The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Series of Unfortunate Events 2: The Reptile Room / 9780061757143
I came to this series after already watching the tie-in movie "Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events". I had been fairly certain I would like the series for its dark humor, and the first book in the series - "The Bad Beginning" - most certainly did not disappoint, so I was not too surprised when I also loved "The Reptile Room".
Like the rest of the novels in this series, this book is very slender and can be whipped through in a few short hours - if it has any drawbacks at all, it would perhaps be the price-to-page ratio. However, the story is engaging and well-told and it's impossible to not be drawn into the drama of the Baudelaire orphans as they struggle to survive in the home of their kind-but-eccentric Uncle Monty. Having already seen the movie, it was a bit tricky for me to adjust from Billy Connolly's delightful and warm characterization of Uncle Monty to the somewhat cooler and more oblivious Uncle Monty presented here on page, but the characterization fits more easily within the confines of the story.
A note about the audiobook edition of this book: this installation in the series is narrated by Tim Curry. He narrates the story superbly and adds a wonderful layer of creepy inflection over the entire affair. The pacing is excellent and the overall effect on the reader is very immersive and well worth the listen.
~ Ana Mardoll
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