The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13) | 
 enlarge | Author: Lemony Snicket
Creators: Brett Helquist, Michael Kupperman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $12.99
Buy Used: $2.64
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Avg. Customer Rating:  303 reviews
Sales Rank: 2242
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0064410161
EAN: 9780064410168
ASIN: 0064410161
Publication Date: October 13, 2006
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Amazon.com Review
Picking up from the final pages of the Pentultimate Peril, this farewell installment to the ridiculously (and deservedly!) popular A Series of Unfortunate Events places our protagonists right where we last left them: on a large, wooden boat in the middle of the ocean, trapped with their nemesis Count Olaf, who has armed himself with a helmet-full of deadly Medusoid Mycelium. The situation quickly and--this being the Baudelaires--predictably deteriorates. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny find themselves tossed in a storm so terrible that our beloved narrator spends four pages describing how he cannot describe it. From this point on, fans of the series' smarty-pants wordplay and acrobatic narrative can rest assured that they're in for more of the same (and how) in this 368-page finale, and Daniel Handler's deadpan Snicket continues to tutor a generation in self-referential humor (including one particularly funny bit regarding three very short men carrying a large, flat piece of wood, painted to look like a living room). Snicket notes, of course, that if you read the entire series, "your only reward will be 170 chapters of misery in your library and countless tears in your eyes." There's one big question, though, for anyone who's made it through "the thirteenth chapter of the thirteenth volume in this sad history": is the final book a fitting end? That question is probably best-answered by one of The End's most oft-repeated phrases: It depends on how you look at it. Those looking for conclusive resolution to the series' many, many mysteries may be disappointed, although some big questions do get explicit answers. Not surprisingly for a work so deliberately labyrinthine, though, even the absence of an answer can be sort of an answer--and reaction to The End can be something of a Rorschach test for readers. Or, as Lemony Snicket says, "Perhaps you dont know yet what the end really means." --Paul Hughes
Product Description
Dear Reader, You are presumably looking at the back of this book, or the end of the end. The end of the end is the best place to begin the end, because if you read the end from the beginning of the beginning of the end to the end of the end of the end, you will arrive at the end of the end of your rope. This book is the last in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even if you braved the previous twelve volumes, you probably can't stand such unpleasantries as a fearsome storm, a suspicious beverage, a herd of wild sheep, an enormous bird cage, and a truly haunting secret about the Baudelaire parents. It has been my solemn occupation to complete the history of the Baudelaire orphans, and at last I am finished. You likely have some other occupation, so if I were you I would drop this book at once, so the end does not finish you. With all due respect, Lemony Snicket
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| Customer Reviews: Read 298 more reviews...
The events conclude with characters alive and fully realized! December 2, 2008
I finished this late last night, having reached that point of no return (here meaning "that point where my need to know what happens at the end overwhelms my need for sleep") that all good mysteries, and most good books, will reach sometime before the last page.
Not all the mysteries are resolved, but the book ends, as most good books do, with the main characters not just alive, but fully realized and ready to live on to face more adventures, armed with their moral compasses and skills honed in the solitude of the arboretum and rested during the respite on the island alone with baby Beatrice.
Followed by: The Beatrice Letters (A Series of Unfortunate Events)--sorta. The letters are kind of supporting materials to the end game, which might be read before or after The End, that will be read by hard core fans but can realistically be skipped by everyone else without missing anything essential to the story.
 An unfortunate end... November 28, 2008
I was disappointed. I will admit I own all the books. I enjoyed the series. However, I guess I wanted more to this ending and actually all the books. He wants everything to be sneaky and unknown. Yet, I felt like there were so many unanswered questions and the explanations we did get were kind of, well, lame.
I am not sure whether to recommend it or not. If you are like me and have to finish reading a series once you have started them, read it. If not, well...you may not be missing anything.
 A Thoughtful Ending. Unsatisfying, but Somehow Expected November 28, 2008
I was initially sorely disappointed that The End did not divulge the secrets that we have been following thirteen books for - but then I understood any ending wouldn't have been able to live up to our expectations. All I can to is reflect on the long and strange journey it's been.
As the series progressed, so did the complexity and meaning. The first few books were funny and original, but that was it - children's fun, a bit brainless, seemingly. However, as the books went on, it was clear that Handler was slipping in more than just lighthearted whimsicalities - literary allusions, allegories, hidden themes and symbols. The downright cleverness (the hidden symbols! The ironic wit!) of the books astounds me, seriously. I honestly feel that these books ought to be considered "serious" pieces of literature, and analyzed as fitting to their genius.
But was it more than just cleverness and wit? Judging by half the review on this site, apparently not.
However, after reading a few thoughtful posts on the books' fansite, I am now somewhat convinced that the entire series may have had a deeper, symbolic meaning to it - an allegory disguised as a children's read. Here are two possible alternate theories I stumbled upon:
has been suggested that the Series has Jewish themes, and indeed that the suffering, guilt, questioning attitude, and constant wanderings of the Baudelaires reflect the plight of the Jewish people. In The End, they find a safe homeland(where their parents had lived), but at the expense of either killing everyone else or driving them into the sea. Perhaps notably, it is ruled by a man called Ishmael, the name of the alleged ancestor of the Arabs.
"A few notes about Olaf: I have noticed that he resembles a negative caricature of a Jew-- filthy, sneaky, obsessed with money, in control of the media for sinister ends,
 Very Foul Device November 22, 2008
Alas, I bought and read aloud to my son every one of these books, to my regret. The early books were quite witty and clever, but last several were increasingly tedious and decreasingly clever. Every plot device in these books is a "Mcguffin," i.e. a meaningless way to advance a story that goes nowhere, but which showcases Mr. Handler's apparent cynicism and his delusions of profundity. You can write cynical novels for adults; but to do so for children is genuinely cruel. In the case of this series, it is better not to have loved at all. The End is no end, only a cessation. Good riddance.
a great ending to a wonderful series November 5, 2008
The book I am reviewing is The End by Lemony Snicket. The End is a fantasy fiction book.
This book is about three children who are trying to escape from their evil cousin. The names of these children are violet, Klaus, and Sunny. The children land on a mysterious island with very interesting people. These people are led by a secretly evil leader named Ishmael. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kicked of the island only to find their evil cousin waiting for them. This is the beginning of the Baudelaires end.
I personally loved this book. This book is great for people who love adventure and suspense.
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