As I mentioned last week, I’m increasing the frequency of my
Chapter-by-Chapter review posts. Reading a chapter per week would work for me if
I was reading The Lord of the Rings or the Earth’s Children
Series but for a series which is short to begin with and is divided into
very short chapters it just feels silly. I’m having to read through my past
entries to remind myself of where I’ve gotten to each week!
So the new plan is to continue to post my 10am posts on a Friday, but I’ll
also post at 4pm every weekday (except Wednesday, which will remain ‘wordless’).
I might increase this to include weekends at some point, but this way will give
me plenty of time to read and get the posts written. Hopefully I might be
finished with these books before 2017 this way!
What Happens?
Count Olaf surprises the children by actually being nice to them. He reveals
that Mr Poe told him about their visit to the bank and goes on to explain that
the reason he’s behaved badly is due to nerves about his theatre performance. He
then tells them that he wants them to join him in his latest production. Olaf
wants Violet to play the role of his bride in the play The Marvelous
Marriage; he’s also recruited Justice Strauss for the part of the judge.
The children know he’s up to something but they don’t know exactly what it is.
They decide to pay a visit to Justice Strauss’s library to read up on
inheritance law.
Thoughts as I read:
This chapter starts with a little drawing of three bowls of steaming oatmeal,
that’ll be porridge then. It has berries on top, quite appealing.
Rather shockingly the children get up to discover Count Olaf in the kitchen
the following morning. Even more shockingly he’s made them breakfast. Naturally
the children are suspicious but instead of poison or glass in the oatmeal,
there’s raspberries. They also consider the possibility that these are poisonous
berries disguised to look like raspberries. I don’t blame them at all. I know
the kids have to eat but I wouldn’t trust anything he gave me.
Not only does Count Olaf actually eat a raspberry himself, he reveals he was
actually once a youngster too. I’m not sure which fact is more shocking!
It turns out that the reason for the change in attitude towards the children
is nothing to do with Count Olaf having a sudden revelation about how awful his
behaviour has been, instead Mr Poe has told Olaf all about the children’s little
visit. I can understand that he might want to voice the concerns that the
children raised with him, in fact, I’m amazed that he paid enough attention to
the Baudelaires to understand what they’d come to see him about! But I think
that perhaps he should have spoken to them a little more, or perhaps
dropped by
unannounced to witness Olaf’s behaviour first hand.
Count Olaf doesn’t really come across as a very good actor here, presumably
this is the reason why his house is such a dump. The narration mentions that he
looks as though he was serious but his eyes looked like he was telling a joke. I
know it’s hard to hide your true feelings when you’re acting but I think it’s
fairly obvious that he’s planning something. All the same, he apologises for the
fact that they haven’t been settling in well.
He also drops the bomb that he is now their father. Um, no you’re not. They
might come to see you as someone who is like a father, but if that’s going to
happen you’re going to have to start behaving like one. It doesn’t say anywhere
that he’s adopted them so his sole relationship to them at the moment is that of
guardian and wannabe owner of a fortune.
Count Olaf comes to the crux of this little charade. He wants the Baudelaires
to take part in his new play, snidely commenting that this will prevent them
from complaining to Mr Poe. Now in a way this could be a nice bonding experience
for each other, especially if he hadn’t been treating them like dirt from the
moment they arrived. Olaf could find ways that the kids could use their hobbies;
Violet could probably come up with some devices for stage management or props,
Klaus could maybe handle script work or making the programmes, Sunny’s just a
baby but she seems pretty advanced, I’d give her a paintbrush to gnaw on and let
her paint scenery. Count Olaf obviously has different ideas.
The play in question is The Marvellous Marriage – I love the
alliteration, you get it in the book titles throughout the series and then again
actually within the books as well. The writer is Al Funcoot, which is an anagram
of Count Olaf. I like spotting anagrams and I caught this one right away on my
first read. I think that’s what clued me in to the importance of names in the
series.
Klaus and Sunny are to play extras, basically. They question the logic of
having short children playing adults but having performed in a local drama
group, sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got. At the age of
twenty-something I was playing someone in her mid-forties or fifties!
Violet offers to help build the set but Olaf has other plans for her. He
wants her to play the girl his character marries. Uh, that’s kind of weird, a
moment ago you were telling her you’re her father, now you want to pretend to
marry her. Violet feels much the same; she doesn’t even want to pretend he’s her
father, let alone pretend to marry her.
Olaf then reveals that Justice Strauss will be playing the role of the judge.
Apparently he wanted to ask Justice Strauss to be ‘neighbourly’. I can’t help
but wonder what he said to her to make her say yes.
Violet tries a different approach suggesting that she isn’t talented enough
to take on the role. When Olaf realises that she’s trying to get out of it he
tries a different tactic. He quickly becomes very prickly and reminds Violet
that she has to do as she’s told, after all, he’s her father now. So while he
takes the physical approach with Klaus, with Violet it’s more psychological.
He’s threatening her without actually saying anything overtly threatening. In
some ways that’s more frightening because bruises can be seen (even if Mr Poe
doesn’t pay attention) but the verbal threats aren’t so easy to spot.
After Olaf leaves Klaus speaks up, once again aiming for the optimistic note.
He thinks it might be okay to take part in the play, but Violet already thinks
Olaf is up to something. Whereas last time I disagreed with her lack of trust of
Justice Strauss, this time I agree with her. It’s better that she prepares for
whatever Olaf might be planning, rather than getting a nasty shock when whatever
he has planned actually comes to a head. She’s well aware that he wants to get
his hands on the fortune but doesn’t know exactly what he’ll do to get it.
I like how the children process what they should do next. Klaus wants to know
more about inheritance law; they can’t go to Mr Poe because he’ll probably run
to Olaf, ditto Justice Strauss. Luckily Sunny says something which may possibly
mean ‘Would somebody please wipe my face?’ but comes out as ‘Book!’ That’s
exactly what I’d do, look at a book I mean, not ask someone to wipe my face, I’m
usually perfectly capable of doing that myself!
And so they plan a visit to Justice Strauss and her library. Leaving the
kitchen, with its cupboards decorated with painted eyes (I’m not sure how many
that would be exactly. Let’s call it five, that’ll take it up to thirteen in
this book so far). So we leave the children trying to figure out just what Olaf
is planning to do. Hopefully they’ll get an idea pretty damn quick!
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