Revolting Reading: TPP

[tricky]

book 12

shares the same initials as toilet paper 😍 J.S. who?

comment your thoughts/feelings/questions/queries below!

[Glittery666]

Chapter 1
The part about the ripples in the water and the Baudelaires reminiscing makes this probably the best beginnings out of
any of the books.
I wonder if part of why Kit is so distraught because she’s pregnant and doesn’t want to bring a child into such a sorrowful world.
How pregnant is she anyway?
Quigley is referred to as a young man rather than a boy. This shows how much the Quagmires, and by extension the
Bauds, have matured.
I also love the last sentence.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 2
Thank god for audiobooks, because trying to read the backward writing kind of gives me a headache.
Why bring so much food if there’s not much time?
I have to wonder if Geraldine Julienne is a villain or just stupid. I always assumed the latter but rereading is making
me kind of reconsider that.
Violet and Klaus are no longer children, but I’d still consider Sunny a child.

[Gregor Anwhistle]

"Things Are Not What They Appear" is a wonderfully ominous song. The line "Even babies kill / And the stars are still" is so creepy.


Chapter 1
"...and one more secret hidden at the bottom of a pond, where most people never think of looking." Our first bit of foreshadowing of the underwater catalog.

It's cool seeing the city once again.

We get our first mention of the Baudelaire parents and the poison darts. Interesting that Kit's reply is accompanied with a faint smile, considering what we later find out about that night.

"She said it was the most interesting time she'd ever had at the opera..." Yeah, Beatrice, I'll bet it was.

A gun going off and killing someone in Chapter 9 is teased.

I agree about the last sentence, it's great. Sounds like Lemony was there at the opera too.


Chapter 2
The third backward writing reads in part: "...such as a previously unknown sibling who was already watching them at that very moment." Some nice foreshadowing for Dewey Denouement.

VFD's picnic policy is interesting. If the villains get their clutches on the picnic, do they just...eat it? Lol

So it sounds like Curdled Cave was once a safe place for V.F.D.

With the recurring theme of mirrors, reflections, and impostors firmly established, it's neat that Handler funnels those ideas into the characters of Frank and Ernest, identical brothers on opposite sides of the schism.

Frank mentioning "My brother sends his regards" would seem puzzling at this point, considering we only know about his evil brother. I like to think it was Dewey's way of reaching out to Kit and letting her know he was thinking of her.

[Tiran O'Saurus]

"Things are not what they appear, starting with a mother's love/when a helping hand comes near, it becomes an empty glove". Yep, definitely the best song, followed closely by Smile! No One Cares How You Feel.

[Gregor Anwhistle]

Chapter 3
The bench with etched rings came from the Royal Gardens prior to its destruction. This was teased in TBB:RE notes two years prior to TPP.

It's quite impressive that Frank/Ernest can slip Sebald Code into his speech. Either that's a standard part of volunteer education or he's just really skilled at it.

Why would a shuffleboard court be on the second floor (where all the religious rooms are located)?

Violet's "What's the worst thing that can happen in a library?" followed by the reveal of the "In case of fire" sign is an ominous note to end the chapter on.

Not A Chapter
This is a cool feature. While the three chapters do occur simultaneously, the order in which the Baudelaires exit the elevator goes in reverse: Sunny gets off first in Ch.6, then Klaus in 5, and finally Violet in 4.

Chapter 4
The image of the attendant flipping over sunbathers with a giant spatula absolutely killed me the first time I read it.

If you read Sunny's chapter first, you find out Hal sent a bunch of lettuce leaves up to the rooftop salon but don't know the reason.

Esme twirling around to reveal she has two more lettuce leaves on her rear is great comedic timing.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 3
So is Klaus wearing sunglasses over his regular glasses or does he have prescription sunglasses?
Honestly I’m going to guess that’s Frank.
I wonder how long that bell took to build.

Not A Chapter:
I'll have to agree that this is a neat feature.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

My considerations based on memories. I believe that to correctly understand TPP it is necessary to consider two timelines: the main events described in asoue and also the events related to the time when Lemony revisited the hotel many years later with a double mission: confirm the facts for writing asoue and find the missing evidence to exonerate him. This second timeline is long. A lot happened at the hotel during the time of writing TPP.

This concept is important to understand letters to the editor printed in TGG. They are a sequence of letters written with paper from Hotel D, and torn up. As time passed, hotel D (where people sleep) was destroyed again and so towards the end of TPP Lemony describes the hotel in rubble at the time he is writing. But Lemony evidently tried to meet someone at the hotel while it was still open, and evidence of this is that he threw rocks into the pond.

In the meantime, during the writing of TPP, there were also assassination attempts, which leads to the assumption that perhaps there was a trap prepared for Lemony as his enemies read the secret letter written in TSS.

Regarding Lemony's success, I believe he got the evidence he needed because he managed to go to the underwater library where this type of information would be kept.

Now, about the main events: I've always wondered what the Baudelaires' role was in Kit's plan. I've never been able to find a really satisfactory answer. At the moment I think she just wanted VFD to continue "possessing" the children rather than risk losing sight of them again. And so she gave them the feeling that they were important in some way. I think if everything went well, the children should be raised by Dewey secretly at Hotel D, but they couldn't know that this was Kit's plan all along because they might disagree and run away. Everything the children did could have been done by other people, including the hotel managers themselves.

Secondly, I think it is very unlikely that Frank is actually an arsonist. He is more likely to pretend to be an arsonist. The situation at Hotel D is complex, and Frank apparently did not reveal Dewey's existence to his supposed supporters.

Third, Lemony's great knowledge of events not directly related to the Baudelaires in this book sets it apart from all the other books. This indicates that Lemony was indeed at Hotel D and was very involved with the piecemeal plan underway there. But he was younger than the time he was there to write TPP and look for evidence of his innocence.

Now talking about another timeline, the past. (TPP is really full of content). Beatrice, Bertrand, Lemony, Kit's involvement with the poison darts. So, as much as I like theories involving Beatrice being evil, the scenario in which there is a complex conspiracy to kill Olaf or his parents is unlikely. Considering that the poison darts were stolen from the royal gardens, according to TBBRE, Geraldine Juliene attempted to hide the theft from society. This is an indication that the robbery was carried out by one of her supporters. The fact that Olaf's father was probably a member of OFD indicates that VFD and OFD had common interests and common enemies. The fact that Kit smiled when talking about the darts indicates that she was excited for this mission involving the darts. The fact that Beatrice arrived home excited indicates that she was also excited for that mission, and even brought a souvenir. The fact that "the thing that orphaned Olaf" was part of the secret code to open the laundry room door indicates that this was not something VFD was ashamed of and wanted to hide. The fact that Olaf does not show any kind of vengeful reaction towards the Baudelairea indicates that he is calm about his parents' death. It is true that Fernald seems to believe that Beatrice and Bertrand have something to do with the death of Olaf's parents, but this could just be a misunderstanding, given the other facts presented.

In other words, everything leads me to believe that Count Olaf himself killed his father or parents and Kit and the others were trying to prove this during Opera Night, perhaps by recovering the murder weapon.

Regarding the JS mystery. There were multiple JS, but the recipient of the message on the refrigerator and the person who sent the message to Mr. Poe and Charles are not revealed. He's a person who was orchestrating the secret, fragmented plan at the Hotel and that person didn't want the Baudelaires there. This person must have disagreed with Kit's plan that the children should be raised by VFD. This person was informed about the children's arrival on the submarine and then sent a letter to Charles. At that moment, JS thought the children would get close to the hotel. After JS was informed that the children would arrive at B. Beach, JS sent the telegram to Mr. Poe. What did both characters have in common? Despite being involved with VFD, neither were members of VFD. This is one of the reasons I believe JS was Lemony who took over Jacques Snicket's responsibilities. Lemony was trying to respect Beatrice's wishes for her children, a wish that became evident in TE, when Lemony informs us that Beatrice and Bertrand never authorized the capture of the children by their ankles.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 4
Carving one’s nails into letters sounds painful.Then again, a lot of high fashions can be a bit painful *cough*corsets*cough.
Love the definition of sycophants.
Wish we got the name of the sports team of Carmelita’s shirt.
I want an illustration of the lettuce bikini, such a missed opportunity.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Jan 20, 2024 9:51:49 GMT -5 Glittery666 said:

Chapter 4
I want an illustration of the lettuce bikini,

[Gregor Anwhistle]

Chapter 5
I like the mirror imagery of the steam coming from the gap under the sauna door and the smoke from Sir's door at opposite ends of the hallway.

The Finite Forest lives up to its name lol

So now we know that Lucky Smells provided lumber for the Baudelaire, Snicket, and Quagmire mansions, as well as the Hotel Denouement (delivered under cover of night) and the horseradish factory (their last big order).

The steam cloud evaporating from Sir's head as the cigar cloud takes over is a funny image and a clever way of keeping his face a mystery.

Chapter 6
I never noticed this, but it's interesting how all three Baudelaires are surrounded by steam in these chapters: Violet at the sunbathing salon, Klaus in the sauna, and Sunny in the kitchen.

We get our first reveal that Mr. Baudelaire's name is Bertrand. This name was teased back in TBB:RE notes, when Lemony mentions that V.F.D. lions were often named after their trainers (the stuffed one in Olaf's house was either Beatrice or Bertrand). At the time I just assumed Bertrand was a random volunteer, so it was a nice surprise to see it pop up here.

Hal's "Are you who I think you are?" appears to be the correct response to the question "Are you who I think you are?" which none of the Baudelaires were sure how to answer. What this coded exchange means is unknown due to Sunny's interruption.

A Vernacularly Fastened Door device makes a reappearance. It's cool that typing in the letters "VFD" activates the lock. I now want one for my door.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 5
Sir thinking the concertina concierge knows his name even though the
concertina concierge probably calls all the male guests Sir is pretty funny.
Can Sir even see the ripples in the pond through the cloud of smoke that
always surrounds him?
The Finite Forest is living up to its name.
Part of me is kind of glad that the show left out the sauna scene,
I don’t need to see Don Johnson’s chest.

[Gregor Anwhistle]

Also Not a Chapter
As the narrative now resumes a sequential order, so does the triptych. Chapter 7 informs us that this is a housekeeper who removes her disguise and drills a hole in the wall to inspect the cables holding an elevator in place. Whether she is a volunteer planning to sabotage the cables so a certain villain can't gain access, or a villain planning to sabotage the cables to endanger a certain volunteer, is anyone's guess.

Chapter 7

I want that frog lamp!

I like this chapter opening, getting glimpses into the mysterious stories of other people while the Baudelaires carry out their errands.

Room 296: The volunteer who realizes Hebrew is read from right to left is the "cranky rabbi" mentioned by Frank/Ernest in an earlier chapter.

Room 594: I had to look this one up, but 594 in the Dewey Decimal System is for Mollusks, hence the family being surrounded by fish tanks.

Interesting that ASOUE seems to be repeating in some fashion for four children on a beach in another city.

I like the eyes and VFD logos carved into the domed ceiling in the mid-chapter illustration.

It's interesting that the rope-climbing trainer (who presumably taught Dewey) was at the mountain headquarters when it burned down. And a bit sad that he's forced into hiding, now earning a living doing spider imitations in a traveling show.

I love the intro of Dewey, and the mysterious cliffhanger ending to the chapter. And like the previous chapters, all three Baudelaires step into the steam, as if it represents crossing a threshold to deeper knowledge.

[Glittery666]

Chapter 6
Nero must’ve gotten a little better if he can manage to work in a melodic hum or two.
So this is after Mrs Bass robbed the bank but before she was arrested.
I think the invitations say different things to entice each of them.
Mrs Bass saying she doesn’t earn enough for valuables as a teacher has gotta be a statement.
When did Hal become a foodie?Last we saw him he was living off of fruit. It would seem
the restaurant is a front for something, but still.
That more or less confirms my theory about Sunny’s interest in cooking stemming from the puttanesca incident.
Also Not A Chapter
While I’ve been reading the last three chapters in the order in which they appear anyway, but it would be interesting
to try to read them in some other order sometime.

[Gregor Anwhistle]

Feb 1, 2024 10:04:03 GMT -5 Glittery666 said:

Bass saying she doesn’t earn enough for valuables as a teacher has gotta be a statement.

My mom and a few relatives are teachers and believe me, it's a sentiment they all share.