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Post by gliquey on Nov 19, 2016 8:12:19 GMT -5
In the UK hardback edition of TBB, page 60 isn't numbered, although I can see no reason for it not to be. I've never noticed this before, but I presume it's a printing mistake. That's funny. My copy (printer's key: 19 20) does have the page number. My copy of TSS (also UK Hardcover, printer's key: 9 10 8), however, is missing the first whole-page illustration. There's just a blank page where it's supposed to be. How odd. I've never looked for a printer's key before, but I think the relevant numbers in my TBB copy are: 20 19 18 17 16 15. For TSS, my copy does have the first illustration (key 7 9 10 8 6). And I think all UK hardbacks are missing the last two illustrations in TE, after chapters 13 and 14 - I know mine definitely is (key 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2). Olaf specifically obtains an official document from City Hall rather than a simple "explanatory note," so clearly there's more to it; I imagine Nuptial Law proceeds to go into more technical detail and Klaus just read out the summary. I suppose this is reasonable, but on the other hand it is emphasised very strongly how simple marriage laws in the city are. The extract Klaus reads out specifically says "The laws of marriage in this community are very simple", and he tells Violet (emphasis mine) "The only legal requirements of marriage in this community...", and then later Olaf says "The marriage laws in this community are quite simple". I'm sure Klaus must be reading out a summary - after all, Nuptial Law is supposed to be a long and detailed book. In any case, it's not really a plot hole - your explanation does make sense, as does my idea that the Baudelaires were getting desperate and tried something that wouldn't have worked even had Strauss agreed. But I thought it was an interesting point to make. I get the impression from the early books that Handler hadn't initially decided that Snicket was on the run; there's no indication of this until later in the series, after V.F.D. is introduced, as I recall it. Yes, I agree. In TBB Snicket is just barely a character in the series - his place in the Snicketverse grows in importance as the series advances. There's already mention of "a town not too far from where you live" with "a law that bars [Snicket] from coming within five miles", so Handler is already showing the narrator is a mysterious and not necessarily innocent figure, but it's certainly not yet at the point where he's on the run, reported dead, framed for arson etc. |
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Post by Dante on Nov 19, 2016 8:53:28 GMT -5
One more thing I just thought of. Consider the following line on pages 129-130: "Klaus read through Count Olaf's papers and books." (This is from a sequence in TBB in which the Baudelaires are stuck in Olaf's tower room for a period of many hours, a delay I suspect a more practiced writer would decline to contemplate.) In the context of TBB alone, it seems unlikely that Klaus would find absolutely nothing of interest or relevance in Count Olaf's papers and books. In the context of the rest of the series, it seems enormously improbable. In fact, Handler himself has highlighted this one line as "a really stupid thing to say" and stated that it is responsible for him changing the anticipated plot of TPP (more information on this subject can be found here. |
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Post by A comet crashing into Earth on Nov 19, 2016 9:59:38 GMT -5
That's funny. My copy (printer's key: 19 20) does have the page number. My copy of TSS (also UK Hardcover, printer's key: 9 10 8), however, is missing the first whole-page illustration. There's just a blank page where it's supposed to be. How odd. I've never looked for a printer's key before, but I think the relevant numbers in my TBB copy are: 20 19 18 17 16 15. For TSS, my copy does have the first illustration (key 7 9 10 8 6). And I think all UK hardbacks are missing the last two illustrations in TE, after chapters 13 and 14 - I know mine definitely is (key 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2). That's the printer's key, yes. And here's another layer of oddness: My TE (also UK hardcover, from the same 'Complete Wreck' as TBB and TSS) has those illustrations. I'm not at home right now, so I can't check the PK, but I think we can assume it's a later print than yours - if I understand correctly, the lowest number in the row signifies which 'batch' the book is from, so yours must be a second edition. Presumably, they've simply corrected the lack of illustrations between printing your copy and mine; same goes for TBB. The odd one out here is TSS, in which they've apparently removed an illustration between prints. |
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Post by Esmé's meme is meh on Nov 20, 2016 12:19:07 GMT -5
I had a lot to say, but last week of classes + my birhday celebrations on Friday and Saturday, didn't have the time. I'll try to write them down today and share them before the day's over. The Perilous Preparation Penthouse is on now. Feel free to join us: us21.chatzy.com/52633595484890 |
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Post by Esmé's meme is meh on Nov 20, 2016 14:55:54 GMT -5
Oh, sorry, I forgot about the password! It is darkavenue11
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Post by benjamin1799 on Nov 24, 2016 22:38:39 GMT -5
Re-reading the first book has just reminded me how useless every single adult in this book is. Mr. Poe is dimwitted and never listens to the children. Justice Strauss- -although smarter than Mr. Poe- she still has her moments of worthlessness as the children try to explain what is happening. Or course Count Olaf and his troupe are horrible and useless, and we're sure the children's parents weren't useless but they have perished- and we all know what perished means. This being a children's series even though plenty of adults and older teens have enjoyed them, I think Mr. Snicket is showing kids that sometimes life sucks and the adults in our life can't help us....
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Post by Dante on Nov 25, 2016 6:51:04 GMT -5
A convincing reading, benjamin1799. The early parts of ASoUE do indeed take aim at the way adults tend not to take children seriously, though the later books perhaps focus on different ways of being misunderstood.
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Post by Esmé's meme is meh on Nov 25, 2016 11:57:01 GMT -5
I know the re-reading of TBB is over, but I didn't have the time to comment much here, so I'll do it before starting with TRR.
Something that always unsettled me is the fact that Klaus and Violet took Sunny with them to the beach. I don't know how it is in other countries, but here parents would never let two kids (14 and 12) go alone to the beach with a baby. Also, why would they take her with them? There's not much for a baby to do there.
This reinforces my theory that the Baudelaire parents knew something bad was going to happen to them and got rid of the kids to keep them safe.
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Post by gliquey on Nov 25, 2016 12:21:13 GMT -5
I know the re-reading of TBB is over, but I didn't have the time to comment much here, so I'll do it before starting with TRR. Something that always unsettled me is the fact that Klaus and Violet took Sunny with them to the beach. I don't know how it is in other countries, but here parents would never let two kids (14 and 12) go alone to the beach with a baby. Also, why would they take her with them? There's not much for a baby to do there. This reinforces my theory that the Baudelaire parents knew something bad was going to happen to them and got rid of the kids to keep them safe. It's an interesting idea but I think it raises more questions than it answers. Why can't they flee with the children rather than sending them off alone? How can they know what will happen but be unable to prevent their deaths? I can imagine the three Baudelaires being able to go to Briny Beach on their own and Chapter One implies they do it fairly often. Based on my experience, it would be relatively normal for kids aged 12 to go out with their friends without an adult. I suppose it would be a bit stranger to trust a 14 year old to take care of a baby, but I can imagine it happening - especially considering how mature Violet is. And it doesn't apply as much in TBB but in the rest of the series Snicket makes it seem like Sunny is just another Baudelaire, one who happens to be in a baby's body but is essentially as smart as Violet/Klaus (most of the time), so in that case it's not like they are taking care of Sunny, but that Sunny is going with them. |
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Post by lorelai on Dec 3, 2016 2:23:32 GMT -5
I know the reread is long over, and I'll adhere to the rules from here on out, but I just wanted to say in terms of Gliquey's question about when Sunny was taken, I always saw the answer as during the night when Klaus was reading. Right before we have the "He found himself reading the same sentence over and over." joke, it says, "Occasionally his eyes would close.", and it wouldn't be hard to leave the Sunny-sized lump in the curtains for tired, antsy Klaus to misinterpret.
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Post by Dante on Dec 3, 2016 3:33:13 GMT -5
That suggestion makes sense. Fernald would probably have told Olaf that Klaus was reading books on inheritance law, and Olaf might have sensed Klaus was getting close to the truth and had Sunny kidnapped in the night as a precautionary measure.
Related to gliquey's point about whether or not the troupe live at Olaf's house, then some members of the troupe are clearly sleeping over by later in the book, when Fernald and the henchperson of indeterminate gender are guarding the tower. This also marks an interesting transitional point for the troupe's relationship to Olaf, for at the dinner party scene they seem to treat each other as equals, but once their criminal plot sets into motion then a boss-henchman status comes into effect.
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Post by Dante on Dec 21, 2016 15:59:41 GMT -5
And how sad to know that the next time the two of them smelled smoke, they would find neither children nor toast downstairs, would not laugh, and would not make pancakes. Said as Snicket might; bravo. |
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