Things get a little weird in The End of the Baudelaire’s story.
This book is such a dramatic departure from the rest of the series. The Baudelaires and Count Olaf find themselves marooned on an island governed by white-robe wearing Ishmael, whose feet are (literally and metaphorically) stuck in the ground. He says he never forces anyone to do anything, but it is clear that claim is tenuous at best. The people who live on the island all washed up from one place or another and avoid anything that could create conflict, real or imagined. Here, the Baudelaire’s discover more about their parents – including their parents’ own stint on the island – and experience a schism. It’s clear in the way they react to the schism that they’ve been paying attention to what happened to the VFD.
Many people are frustrated that not all the answers about the VFD are answered, but that is part of the beauty of The End. As quirky and unrealistic as the setting is, the Baudelaire stories have always been brutally honest about the dark realities of the world. And one thing of those realities is that your questions are never all answered. In many ways, the VFD serves less as the plot and more as a way for the Baudelaire’s to wrestle with moral ambiguity, come to terms with what they don’t know about their parents, and in the end the importance of not allowing schisms to form.
Though we have no idea what happens to the Baudelaires, they’ve moved on from being stuck in unlucky-13 chapters and have a new, 14th chapter, moving past their bad luck and into a new world. I like to think that they’ve made some sort of organization utilizing Klaus’s researching, Violet’s inventing, Sunny’s cooking, and whatever baby Beatrice’s talents are.
Re-reading this series was a great way to start the first third of the year. It was an enjoyable re-read, perfect for reading a book in a couple sittings. It is also fitting that I finished the series just before starting my job, a large portion of which is self-reflection and professional development. This series kind of started me down that route. Re-reading as an adult, I saw how this series shaped how I think. It introduced me to some heavy topics as a kid, and allowed me to begin to understand the world in shades of gray. I had no idea that this series had so shaped my worldview, but after reading it again it is obvious to me that it did, not only in the way I view the world but also in shaping my taste (anyone else see parallels between people who read these as kids and people who love Welcome to Night Vale?). It would seem that Kathleen Kelly was right about childhood reading:
ErinKwed 