Post by the panopticountolaf on Jan 8, 2021 9:48:33 GMT -5
Hullo! If you’re like me (and indeed, most of the people on this forum) you first read ASoUE as a child. This thread is basically for anything that you misunderstood/incorrectly predicted while reading the series for the first time. Some examples (all true, I’m sorry to say) below:
-My copy of THE BAD BEGINNING was printed after THE END was published, and had all thirteen books listed inside. After reading the first three books, I thought the later ones would all follow the same basic structure and had trouble imagining the Baudelaires staying with a guardian at a hospital and a carnival.
-After reading THE REPTILE ROOM and the Dr. Lucafont twist, I was convinced that Mr. Poe was an associate of Olaf’s in disguise. (This was before I read THE UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY, THE PENULTIMATE PERIL, and THE END, which suggest that Mr. Poe was a disguise, although perhaps not one worn by Olaf’s associates.)
-I was convinced that Sunny was an alien, adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire. I was equally convinced that this information would be revealed in THE END.
-I heard about the ending of the series about ten books before I reached it. Without the context if the Island and Ishmael, I thought that the Baudelaires and “the pregnant lady” were riding down a river on a log raft, that the harpoon gun was a rifle, that the aforementioned “pregnant lady” shot and killed Olaf (who was chasing them in a Jeep?) with the aforementioned rifle before perishing, and the series ended with the Baudelaires reaching the open ocean.
-After reading Lemony’s note to the Editor in the back of THE REPTILE ROOM, I was pretty sure that Aunt Josephine’s house was a beach rental.
-On the subject of THE WIDE WINDOW, I listened to the audiobook before reading it, and believed that Aunt Josephine’s house was a giant tower that leaned out over the lake, rather than the half-grounded, half-suspended structure that Helquist’s illustrations suggest.
Gosh... there were rather a lot of those. Anyway.
I’m really interested to see how different people interpreted the books when they were young. Happy posting!
EDIT: Hey, my fiftieth post! Cool.
-My copy of THE BAD BEGINNING was printed after THE END was published, and had all thirteen books listed inside. After reading the first three books, I thought the later ones would all follow the same basic structure and had trouble imagining the Baudelaires staying with a guardian at a hospital and a carnival.
-After reading THE REPTILE ROOM and the Dr. Lucafont twist, I was convinced that Mr. Poe was an associate of Olaf’s in disguise. (This was before I read THE UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY, THE PENULTIMATE PERIL, and THE END, which suggest that Mr. Poe was a disguise, although perhaps not one worn by Olaf’s associates.)
-I was convinced that Sunny was an alien, adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire. I was equally convinced that this information would be revealed in THE END.
-I heard about the ending of the series about ten books before I reached it. Without the context if the Island and Ishmael, I thought that the Baudelaires and “the pregnant lady” were riding down a river on a log raft, that the harpoon gun was a rifle, that the aforementioned “pregnant lady” shot and killed Olaf (who was chasing them in a Jeep?) with the aforementioned rifle before perishing, and the series ended with the Baudelaires reaching the open ocean.
-After reading Lemony’s note to the Editor in the back of THE REPTILE ROOM, I was pretty sure that Aunt Josephine’s house was a beach rental.
-On the subject of THE WIDE WINDOW, I listened to the audiobook before reading it, and believed that Aunt Josephine’s house was a giant tower that leaned out over the lake, rather than the half-grounded, half-suspended structure that Helquist’s illustrations suggest.
Gosh... there were rather a lot of those. Anyway.
I’m really interested to see how different people interpreted the books when they were young. Happy posting!
EDIT: Hey, my fiftieth post! Cool.
i think i remember skipping disliking the miserable mill and skipping the vile village completely because it was boring as balls 
