Post by Christmas Chief on Jun 3, 2012 8:28:32 GMT -5
Here are selection of lines I've gathered with interesting points on style or content within them:
"There was a town, and there was a girl, and there was a theft." The town: Stain'd by the Sea. The girl: Ellington Feint(?). The theft: the statue.
"I should have asked the question 'Why would someone say something was stolen when it was never theirs to begin with?'" Is this the sort of "right" question they'll be asking in the series? The actual content of this query is a bit confusing. Police report thefts as part of their duty, though the stolen object almost certainly doesn't belong to them most of the time. Likewise, if a passerby witnesses a theft they will most likely contact the authorities even if they've no personal connection to the thing being stolen. Are we meant to infer a "from them" after "something was stolen"?
The Hemlock Tearoom and Stationery Shop: Most readers probably know Hemlock is a poison, which is a joke in itself, but the fact it's associated with a tearoom is interesting. Recall Ishmael's story in The End, in which the one-eared girl pours away her tea into a houseplant until the plant withers and dies. Ishmael says "I had an idea that an antidote might be hidden -" he doesn't finish his sentence, but readers can infer from later it has something to do with tea being as bitter as wormwood. I wonder if the poison was Laudanum - although Laudanum has a literary history of its own, especially in the gothic genre. As for the food being worthless, I'm reminded of the Anxious Clown, which is used as a center to exchange information. (Side note: Handler himself said he likes to write at bad cafes, so there's no temptation to order anything. I wonder if the frequent references to bad food are an expression of his experiences.)
"It had hung in my closet for weeks, like an empty person. I felt glum and thirsty." This is one of the stylistic points I was referring to earlier. Compare this statement with "There was no one to take care of me. I was hungry." It's a strange positioning of sentences because it's not what the reader expects to see. Could it be trying to recreate the impulsiveness of Lemony's almost-thirteen-year-old self?
"I’d said good-bye to someone very quickly and was wishing I’d taken longer." Yes, this person is almost certainly Beatrice. We know from TBL they met at a cafe when Lemony was eleven, so the chronology works.
"It is curious to look at one’s family and try to imagine how they look to strangers." Of course, Lemony doesn't have to imagine ...
“Would you like to order something to eat? Eggs?” Clue #2, if we count the above observation as Clue #1. This is another of Snicket's marks of style. Just as putting sugar in your tea makes you villainous, not recognizing the restaurant has a horrible reputation for its eggs makes you an imposter. That is, unless these people wanted Lemony to grow ill as well as sleepy.
“We’re both so proud of our little boy,” said the woman, who perhaps would have looked nervous to someone who was looking closely at her." Clue #4. Clue #5 continues with "All a-tingle with excitement," something a noble person would never say given Snicket's satire of such programs as The Littlest Elf and immediate mocking "I wasn't a-anything."
“Put your napkin in your lap,” she told me." Why? Is she unaware of the secret communication between volunteers via napkin, or does she simply want to appear mother-like here?
"I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person would take the time to write “roadster” when the word “car” would do." Hm. The same kind of person who would title his book "The Austere Academy" when "The Stern School" would do? This is a younger Snicket mentality, I feel. As an apprentice to Theadora he'll undoubtedly pick up a few subconscious habits.
“If I were a bathroom,” I said to the woman, “where would I be?” This is such an odd way to phrase a question, it appears almost code-like. I feel like we'll see this again.
"A man with large shoulders could force open a door like that even if it were locked." Another clue. Lemony's mission may be hindered by his false father, which is interesting to note, because if this meeting was planned and Lemony knew all along they were villainous, why not stop them earlier?
"The roadster had been neglected. No one had taken care of it, and now it was too late." Is this an adult Lemony reflecting on his past, or almost-thirteen Lemony sympathizing with himself?
More to come, although not right now.
"There was a town, and there was a girl, and there was a theft." The town: Stain'd by the Sea. The girl: Ellington Feint(?). The theft: the statue.
"I should have asked the question 'Why would someone say something was stolen when it was never theirs to begin with?'" Is this the sort of "right" question they'll be asking in the series? The actual content of this query is a bit confusing. Police report thefts as part of their duty, though the stolen object almost certainly doesn't belong to them most of the time. Likewise, if a passerby witnesses a theft they will most likely contact the authorities even if they've no personal connection to the thing being stolen. Are we meant to infer a "from them" after "something was stolen"?
The Hemlock Tearoom and Stationery Shop: Most readers probably know Hemlock is a poison, which is a joke in itself, but the fact it's associated with a tearoom is interesting. Recall Ishmael's story in The End, in which the one-eared girl pours away her tea into a houseplant until the plant withers and dies. Ishmael says "I had an idea that an antidote might be hidden -" he doesn't finish his sentence, but readers can infer from later it has something to do with tea being as bitter as wormwood. I wonder if the poison was Laudanum - although Laudanum has a literary history of its own, especially in the gothic genre. As for the food being worthless, I'm reminded of the Anxious Clown, which is used as a center to exchange information. (Side note: Handler himself said he likes to write at bad cafes, so there's no temptation to order anything. I wonder if the frequent references to bad food are an expression of his experiences.)
"It had hung in my closet for weeks, like an empty person. I felt glum and thirsty." This is one of the stylistic points I was referring to earlier. Compare this statement with "There was no one to take care of me. I was hungry." It's a strange positioning of sentences because it's not what the reader expects to see. Could it be trying to recreate the impulsiveness of Lemony's almost-thirteen-year-old self?
"I’d said good-bye to someone very quickly and was wishing I’d taken longer." Yes, this person is almost certainly Beatrice. We know from TBL they met at a cafe when Lemony was eleven, so the chronology works.
"It is curious to look at one’s family and try to imagine how they look to strangers." Of course, Lemony doesn't have to imagine ...
“Would you like to order something to eat? Eggs?” Clue #2, if we count the above observation as Clue #1. This is another of Snicket's marks of style. Just as putting sugar in your tea makes you villainous, not recognizing the restaurant has a horrible reputation for its eggs makes you an imposter. That is, unless these people wanted Lemony to grow ill as well as sleepy.
“We’re both so proud of our little boy,” said the woman, who perhaps would have looked nervous to someone who was looking closely at her." Clue #4. Clue #5 continues with "All a-tingle with excitement," something a noble person would never say given Snicket's satire of such programs as The Littlest Elf and immediate mocking "I wasn't a-anything."
“Put your napkin in your lap,” she told me." Why? Is she unaware of the secret communication between volunteers via napkin, or does she simply want to appear mother-like here?
"I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person would take the time to write “roadster” when the word “car” would do." Hm. The same kind of person who would title his book "The Austere Academy" when "The Stern School" would do? This is a younger Snicket mentality, I feel. As an apprentice to Theadora he'll undoubtedly pick up a few subconscious habits.
“If I were a bathroom,” I said to the woman, “where would I be?” This is such an odd way to phrase a question, it appears almost code-like. I feel like we'll see this again.
"A man with large shoulders could force open a door like that even if it were locked." Another clue. Lemony's mission may be hindered by his false father, which is interesting to note, because if this meeting was planned and Lemony knew all along they were villainous, why not stop them earlier?
"The roadster had been neglected. No one had taken care of it, and now it was too late." Is this an adult Lemony reflecting on his past, or almost-thirteen Lemony sympathizing with himself?
More to come, although not right now.