Ersatz Elevator, The - Lemony Snicket . Review on Ersatz Elevator, The - Lemony Snicket

Fads are very common. One fad passes, and another begins. Some fads are more ridiculous than the other. One day, it might be a fad to go bungee jumping a hundred times a day. It might be ’’in’’

• a word which here means ’’the current fad’’ - to eat carpet soup.

Many people in this world like to comply with fads, one of them being a certain mobile - a word which here means ’’Nokia 6600’’. Then there are others, who take no interest in either bungee jumping, carpet soup or a very wide mobile. I am one, for instance, and so are the Baudelaires. But some people are...

:: Baudelaires? Who? ::

Violet, Klaus and Sunny are three intelligent children who are special in their own ways. Violet’s keen inventing skills earned her the name Ed - short for Thomas Edison, who was also a keen inventor from her late father. Klaus’s keen reading and researching skills would have earned him the pocket dictionary of his late mother’s. And Sunny, who liked to bite into hard things and had shown an interest in cooking, had the immense love of both of her late parents, like her two elder siblings did.

Circumstances forced the Baudelaires to live with the treacherous, evil Count Olaf who made a plan to get the Baudelaire fortune. When this failed, he followed the Baudelaires as they went from one guardian to another, from Uncle Monty the herpetologist to Aunt Josephine (who was afraid of everything from the welcome mat to the stove and was obsessed with grammar) to Sir, who made them work in that awful mill of his, to Prufrock Prepatory Boarding School. Everywhere, the Baudelaires had a narrow escape. Let’s see what their fate holds in store for them...

:: The Plot ::

Mr. Poe takes the Baudelaires to 667 Dark Avenue, which is in the city. The Baudelaires are somewhat pleased to be back in the city where they used to live with their parents, and they remember all their favourite places where they liked to visit. But the city also brings back the painful memory of their parents’ death. It is worse than the plaguing nightmare that has haunted them every night, because now they are closer to the place where the fire happened.

There are several trees in Dark Avenue, and it is decidedly dark. The Baudelaires soon find out that their new guardians live in the penthouse apartment. The lift is ’’out’’, so they have to trudge up the seemingly endless staircase, with Violet and Klaus taking turns to hold their little sister as they walk up with their tired legs aching - Mr. Poe, as unhelpful as ever, had told them that he would leave them to meet their new guardians as soon as he laid his eyes on the stairs, a word which here means ’’Didn’t want to climb up the stairs as his wife was waiting for him, as well as his sons (One of them is named Edgar - Edgar Allen Poe!).’’

By the time that the Baudelaires reach the penthouse apartment, they are unexplainably tired. Jerome Squalor, their new guardian, treats them to aqueous martinis. They also meet Esme Squalor, who is unexplainably fashionable. She makes them wear pinstripe suit outfits, and they go to the horribly fishy Café Salmonella for dining out. However, this is OK, as they are in the city back near their home. But when Count Olaf appears again, as Gunther the auctioneer, then the Baudelaires are unexplainably scared. Of course, Jerome and Esme don?t believe them. The Baudelaires later discover that the closed elevator is actually just an empty shaft ? it?s ersatz! Using a slipknot, the Baudelaires creep down and discover their missing friends ? the Quagmires! The Quagmires try to tell them about V.F.D., but the Baudelaires concentrate more on getting them out of there. But then?

:: Last Words ::

Snicket?s dark humour wins again. The writing style, mixed with the descriptions and the literary information is amazing. The way of showing the Baudelaire?s feeling is much better than any other book written by any other Tom, Dick or Harry. Definitely worth a read through!