Opinions

[thebeatles1957]

Does anyone else think that THE END, compared to the other twelve books, was mediocre? I feel like there's so much more that could have been done, but was wasted. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the book ~ which I did, and I'm not criticizing Daniel Handler ~ but overall I was disappointed by this a little bit. Also, I felt it was sort of rushed at the end.

[El Juanico Diez]

I remember the first time I read TE ... I felt fascinated and distressed at the same time. I felt alive. I had never had such a feeling when reading a fiction book. I felt intrigued, and terrified. I felt outraged and seriously happy to be displeased. I feel surprised to be frustrated. I felt impacted. I wish I could forget all about ASOUE just to feel that again after reading from book 1 to 13.

I really love the book TE. But my tastes involve the creation of theories. To begin with, Daniel Handler thought about the main events of TE long before writing TE. If you could see my point of view, you would understand why TE is so important, and so essential to ASOUE. Have you read Lemony Snicket the Unauthorized Autobiography? Have you read The Beatrice Letters? I need to know because I don't want to give you a spoiler.

[thebeatles1957]

No, I haven't read either of those, but I am planning to.

[Dante]

I will second that recommendation to read Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography and The Beatrice Letters. Neither is essential, exactly, to understanding the main storyline, but both came out while the series was ongoing (between THH and TCC for the U.A., and between TPP and The End for TBL) and there's a certain amount of intertextual reference between them and the main books. You will read them differently for having finished the main series first, but that's fine, too; they're "supplementary materials" that don't (and cannot) fit into the regular chronology.

The End is definitely an unusual book, but that's because it was deliberately trying to do something unusual. It's an attempt to resolve the story whilst standing alone from much of what the story was, and that's an attempt to highlight some of the major themes of the later books rather than necessarily worrying about the intricate detail. I felt at the time that Daniel Handler had written himself into a corner, and in some respects I still think that; but it's very much the case that he was writing the latter books of the series with the intention of leaving a great deal open to the reader's imagination.

[thebeatles1957]

Thank you for these comments. They have helped me come to a new understanding of THE END. I think part of my problem when I read the book was that I had planned out in my head how 𝘐 had wanted the books to go. (I do that probably a little too much with books I read.) I had set expectations for what I wanted ~ which can be good sometimes, but in this case didn't work out ~ and the book failed to meet my imagining of the story. I realize now, though, how important that book is and how it helps the reader come to a new appreciation and understanding of ASOUE. In my own way, I now have.

[El Juanico Diez]

It would be so good to experiment with this neophyte ... And let him read LSTUA uninfluenced by anyone to come to his own conclusions ...

[Mr. Dent]

The End has always been one of my favorite books in the series. Maybe my favorite. I understand the complaints about it, but I don't mind the lack of closure and feel the story of this one is very strong.

[Reba]

it's a allegory

[Dante]

Dec 11, 2019 12:28:06 GMT -5 thebeatles1957 said:

Thank you for these comments. They have helped me come to a new understanding of THE END. I think part of my problem when I read the book was that I had planned out in my head how 𝘐 had wanted the books to go. (I do that probably a little too much with books I read.) I had set expectations for what I wanted ~ which can be good sometimes, but in this case didn't work out ~ and the book failed to meet my imagining of the story. I realize now, though, how important that book is and how it helps the reader come to a new appreciation and understanding of ASOUE. In my own way, I now have.

A lot of us had that experience. It was an unexpected book that was operating on a very different set of assumptions to the majority of children's fiction at the time (and since).

[Cracky McTeague]

Dec 11, 2019 12:28:06 GMT -5 thebeatles1957 said:

I think part of my problem when I read the book was that I had planned out in my head how 𝘐 had wanted the books to go. (I do that probably a little too much with books I read.) I had set expectations for what I wanted ~ which can be good sometimes, but in this case didn't work out ~ and the book failed to meet my imagining of the story.

I'd be curious to know what you imagined would happen in the end (besides hoping for Snicket to explain every secret he's set up).

I for one really liked The End. Yes, it was different from the rest of the series, but that's what made it work. What bear mentioned, the allegorical character, really tied together the series' themes, even if the book as a whole was more like the denouement of the series after the climax that was TPP (ironically, set at the Hotel Denouement).

I think I had a similar experience like yours (OP) with The End, but with the end of of ATWQ. I imagined there would be great pay-offs to a number of things, which then weren't sufficiently delivered (imo). But I won't go into further detail, since I know you haven't read ATWQ yet.

[thebeatles1957]

Another thing I didn't mention was that I was pretty young when I first read the series, so I didn't fully understand the concept of everything. I liked having answers to things ~ which I still do, but to a much lesser extent now ~ and I guess that sort of stuck with me every time I read THE END, if you get what I'm saying. If you'd like to know more of how I imagined it when I was younger, you should check out my fanfiction when I finish it. I'm trying to remember as much as I can of how I had envisioned the ending, and write it into a fanfiction for my enjoyment ~ and possibly other people's. I won't tell too much about it, except that it is a relatively happy ending; keep in mind I was younger when I first pictured my own conclusion to the Baudelaire's story.