Series of Unfortunate Events #9: The Carnivorous Carnival audiobook

Once again I get the chance to say (write?) the most glorious words in the English language: This is a particularly fantastic installment in the GREATEST SERIES OF ALL TIME.In case you're new here or somehow able to ignore me doing the internet equivalent of nonstop screaming about this series: I LOVE THESE BOOKS SO MUCH.This one is, as mentioned, particularly next-level at putting all other excuses for literature to shame. It breaks from the typical format. Our lil gang grows up. There's an exploration of moral absolutism, a questioning of whether anyone is truly good or evil, and whether evil acts can be motivated by pure intentions. There's a condemnation of normalcy, one which points out (TO A MAIN AUDIENCE OF CHILDREN MAY I REMIND YOU) that no one is normal and everyone's got something freakish about them.Also, there are fortune-tellers and inventions and disguises and Thai food and page repetition to mock déjà vu and, as always, some of the best world-building and narration of all time.IT'S A GREAT BOOK AND I HAVE A MIGRAINE SO I NEED TO STOP LOOKING AT A SCREEN NOW.Bottom line: If you haven't read these books yet and don't plan to in the immediate future, clearly you don't care about me AT ALL.

My daughter and I adored the entire series, but this episode is my favorite. It contains perhaps the funniest of Lemony Snicket's etymological digressions. It marks the point where the larger story begins to evolve, where the traumatized young Baudelaire orphans first turn the tables on their arch-nemesis, Count Olaf. And it's also a point where both the orphans and the story mature, evolving from a good-vs-evil fairy tale of morbid victimhood into a subtle study of moral complexity.It's a pity that so many people who begin this series give up after three or four volumes. But if you make it through The Carniverous Carnival, you won't want to stop.

I loved the carnival theme this book had going, I was excited that Klaus, Violet, and Sunny dressed up in disguises to fuck up Count Olaf's shit, the mystery of V.F.D is still unsolved, one of their parents might be alive and those poor lions oh my gahhhh...But...HOLY MADAME LULU!THAT ENDING.THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT ENDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!I WAS JUMPING ALL OVER MY BED AND SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ONE OF MY DOGS!This was me after reading that ending:I'M READY FOR BOOK 10! - Richard

This book was significantly better than the last! It didn’t feel repetitive and while more questions were being asked, I felt we finally received some answers. In regards to the audiobook, there was a new Lemony Snicket (Tim Curry still read the actual story part). Curry’s voices were SO good! He’s well and truly differentiating each character now.

Such an intriguing addition to the story, the carnival vibes were cool!

JANUARY 2017 RE-READBumping this up from 4 stars to 5. I last read this when it first came out in 2002! So that was FIFTEEN YEARS AGO. God I feel old. For some reason I had it in my head that I didn't enjoy this one as much as others in the series, but I was clearly mistaken because this is a great instalment. I like how books 2-7 involve Count Olaf in disguises trying to fool the Baudelaires, and books 8 and 9 involve the Baudelaires in disguises trying to fool Count Olaf. Madame Lulu is a cool character, FINALLY the children are learning even more about V.F.D., the carnival setting is fun...just so many great things happening here. Shout out to one of the freak show performers: Kevin the ambidextrous man! Also some great and not-so-subtle messages about prejudice. I just love Daniel Handler's writing style, and his decision to create a pen-name who is also a character. Bravo.

I think this might be my favourite A Series of Unfortunate Events book yet!

There are almost as many kinds of libraries as there are kinds of readers. It feels like i'm heading into that home stretch with the Baudelaire children and i know there isn't many books left in this series but i cannot wait to finally learn what they've been trying to find out for a few books now. Book nine sees the Baudelaire children heading towards a carnival after hiding out in the trunk of count Olaf's car as they had no other option at the end of book eight. I can't believe that count Olaf or any of his workers did not think to check the trunk at any point of their journey and i consider the children very lucky that they didn't This whole V.F.D business is really starting to get to me because i need to know what it means and every chance the kids get to finding out they are either interrupted or don't get a chance to find out anything. However we have some developments with them finding a symbol and learning that some members of the V.F.D. are currently at the carnival. But the sad truth is that the truth is sad, and that what you want does not matter. A series of unfortunate events can happen to anyone, no matter what they want Ok i need to know what Mr. Poe is doing because isn't he the one that's supposed to be looking after these children and is supposed to know where they are at every given moment. I'm sorry to say i believe hes let these children down because there has been no evidence to suggest that he's even remotely looking for them so there completely on their own at this point. There were some major plot developments in this one finally and i can't wait to find out more in the coming books to hopefully finally see these kids have somewhat of an ending to their unfortunate story because i think these kids really do need something at the end of this.

3.75* Similarly to book eight, this wasn't the most memorable in the series but I absolutely loved the intensity of the ending! I thought the kids starting to question and doubt themselves and their actions was really interesting too! This was a slightly drearier book in tone than the others, but it worked in connection to the Baudelaire's reclining and undoubtably exhausting situation! I can feel the ending getting closer and I'm looking forward to finally (hopefully) getting some answers soon!!

This is the ninth instalment in the A Series of Unfortunate Events series.The circus has arrived! The Baudelaire siblings disguise themselves to gain entry and face off against the evil Count Olaf, attempting to use his own ruses against him.This book felt like it differed from many of the previous series instalments, which followed a similar pattern in plot, and brought together many previous enemies into one fun setting. I found the clever prose to be as hilarious and enjoyable and this remained my favourite aspect about this novel, despite also loving the journey this took the siblings on and how new mysteries, concerning their circumstances, were also exposed.I did worry that this book would perpetuate harmful stereotypes, with the early assignment of the word 'freak' to many of the circus performers, but soon found this not to be the case. It was only the evil characters who treated the performers with disdain and, I believe, the young target audience would not align their thoughts with these characters.

Let's take a moment to acknowledge how special this series is. Even with what seems like a very formula-driven series, it has somehow managed to capture and keep the readers interested up to this point. The author successfully tweaks things enough each time to keep it fresh. The current trend is being in disguise right under Count Olaf's nose. Book 9 was a big step up from the previous entry. The children are back to their innocent  mindsets even while staying focused on the task at hand. There is plenty of VFD shenanigans. I suspect the real meaning of VFD won't be revealed until the final installment. A ton of new "freaks" are introduced here in the usual hilarity we are so used to. With a cliffhanger ending it's almost impossible to not want to read the next one right away.

Snicket engages in some serious moral wrangling in this volume, and forces the reader to do the same. At a crucial moment, the Baudelaire orphans meet a woman who wants to be a good, strong person -- but because her motto is "give people what they want," she can always be manipulated by villains, and always tells herself that she must be a good person, because isn't giving people what they want a good thing to do? The simple answer, "Not if they want bad things!" never seems to occur to her.It occurs to the Baudelaires, of course. Partly because they're nobler than she is. Partly because they desperately need her help. In the course of trying to persuade her to give them what they need, they're forced to admit that in spite of their best intentions, they seem to be sliding down a slippery moral slope:"Haven't you ever found yourself doing something you never thought you'd do?""I guess so," Klaus said, and turned to his sisters. "Remember when we stole those keys from Hal, at the Library of Records? I never thought I'd be a thief.""Flynn," Sunny said, which meant something like, "And I never thought I would become a violent person, but I engaged in a sword fight with Dr. Orwell.""We've all done things we never thought we'd do," Violet said, "but we always had a good reason.""Everybody thinks they have a good reason," Olivia said.Ouch.This is the first book in the Series of Unfortunate Events to end on a really suspenseful cliffhanger. I'm glad I wasn't an early adopter with these books. I would have hated to have to wait a whole year to see what happened next.

“I don't care who falls in!” announced the pimpled man. "To me, a woman in a turban is just as freaky as a two headed person. I'm not prejudiced!”

Isso tá ficando MUITO sinistro, gente! Só nesse livro percebi que essa série já teve mais morte do que muitas outras adultas que eu li 😅 Eu já tô me coçando pra saber as respostas dos mistérios!