends and comrades And meet them someplace dark Like an abandoned notebook factory Or a lonely, shaded park Hatch a plan to conquer A land you do not like Gather food and weapons And set off on your hike Battle several monsters Bury several friends Comfort those who say to you "The anguish never ends!" Yes, you'll win the conflict And rule for many years But your kingdom will be covered In [trouble?] and in tears More monsters will attack you And not just from outside In the hearts of certain friends Much treachery will hide What terrible confusion Has your invasion brought Has some moral come to light, A lesson to be taught? But now your life is over You have only one last breath You tell your friends to go back home As you await your death (A final stanza (two stanzas?) to the effect of "was it worth it?"? Has the word "Sicily" in it? Isn't a perfect rhyme?)
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Post by Hermes on May 13, 2020 9:32:29 GMT -5
Dante is also right that the companion is Snicketian in style but does not reference characters or places in the Averse. I am sure that it refers to Violet somewhere: also to 'one of our most promising young cartographers' or something along those lines, which seems likely to be meant for Quigley. Certainly, it does not give us new information about the Averse, though. You may be interested in my story Quite Some Time.
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Post by Dante on May 14, 2020 15:47:27 GMT -5
Dante is also right that the companion is Snicketian in style but does not reference characters or places in the Averse. I am sure that it refers to Violet somewhere: also to 'one of our most promising young cartographers' or something along those lines, which seems likely to be meant for Quigley. Certainly, it does not give us new information about the Averse, though. This is correct. Gather your friends and comrades And meet them someplace dark Like an abandoned notebook factory Or a lonely, shaded park Hatch a plan to conquer A land you do not like Gather food and weapons And set off on your hike Battle several monsters Bury several friends Comfort those who say to you "The anguish never ends!" Yes, you'll win the conflict And rule for many years But your kingdom will be covered In [trouble?] and in tears More monsters will attack you And not just from outside In the hearts of certain friends Much treachery will hide What terrible confusion Has your invasion brought Has some moral come to light, A lesson to be taught? But now your life is over You have only one last breath You tell your friends to go back home As you await your death (A final stanza (two stanzas?) to the effect of "was it worth it?"? Has the word "Sicily" in it? Isn't a perfect rhyme?) So little faith in me, Sherry Ann. Admirable memorisation; I will complete it from my copy. Gather your friends and comrades, And meet them someplace dark, Like an abandoned notebook factory, Or a lonely, shady park.Hatch a plan to conquer A land you do not like. Gather food and weapons, And set off on your hike.Battle all the monsters, Bury several friends. Comfort those who say to you, "The anguish never ends!"Yes, you'll win the conflict, And rule for many years, But your kingdom will be covered In trouble and in tears.More monsters will attack you, And not just from outside, In the hearts of certain friends Much treachery will hide.What terrible confusion Has your invasion brought? Has some moral come to light, A lesson to be taught?But now your life is over. You have only one last breath. You tell your friends to go back home As you await your death.So much pain has come your way, So much bloodshed, so much crime. But still when all is said and done: It was an interesting time.
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Post by Hermes on May 14, 2020 16:24:33 GMT -5
The really nice thing is that this poem is introduced as a 'suggested activity'.
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Post by Christmas Chief on May 14, 2020 16:43:28 GMT -5
So much pain has come your way, So much bloodshed, so much crime. But still when all is said and done: It was an interesting time. A very satisfying conclusion; thank you, Dante. Now that I see it, I remember that I've always had trouble remembering this stanza. Maybe it's the abstraction relative to the rest of the poem. The really nice thing is that this poem is introduced as a 'suggested activity'. Ha! I'm now tempted to buy a third copy of this book, but that would be truly excessive.
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