murakami
Reptile Researcher
Posts: 35
Likes: 8
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Post by murakami on Feb 21, 2022 16:30:00 GMT -5
I just finished re-reading Book the Thirteenth twenty minutes ago, my first read through the series in over ten years, and an internet search for the French poem at the start of the final chapter brought me here. I was actually a member here about 13 years ago, though not a very active one, but I used to lurk and read theories for a while before I joined. Just wanted to say how wonderful it is to see that this place still exists and is still active, especially as almost every other internet community I remember from back then has long since disappeared. It’s funny how the way we remember and relate to a story (or a series of stories) changes as we get older. Reading the books at 34 is a very different experience to reading them at 21, which was a very different experience to reading the first books at 14, which I think is how old I was when I bought my copies of the first three. I think I love the books even more now than I did then, though they seem darker and sadder and wiser now. They’re also a lot more beautifully written than I remembered. It’s strange to be around the same age as many of the adults in the story (and older than some of them). Anyway, I’m looking forward to re-reading the Letters and Unauthorised Autobiography over the next couple of days. And I’m looking forward to reading through a bunch of theories on here again. It always did seem like a great gathering of well-read people.
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murakami
Reptile Researcher
Posts: 35
Likes: 8
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Post by murakami on Feb 21, 2022 16:42:43 GMT -5
Thank you, great to meet you too! I read ‘Who Could That Be at This Hour?’ shortly after it was published, but I don’t think I read the others in the series, so I’ll be adding those to my to-read list! I also need to catch up on the Netflix show - think I’ve only seen the first season, which I enjoyed.
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Post by Optimism is my Phil-osophy on Feb 21, 2022 17:08:55 GMT -5
Thank you, great to meet you too! I read ‘Who Could That Be at This Hour?’ shortly after it was published, but I don’t think I read the others in the series, so I’ll be adding those to my to-read list! I also need to catch up on the Netflix show - think I’ve only seen the first season, which I enjoyed. Hello, and nice to meet you! Welcome back!! Might I suggest reading my observations on TE? I reread it recently, and I would love for someone my age to be able to see my point of view in the reread, just like you. asoue.proboards.com/thread/36783/rereading-backwards
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murakami
Reptile Researcher
Posts: 35
Likes: 8
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Post by murakami on Feb 21, 2022 18:40:30 GMT -5
Thank you, great to meet you too! I read ‘Who Could That Be at This Hour?’ shortly after it was published, but I don’t think I read the others in the series, so I’ll be adding those to my to-read list! I also need to catch up on the Netflix show - think I’ve only seen the first season, which I enjoyed. Hello, and nice to meet you! Welcome back!! Might I suggest reading my observations on TE? I reread it recently, and I would love for someone my age to be able to see my point of view in the reread, just like you. asoue.proboards.com/thread/36783/rereading-backwardsThank you, nice to meet you too! And thanks for the link! Had a quick read through your very well-presented and detailed analysis, and definitely agree about the religious imagery with the apples, tree and snake. For me, the last few books (and maybe the series as a whole) have an ongoing theme of knowledge vs. innocence - whether it is better for the children to know what really happened about a whole number of past events and present troubles, or whether it is better for the adults in their lives to keep them in the dark; whether it is better for us as readers to be ignorant of or knowledgeable about the Baudelieres’ peril. The End seems to turn a lot of traditional religious imagery on its head to explore that theme - the God-like figure (Ish, with his white bushy beard and throne-like chair) turns out to be untrustworthy, the serpent is saviour, the eating of the fruit (which, in Judeo-Christian tradition, would be from the Tree of Knowledge), which traditionally sees mankind banished from the Garden of Eden, instead saves the children and allows them to stay there. So the quest for knowledge triumphs, and those who seek to keep others ignorant of the truth, even for their own perceived protection, seem to be at fault. Which raises interesting questions about Snicket’s continued pleas for the readers to keep themselves in the dark about the story, whilst he continues to write and provide (some of) the answers. Looking forward to reading your observations in more detail! Love the idea of reading the books backwards!
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