Revolting Reading: TRR

[Tiran O'Saurus]

Let's start this. Chapter 1:

Are the apple trees outside the horseradish factory like the one in The End?
I like how Monty introduces himself the way Olaf did.
Mr. Poe mentions that Monty's house is full of things from his travels around the world. I don't think snakes enjoy being called things.

[Mara]

Chapter 1:
The city is past the city of Tedia, and that city holds Lousy Lane.
Who named this town?
Lousy Lane is by the Grim River.
Cake reference, I like it.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 1:
Tedia?Lousy Lane?Grim River?This sounds like a pleasant area.
Can’t Mr Poe just put the suitcases in the trunk or on the roof?
What “things”?Snakes aren’t things.
Uncle Monty does the same greeting as Olaf.Basically, this sets him up as being similar before ultimately
subverting expectations.

[Tiran O'Saurus]

Chapter 2:
If only Olaf never showed up...
Inky was found in a "northwest forest"

Chapter 3:
Captain Sham is the best disguise, but Stephano isn't bad.
Olaf is really creepy with the knife business.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 2:
That cake sure sounds good.
So is Gustav Gustav Sebold?
Where would Mr Poe get the idea of Uncle Monty being intimidating?
The Baudelaires’ reaction to each having their own room is weirdly adorable.
I’m trying to picture the 3-mouthed snake.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 3:
There’s something so wholesome about Sunny’s interactions with the Incredibly Deadly Viper.
Uncle Monty’s proposed prank is epic.
Klaus’ room sounds like total bliss.
The Alaskan Cow Lizard could be a therapsid since it’s a reptile that produces milk.
Virginia Woolf reference.
I really like the story about the nail polish.There should be a book of short stories
from when the Baudelaires lived with their parents.

[Tiran O'Saurus]

I'm way too far ahead, so I'll just post general thoughts.

This book is one of the darkest ones, and it shows. Olaf is still really creepy, what with the knife on Violet's knee and whatnot. Lucafont is the first henchman disguise, and it's not bad. I wonder why Fernald never used the fake hands again. However, the anagram is bad. Lucafont becomes either Count Laf or something the censors won't let me write. A lot of people think Monty was trying to smuggle the Baudelaires out of the country, but I don't like that theory. He was the nicest guardian, and I don't like the idea that he lied to the kids.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 4:
Klaus’ regret confirms that the siblings survived for years after.
I’ve actually had Peruvian food, and can confirm that some of it can be a bit sticky.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 5:
Running a knife against Violet’s leg under the table?Why is Olaf creepier reading
as an adult than he was when I read these as a kid?
At least Uncle Monty is losing his trust in Stephano.
So did Uncle Monty’s roommate swallow the toad whole?

[Glittery666]

Chapter 6:
Shame the Bauds didn’t get to enjoy Zombies in the Snow, sounds like a good film.
Love Snicket’s snarkiness while defining dumbly.
I only just now realized that the part about the hallway being as blank as a skull was foreshadowing.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 7:
How would Stephano get on the Prospero without a ticket?
Would he just use Uncle Monty’s?
Wonder what happened to the knife.Olaf never had it in any of his other disguises…or when he was himself.
I truly feel for these kids, not even being able to remember if they ever talked to Uncle Monty
at all the previous day.
I gotta admit, Stephano messing up Mr Poe’s name is pretty funny.
No way José, not sure why it took me so long to get that.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 8:
Fernald seems to be a caffeine addict.He also mentions in TEE that he drinks a lot of coffee.
What do “solid hands” look like?
Chapter 9:
The Reptile Room being less welcoming takes on new meaning when you consider that it later burned down.
Please don’t make me imagine snotty curtains.
Chapter 10:
I always found the Boy Who Cried Wolf story to be kind of hokey to be perfectly honest.
Did I mention how cute Sunny and Ink’s interactions are?
Mr Poe’s freakout is kind of funny I’ll admit.
Uh oh, Stephano just blew his cover.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 11:
I never get tired of the “ever ever ever” written multiple times.
I’m now trying to imagine an ill-mannered lockpick.
Chapter 12:
Stephano’s being outed because he keeps changing his mind about his snake knowledge.
I love the sly commentary on the idea of “nice girls.”
Chapter 13:
Giving a snake a wrong name as a joke is brilliant.
Horseradish smells nothing like ginger.Does Bruce have a crappy sense of smell or is he just dumb?
I kind of feel bad for the Incredibly Deadly Viper.First he lost Monty, then he’s being taken away from his home
and his bff Sunny.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Chapter 3: What's the big deal with the Madame Dilustro event? It's fascinating to see how this incident snugly fits into my theory. First up, it represents a hiatus. A short pause that happened only within the narrative timeline of the story, not when the books hit the shelves. So here's the thing: Lemony takes a breather from his writing in his world, then resumes later. He's acutely aware of the passing time, but we, as readers in our world, aren't. This might sound like plain old common sense, but it's vital to understand "The Great Hiatus." Believe me, it's the game-changer in all my theories about ASOUE.

Next up, the dinner with Madame diLustro is key to understanding how Lemony Snicket's life took a turn when he started documenting his dangerous exploits from the moment he set about writing and publishing TAA. To really dig into this part of the story (which is essentially the untold narrative behind the creation and publication of ASOUE within the ASOUE universe), you have to accept that Lemony, despite kicking off what evolved into ASOUE during the main events depicted in ASOUE, he spent a good few years in the writing process and countless more trying to get each of the books published. During his time working on TBB, TRR, TWW, Lemony led a pretty quiet life, even finding himself on the guest list for dinners. To truly follow Lemony Snicket's character development, you need to keep your eyes peeled, but once you get the hang of it, reading becomes an entirely new and captivating experience.

Remember, while from our perspective as real-world readers, Lemony's adventures are fictitious, within the world of ASOUE, Lemony is a character and narrator writing for other characters. His narrative is very much real and significant within his universe.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Chapter 4 - I'd like to return to the compelling evidence found in this chapter suggesting that Lemony Snicket penned TRR several years after the main events had transpired. In Chapter 4, we are informed that Lemony knows Klaus still ponders, years later, about what he could have done to thwart Count Olaf's scheme shortly after Stephano's arrival. As I've previously mentioned, I believe that Lemony Snicket had access to the Island Book, so the last entries by Klaus in that book before leaving the island must have been about his regrets concerning Uncle Monty and Stephano.

Jan 18, 2023 10:03:38 GMT -5 Glittery666 said:

Chapter 4:
Klaus’ regret confirms that the siblings survived for years after.

I had a chance to discuss this with Dante. He told me that the phrasing used in the chapter doesn't rule out the possibility that the timeframe of "years" in the plural could extend up until their departure from the island. My own theory in response to the question "How could Lemony know so much about what the Baudelaires were doing in private and even what they were thinking?" - that the primary source of information is the Island Book - aligns with Dante's line of thinking. Because, if we were to believe that Lemony has accurate and reliable information about what happened to the children after they left the island, we would find ourselves in a significant contradiction, both conceptually and literally, with what is stated at the end of TE.

Something intriguing about Chapter 4 is the presence of several foreshadowings: Klaus suggests that Violet could work in a factory, and she ends up working at a lumber mill. He states that Sunny wouldn't be able to get a job at her age, but she does indeed find employment as a secretary. Lastly, he mentions he himself could work in a library, which in a way, happens in TPP.