The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

Posted on by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes
details
Title: The Wide Window.
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events #3.
Writer(s): Lemony Snicket.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers.
Format: Hardcover.
Release Date: February 25th, 2000.
Pages: 214.
Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, YOUNG ADULT.
ISBN13:  9780064407687.
My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.
Previously in the A Series of Unfortunate Events Series:
The Bad Beginning (AsoUE #1) by Lemony Snicket.
The Reptile Room (ASoUE #2) by Lemony Snicket.
thoughts

Have you ever thought that you were unlucky? It would be an understatement for the Baudelaire children. Nothing in their life has or will ever be the same after the loss of their parents in a mysterious and deadly fire. As things seem to get better, there’s always something out of the blue that will shift their perspective and drown them in misery. While they might learn to get used to it, it won’t stop them from trying to get out of it as quickly as possible. And thus begins the next unfortunate event chronicled by Lemony Snicket himself. From deadly leeches to hurricanes, everything is possible for these poor children.

What is The Wide Window about? Picking up where things were left off in The Reptile Room, the story now sends Klaus, Violet, and Sunny to their Aunt Josephine who lives at the edge of a hill on top of Lake Lachrymose. As they finally feel relatively at peace under the protection of the strangely-scared aunt with an obsessive fascination for grammar, it was only a matter of time before the criminally-dangerous Count Olaf reappears in their life under a brand-new disguise that continues to fool everyone but the Baudelaire orphans. Can they escape his latest evil plan to capture these children and get his hands on their incredible fortune?

“Oftentimes, when people are miserable, they will want to make other people miserable, too. But it never helps.”

— Lemony Snicket

Writer Lemony Snicket continues to brilliantly deliver the Baudelaire orphan’s stories by utilizing a narrative formula seen in the previous two events. From his ability to seamlessly teach the reader new words and expressions, such as “Brobdingnagian” or “the Gordian Knot”, to cleverly inserting himself within the story as an omniscient narrator who has seen it all and done it all, this latest unfortunate event sends these children into unwarranted trouble as they do everything in their power to stay alive and away from the clutches of Count Olaf. While they face these obstacles, through the latest new character of Aunt Josephine, the author also does a brilliant job in teaching us grammatical lessons that would otherwise be boring as you grow to love and hate her character and her inability to be the fearless guardian that the children need.

Similar to the previous stories, the Baudelaire orphans masterfully use their unique skills, whether’s it’s Violet’s creativity, Klaus’s intellect, or Sunny’s biting skills, to get themselves out of those situations where they’re constantly between a rock and a hard place. To fully enjoy this series, it is critical to practice a significant amount of suspension of disbelief as the world in which these children evolve is one where adults are dumb as a rock. This particular story also introduces fantasy elements that stretch the frontiers of reason a bit too much but still adds to the lunacy of events that these children are bound to face in a series where hope is merely a mythological creature. And don’t get me started on Mr. Poe. I’d have taken care of him myself if I were one of those kids.

The Wide Window is another thrilling and unfortunate event forcing the Baudelaire children to achieve survival against all the odds.

EXHIBITA
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Published by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Reader. Reviewer. Researcher. Criminology Ph.D. Candidate. Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Want to know more? Connect with him!

51 thoughts on “The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket”

    1. It’s totally worth it and maybe even something your kid could enjoy in the future too! 😉 There’s a Netflix show based on this that’s loved by a lot people if you want to try that out too! And before the show there was a Jim Carrey movie adaptation too! 😁

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  6. This was my favourite series as a kid and I cherish those books like crazy, but yes, the adults are truly as dumb as a rock! I got so frustrated even in my own young age and wondered why no one ever believed them.

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      1. I definitely remember the first ones more than the later ones. I just am vaguely remembering a hotel, submarines, a circus and a deserted island or something haha but no clue what happens in what order.

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  9. You know I saw this GORGEOUS VERSION of A Series of Unfortunate Events and have been pining over it EVER SINCE! Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find the same one anywhere! 😦 😦 And I have vooiwed to read this series OPNLY WHEN I FIND THAT EDITION! But I see now that you are conspiring to force me to break my resolve! BECAUSE I WANT TO READ THIS NOWWWW!!!!!!!

    Lovely review, Lashaan AS ALWAYS! Although I am mad at you for weakening my vow! *squinty eyes*

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    1. Yooooo! I’ve been trying to find this edition for each book before reading them and it took me forever to find book 3 in this edition 😂 I can finally continue this series until book 6 I think which I’ll have to go hunting for again 😂 Hope you get the chance to read these someday, Rain. I can already imagine your reaction to a lot of the miserable things that happens to the Baudelaire orphans 😂

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      1. SERIOUSLY! Its such a pain finding the same editions if its not already a “boxed” set! 🤣🤣🤣 I HOPE SO TOOO BECAUSE YOUR REVIEW HAS MADE ME REALLY VERY VERY EXCITED ABOUT THESE NOW, even more than I was before and that’s saying something! 🤣😉😇❤️🦋

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  12. I haven’t picked these up since I was a kid, but I’ve been thinking about rereading because I absolutely loved the Netflix series. I quite like how useless all the adults are – there’s this weird dynamic in the books where it’s kind of funny but also pretty devastating because it keeps the kids in this ongoing hopeless situation

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  13. “Oftentimes, when people are miserable, they will want to make other people miserable, too. But it never helps.” It never helps but they keep on doing it. So sad…
    It sounds like an entertaining read. I enjoy suspending disbelief sometimes because it just adds to the magic of the book/movie. As adults, we are lacking in magic, I think.

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  15. I’ve never read these. In fact, the first time I heard of them was when the movie came out. But I think they sound fantastic for kids and I’m very sure I would have loved them if they’d been around at the time. And adults being dumb as a rock? Isn’t that how we often saw them at that age? Great review, Lashaan.

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    1. Yes! The Jim Carrey movie. While it’s not perfect, I loved it as a kid and was glad that they tried it out even if they never made sequels for it. Hahahahaha good point on adults! 😉 Thanks for reading as always, Todd! I appreciate it. 🙂

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  18. Hehehe, I used to love this series so much! And actually I think this book was my favourite one 😊 I’m glad you liked ! I think Lemony Snicket has this great capacity to keep you interested with his writing! Great review as always Lashaan!

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  20. Ooooowww I have vivid memories of me reading this book as a child 😭 I loved it, and the whole series is amazing too! I can’t remember the fantasy elements, though! 😯 I’d love to read them all another time! Great review, Lashaan, it brought back great memories 😍

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      1. No, I didn’t start on the series. I didn’t want my time caught up on a series and also I don’t even remember now if it’s a premium channel that it’s offered on and I didn’t want to have to subscribe if that had been the case.

        Liked by 1 person

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