The Ersatz Elevator (Series of Unfortunate Events, #6)

by Lemony Snicket

Tim Curry (Narrator)

The woeful saga of the Baudelaire orphans continues as evil Count Olaf discovers their whereabouts at EsmGe Squalor's seventy-one bedroom penthouse and concocts a new plan for stealing their family fortune.

• ISBN10: 0060566213
• ISBN13: 9780060566210
• Publish Date: 29 July 2003 (first published 20 February 2001)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 4 hours and 29 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Well, this one really was interesting.
It will really take you a bit before you figure out where exactly this is going. Right when you think you've got it all figured out, one huge plot-twist comes along. The fire in which the Beaudelaire parents were killed becomes even more mysterious. We don't learn anything new about the circumstances but by now it's clear that something huge had been going on there.
I'm super excited to get my hands on the next book as I have no idea what to expect now!
As you know, Lemony Snicket's novel feature adorable illustrations, amiable characters and a great sense of humor. I already covered that in the reviews on the first few books, so I'll not repeat it all right now.

The Ersatz Elevator is so thrilling, you will find yourself holding your breath on several instances. The story gets even darker and more mysterious!

[celinenyx]

Not one of the better mysteries. The Ersatz Elevator does have some interesting characters like Jerome, who is one of the first gray characters in the series next. Most of the grown-ups are just plain stupid, but he is a bit more interesting than that. Writing short reviews is very In by the way.

The sixth book, The Ersatz Elevator, finds the Baudelaire's back in their hometown, just a couple of streets over from where they used to live. With their parents. When life was good.

This time they've been placed with friends of their parents, the Squalors who live in a penthouse on 667 Dark Avenue. Which on a side note, the puns and other easter egg references crack me up. Jerome and Esme Squalor are a mixed bag. One is kind, the other is fashionable. One is a pushover, the other is a pushee. Their lives are dictated by what is "in" and what is "out". Fortunately for the Baudelaire's, orphans are "in". Unfortunately elevators are out which means a lot of stairs.

Living with the Squalors is strange but certainly could be worse - they could be kidnapped like the Quagmire triplets were. Sick with worry about their friends, the Squalors barely rate on their list. ...and then Count Olaf appears. This time, Count Olaf is disguised as Gunther, the new auctioneer for the In Auction Esme is throwing. The children have no idea what is going on or what Olaf is up to, but they're determined to find out - especially if it will give them a clue to the whereabouts of the Quagmire triplets. Which it does. The penthouse floor has a second elevator door that when opens leads down to a cage. In the cage are the Quagmire triplets! Once again, they try to tell the Baudelaire's about VFD and how it's important but are shushed. The Baudelaire's a more focused on coming up with a plan to get them out and prevent Count Olaf's plan - which is to smuggle the Quagmire's out of town by auctioning them off.

The logic on this one was a bit weird. I never really got how this was going to get Olaf the Baudelaire's fortune. It really wasn't the best regarding the Quagmire's either since they were previously already out of the country.

The Baudelaire's climb up and down the elevator shaft multiple times coming up with a plan but are foiled by their own willingness to trust adults when they explain everything to Esme and get pushed back down the elevator shaft. Because Beatrice apparently stole everything from her (and yes we were all asking who the hell is Beatrice (in relation to the Baudelaire's) and what has she got to do with anything?) and she would get her revenge. Well and Count Olaf is her former acting coach, she thinks he's a genius and stealing money is "in" or at least money is but in this case that's more or less the same thing.

Anyways so the Quagmire's are auctioned off, hidden in a big box with the letters VFD printed on the side. But wait, no - it's a red herring!!! This bit honestly had me laughing. It was so ridiculous. The children are hidden in the big ass statue of a red herring. While the VFD box is empty - or at least empty of children. It's actually full of Very Fancy Doilies. Masterful. Mr Poe arrives just in time to be absolutely useless, Jerome continues to be a pushover and the Baudelaire's are determined to rescue the Quagmire triplets, no matter what - even if that means giving up a more or less satisfactory guardian. Having given up on happiness, they settle for truth - they can rely on each other.

I have more questions than the Baudelaire's have misfortune and I already know I'll likely never know the answers to them. How frustrating. Still, an action packed read. 3 stars.

[ibeforem]

Another winner from Mr. Snicket. I even learned a new word — ersatz! How I escaped 6th grade vocabulary without that gem, I’ll never know.

P.S. I’m extremely glad that Tim Curry is back reading these books. He adds so much to it.