Snicket Weather
Oct. 28th, 2012 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tealinIt was with great pleasure I discovered that a favourite author of mine was to revisit a favourite series of mine and write four new books which were purportedly to shed some light on favourite characters of mine, who are more or less in the background of the original series. If I could have any fanfiction in the world, I have maintained, I would have VFD fanfiction,* about the older generation, their traumas and tragedies and spurious research before, during, and after the schism ... And here it was to be, from the author himself!
Adding to the thrill was the return of Snicket weather ...
A Series of Unfortunate Events has always been an autumnal thing for me. I fell in love with it one fall, running to and from the library at lunch hour devouring audiobook after audiobook. The books that came out after I got into it always dropped in October, so yellow leaves on wet pavement became emblematic of rushing to the bookstore on laydown day to pick up the new one. It won't be Snicket weather in LA for a couple months yet, but I got a taste of it a few weeks ago when visiting my old haunts, and the seasonal appetite returned.
Because of my former ritual, when the new book was announced, I promised myself that even though there was no bookstore within walking distance and the pavement would almost certainly not be wet, I would at least walk into a bricks-and-mortar bookshop and buy a dead tree edition of the book, for old time's sake. This I did not do on laydown day (see above re: walkability) but did manage on Saturday. As of approximately 4 P.M. Sunday 28 October 2012, I have finished All the Wrong Questions: Who Could That Be At This Hour?
I suppose the most succinct (if unfair) way I could sum the book up is: Well, it's not the fanfic I would have written. This is not to say it was bad, or even disappointing, necessarily. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting the fanfic of my dreams, mostly because it would only have appealed to adult fans of the original series, of which I think there are about five, and therefore would be a pretty stupid career move. But I can't deny I was hoping for that, a little, in a small, irrational pocket of my heart. What I was really expecting, because I am a grownup who has been bitten by reality one too many times, was a lacklustre joyless potboiler attempting to resuscitate a franchise which died a sad death but whose memory of profitability lingered on. I am happy to report that this also was not the case.
All The Wrong Questions at least appears to be having a good time with itself; if the author is faking it then he ought to be commended for some very hard and mostly successful work. It's not A Series of Unfortunate Events, but its very format precludes a direct retread of the original: it's written in the first person, by Mr Snicket as a 13-year-old boy, so it's not going to have the morose asides, pedantic tangents, or tantalising glimpses of backstory for which the author is known, simply because he hasn't become that person yet. This seems to have been a conscious choice to do something different with the same world, and whether it's successful or not, I feel more comfortable coming down in its favour than wishing for a rehash of the old style which might probably by this point have turned into simply a collection of hollow gimmicks.
That said, I did miss the old tone of barely-contained silliness, that euphoria of writing something genuinely fun that you can't believe you're actually getting paid for, which bubbled up all over the first nine books in the original series. There was a joy in those (sombre as they were on the surface) which isn't present in All the Wrong Questions, or at least is not so readily apparent. Also lacking are the layers: one of the really enjoyable things about reading A Series of Unfortunate Events as an adult is picking up on the subtext and reading between the lines to piece together a more adult story hidden inside and under the "kids' book" façade – not to mention the literary and cultural allusions that made me feel like I was underqualified to be reading these Grade 5 chapter books. There are still some allusions – I had fun figuring out which books were being referred to when Lemony was giving his "tips" – but it wasn't really on the same level and was quite clearly intended for the younger readership.
My impression of All the Wrong Questions is rather similar to that of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents and Terry Pratchett's subsequent "kids'" books: Here is a serious adult author who has written books designated as being for children in the past (the Johnny Maxwell series, The Bromeliad) but to which he brought his adult wit and intelligence, now turning his attention back to younger readers but speaking more or less exclusively [down] to them; writing something for children rather than something which could be enjoyed by children should they pick it up but is for anyone who wants to read it, not least the author himself. It's not a poorer book, just a more limited one.
That said, I can't deny I chuckled out loud a few times while reading, and was more thrilled than I ought to have been when a familiar face appeared at the end. There comes a time in any adult's life when they just need to lie in the shade with a book far below their reading level and lose themselves for a while, and I am definitely having one of those times.
Interestingly, a word which here means "only of interest to the author of this blog post," had I picked up and read the book the day it came out, I would have missed something which amused me. I have long been of the opinion that "the city," as mentioned in this world, is rather heavily based on San Francisco (rationale can be supplied upon request). Just yesterday I caught a radio piece which introduced me to the fact (or rumour?) that San Francisco is underrun by a network of secret tunnels, which play something of an important role in The Ersatz Elevator, and make a reappearance in All the Wrong Questions. I dug a very little bit and found an article which, read through the right lens, is a Snicket story. Amusement survives.
I close with one question; I don't know if it's the wrong one or the right one, but I'm pretty sure it is at least a unique one: When did Lemony Snicket start liking coffee? Because he turned me on to macchiatos (not the Starbucks kind) and I could not be more grateful.
*So far the most satisfying VFD fic I have found is How Would the Snicket Characters Eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup?", which is just as deep as the title implies, but ... Jacques ... A certain author of my acquaintance keeps telling me the thing about fanfic is, if you don't see what you like (or like what you see) you write it yourself, but HOW many projects do I have on the go these days? Or rather, not on the go, because there are too many to focus on one?
Adding to the thrill was the return of Snicket weather ...
A Series of Unfortunate Events has always been an autumnal thing for me. I fell in love with it one fall, running to and from the library at lunch hour devouring audiobook after audiobook. The books that came out after I got into it always dropped in October, so yellow leaves on wet pavement became emblematic of rushing to the bookstore on laydown day to pick up the new one. It won't be Snicket weather in LA for a couple months yet, but I got a taste of it a few weeks ago when visiting my old haunts, and the seasonal appetite returned.
Because of my former ritual, when the new book was announced, I promised myself that even though there was no bookstore within walking distance and the pavement would almost certainly not be wet, I would at least walk into a bricks-and-mortar bookshop and buy a dead tree edition of the book, for old time's sake. This I did not do on laydown day (see above re: walkability) but did manage on Saturday. As of approximately 4 P.M. Sunday 28 October 2012, I have finished All the Wrong Questions: Who Could That Be At This Hour?
I suppose the most succinct (if unfair) way I could sum the book up is: Well, it's not the fanfic I would have written. This is not to say it was bad, or even disappointing, necessarily. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting the fanfic of my dreams, mostly because it would only have appealed to adult fans of the original series, of which I think there are about five, and therefore would be a pretty stupid career move. But I can't deny I was hoping for that, a little, in a small, irrational pocket of my heart. What I was really expecting, because I am a grownup who has been bitten by reality one too many times, was a lacklustre joyless potboiler attempting to resuscitate a franchise which died a sad death but whose memory of profitability lingered on. I am happy to report that this also was not the case.
All The Wrong Questions at least appears to be having a good time with itself; if the author is faking it then he ought to be commended for some very hard and mostly successful work. It's not A Series of Unfortunate Events, but its very format precludes a direct retread of the original: it's written in the first person, by Mr Snicket as a 13-year-old boy, so it's not going to have the morose asides, pedantic tangents, or tantalising glimpses of backstory for which the author is known, simply because he hasn't become that person yet. This seems to have been a conscious choice to do something different with the same world, and whether it's successful or not, I feel more comfortable coming down in its favour than wishing for a rehash of the old style which might probably by this point have turned into simply a collection of hollow gimmicks.
That said, I did miss the old tone of barely-contained silliness, that euphoria of writing something genuinely fun that you can't believe you're actually getting paid for, which bubbled up all over the first nine books in the original series. There was a joy in those (sombre as they were on the surface) which isn't present in All the Wrong Questions, or at least is not so readily apparent. Also lacking are the layers: one of the really enjoyable things about reading A Series of Unfortunate Events as an adult is picking up on the subtext and reading between the lines to piece together a more adult story hidden inside and under the "kids' book" façade – not to mention the literary and cultural allusions that made me feel like I was underqualified to be reading these Grade 5 chapter books. There are still some allusions – I had fun figuring out which books were being referred to when Lemony was giving his "tips" – but it wasn't really on the same level and was quite clearly intended for the younger readership.
My impression of All the Wrong Questions is rather similar to that of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents and Terry Pratchett's subsequent "kids'" books: Here is a serious adult author who has written books designated as being for children in the past (the Johnny Maxwell series, The Bromeliad) but to which he brought his adult wit and intelligence, now turning his attention back to younger readers but speaking more or less exclusively [down] to them; writing something for children rather than something which could be enjoyed by children should they pick it up but is for anyone who wants to read it, not least the author himself. It's not a poorer book, just a more limited one.
That said, I can't deny I chuckled out loud a few times while reading, and was more thrilled than I ought to have been when a familiar face appeared at the end. There comes a time in any adult's life when they just need to lie in the shade with a book far below their reading level and lose themselves for a while, and I am definitely having one of those times.
Interestingly, a word which here means "only of interest to the author of this blog post," had I picked up and read the book the day it came out, I would have missed something which amused me. I have long been of the opinion that "the city," as mentioned in this world, is rather heavily based on San Francisco (rationale can be supplied upon request). Just yesterday I caught a radio piece which introduced me to the fact (or rumour?) that San Francisco is underrun by a network of secret tunnels, which play something of an important role in The Ersatz Elevator, and make a reappearance in All the Wrong Questions. I dug a very little bit and found an article which, read through the right lens, is a Snicket story. Amusement survives.
I close with one question; I don't know if it's the wrong one or the right one, but I'm pretty sure it is at least a unique one: When did Lemony Snicket start liking coffee? Because he turned me on to macchiatos (not the Starbucks kind) and I could not be more grateful.
*So far the most satisfying VFD fic I have found is How Would the Snicket Characters Eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup?", which is just as deep as the title implies, but ... Jacques ... A certain author of my acquaintance keeps telling me the thing about fanfic is, if you don't see what you like (or like what you see) you write it yourself, but HOW many projects do I have on the go these days? Or rather, not on the go, because there are too many to focus on one?
