The Reptile Room (1999)
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The Reptile Room Book Review
The Reptile Room is a 1999 children’s novel by author Lemony Snicket. It is the second entry in A Series of Unfortunate Events and another terrific read.
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“This is an absurd moral,
for you and I both know that sometimes
not only is it good to lie,
it is necessary to lie“
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The children are here sent to another one of their distant relatives, Uncle Monty. He’s a herpetologist and the children instantly come to love him. Everything is great until Olaf arrives, kills the poor man and plans to kidnap and kill the trio.
I really liked the story, though I did not love it. It is a much lower in stakes book than its predecessor which is why it is overall inferior to it, though not by much. I simply found the entire finale hinging too much on one conversation and most of the drama was mined somewhat from thin air.
That’s my main problem with the book and that it is really low in world building too as it just revolves in one place. But what a place this is! Yes, I simply adored the titular room and how well it was described. The book is a mix of unrealistic and real when it comes to its portrayal of snakes, but overall having them positively portrayed instead of as scary monsters was refreshing, especially for the children’s medium.
I loved the relationship between that intriguing snake and Sunny. Yes, Sunny here was much more interesting and better utilized than she was before. She’s actually important here in terms of the plot developments as she helped the children twice and that I really loved.
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Klaus is also well utilized here, and of course Violet continues to be a force to be reckoned with, and a brainiac. Klaus needs to do more in my opinion, and I hope the next installments in the series fix that, but overall all three children are lovely.
Olaf here disguises himself as Stefano and it was great. He continues to be such a powerful, conniving villain and definitely someone who consistently puts the kids through hell and beyond. Thus, this book is also dark and tragic.
I loved Uncle Monty and he was so wonderful, but the fact that the author basically spoiled his death to the readers much in advance really ruined it for me, though the death itself was still very tragic. The entire finale is overly emotional just a bit, but still very effective in its tragic elements and the usage of the snakes themselves.
What is the matter with Mr. Poe though? Yes, he continues to be a total fool, but particularly in this novel where his level of stupidity reaches enormous heights. He fails to see through Olaf’s disguise and literally these three children are constantly much smarter than him. It’s a plot machination that works though as it leaves the trio hopeless in despair which led to a dramatic increase in stakes.
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I still enjoy Snicket’s prose and style. He uses language for children so well while consistently making it a refreshing, different read for them with the different plot points and reconstructed messages here and there. I loved the imagery of the house and the room, the emotion is heightened and overall it flew by for me how fun it was. I truly wish these novels were longer how ridiculously entertaining they all are.
The Reptile Room is somewhat lowered in stakes, but it’s still a stellar chapter in A Series of Unfortunate Events with again terrific Count Olaf and a heightened emotional impact in the final chapters. Sunny is one of the highlights here as are the snakes. The entire story is simple and the setting is one only, but it works as they are utilized to the fullest extent.
