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The Ersatz Elevator (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 6) [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD)
by Lemony Snicket
| Category:
Ages 9-12, Family life |
| Market price: ¥ 268.00
MSL price:
¥ 248.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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Amazon.com (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-20 00:00>
Fans of Lemony Snicket's wonderful Series of Unfortunate Events won't be surprised to find that in the sixth installment the three Baudelaire orphans' new home proves to be something of a mixed bag. As our ever sad but helpful narrator states, "Although 'a mixed bag' sometimes refers to a plastic bag that has been stirred in a bowl, more often it is used to describe a situation that has both good parts and bad parts. An afternoon at the movie theater, for instance, would be a mixed bag if your favorite movie were showing, but if you had to eat gravel instead of popcorn. A trip to the zoo would be a very mixed bag if the weather were beautiful, but all of the man-and woman-eating lions were running around loose." And so it is for the bad-luck Baudelaires. Their fancy new 71-bedroom home on 667 Dark Avenue is inhabited by Esmé Gigi Geniveve Squalor (the city's sixth most important financial advisor), and her kindly husband, Jerome, who doesn't like to argue. Esmé is obsessed by the trends du jour (orphans are "in"), and because elevators are "out," Sunny, Violet, and Klaus have to trudge up 66 flights of stairs to reach the Squalors' penthouse apartment. (Other unfortunate trends include pinstripe suits, aqueous martinis - water with a faint olive-y taste - parsley soda, and ocean decorations.)
As the book begins, the Baudelaires are not only frightened in anticipation of their next (inevitable) encounter with the evil, moneygrubbing Count Olaf but they are also mourning the disappearance of their dear new friends from The Austere Academy, the Quagmires. It doesn't take long for Olaf to show up in another of his horrific disguises... but if he is on Dark Avenue, what has he done with the Quagmires? Once again, the resourceful orphans use their unique talents (Violet's inventions, Klaus's research skills, and the infant Sunny's strong teeth) in a fruitless attempt to escape from terrible tragedy. Is there a gleam of hope for the orphans and their new friends? Most certainly not. The only thing we can really count on are more gloriously gloomy adventures in the seventh book, The Vile Village. (Ages 9 and older) - Karin Snelson |
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School Library Journal (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-20 00:00>
Gr 4-6-The resourceful, likable, but extremely unlucky orphans Violet, Klaus, and baby Sunny continue to flee from the clutches of the fortune-hunting, disguise-wearing Count Olaf. Also, they need to discover the whereabouts of their kidnapped friends, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, based on the puzzling clue "V.F.D." In Elevator, the three Baudelaires go to live in the penthouse of the trend-following Jerome and Esme Squalor, who adopt the children because orphans are "in." Despite the Baudelaires' resourcefulness, both Olaf and the Quagmires elude the grasp of the authorities due to the obtuseness of adults who, until it is too late, deny that terrible things can happen. In Village, the Baudelaires travel to V.F.D., a village that adopts the orphans based on the aphorism, "it takes a village to raise a child." They uncover the whereabouts of the Quagmires, but, as in the earlier books, they find neither respite nor peace from Count Olaf's machinations. Despite Snicket's artful turning of cliches on their well-worn heads, Elevator sometimes belabors the fallacy of fads at the expense of plot.
Nonetheless, the satiric treatment of adults' insistence upon decorum at the expense of truth is simultaneously satisfying and unsettling, as are the deft slams at slant journalism in Village. Arch literary allusions enhance the stories for readers on different levels. Despite Snicket's perpetual caveats to "put this book down and pick up another one," the Baudelaires are dynamic characters who inspire loyalty to the inevitable end of the series.
Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Bellevue Regional Library, WA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. |
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AudioFile (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-20 00:00>
In this sixth installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, the Baudelaire orphans once again face off against Count Olaf and deal with yet another set of inadequate guardians. Tim Curry knows just how to deliver Snicket's brand of alternately dry and over-the-top humor. The voices Curry creates are perfect. Count Olaf sounds just as evil and creepy as he is, and the rest of the adults sound just as evil or incompetent as they turn out to be. Curry's voices for the Baulderlaires themselves are more subtle, but still distinct. Curry even manages to carry off the touching moments of the book, as the children mourn the loss of their parents and their inability to save the Quagmire triplets. A.F. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine -This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
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Booklist (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-20 00:00>
Reviewed with Lemony Snicket's The Vile Village.
Gr. 3-6. The Ersatz Elevator , "Book the Sixth," in A Series of Unfortunate Events, opens with the hapless Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, climbing up very dark stairs to the penthouse, the home of their new guardians, Mr and Mrs. Squalor. Genial Mr. Squalor seems genuinely delighted to have the children. Mrs. Squalor is a different matter: her life is ruled by "what's in" (aqueous martinis, pinstripe suits, and orphans) and "what's out" (alcoholic martinis, light, and elevators). Mr. Squalor's life is ruled by Mrs. Squalor. Children will enjoy the humorous barbs aimed at Mrs. Squalor and her ilk. The plot thickens with the reappearance of the nefarious Count Olaf, first in disguise to do his dastardly deeds and then unmasked to sneer at the Baudelaires. "Book the Seventh," The Vile Village , pokes wicked fun at the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" and at aphorisms in general: "The quoting of an aphorism, like the angry barking or a dog or the smell of overcooked broccoli, rarely indicates that something helpful is about to happen." Sure enough, the Baudelaires are soon adopted by an entire town whose inhabitants look upon the orphans as free labor. The Baudelaires struggle to solve the riddling messages that could lead them to rescue the Quagmire triplets, while trying to avoid being burned at the stake. Series fans will enjoy the quick pace, entertaining authorial asides, and over-the-top characterizations, and Brett Helquist's droll pencil drawings will add to their reading pleasure. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved. |
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Elle (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-20 00:00>
If you have been following the adventures of the Baudelaire orphans so far, then you DO NOT want to miss this particular book (especially after how The Austere Academy (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 5) left off) because it is one of the best ones in the entire series. In this book, Violet the inventor, Klaus the reader, and Sunny the biter are (whose parents` died in a terrible fire in the first book, and ever since then they encounter countless misfortunes) are raised by Esme and Jerome Squalor on 667 Dark Avenue during this book`s events. The Squalors live in an enormous seventy-one room penthouse on top of a sixty-six floor apartment. Esme Squalor is obsessed with what's "in" (the word she uses for "cool") and what's "out" (the word she uses for "uncool"). Jerome Squalor is an interesting and friendly character who just does as his wife commands because he dislikes arguing. Unfortunately for the Baudelaires, Count Olaf shows up again in yet another disguise: Gunther, the auctioner at the In Auction (a famous auction that will auction off things that are "in"). The Baudelaires must foil Count Olaf's plan, discover the secret of V.F.D., rescue the Quaqmire triplets, and find out if the mysterious elevator is simply "out" because it is uncool - or because there's something more to it that the naked eye doesn't notice. In all, this an extremely excellent book that I recommend to anyone that has been enjoying the Baudelaires adventures or that simply likes a good mystery. This book is very suspenseful at the end when a lot of the unresolved puzzles start fitting and the children must get to the In Auction in time to [well, I won't spoil it for you]. In my opinion, this is really were the series begins because the V.F.D. mystery really starts in this volume. Also, a great things that makes readers enjoy this book is the unexpected twist at the end. I won't say anymore, just read this book for yourself to see exactly how good it truly is! If you like this book, then I recommend you ALL of the other books in the A Series of Unfortunate Events book series. Though the books are shorter than something like Harry Potter, they can still be enjoyed by all ages. |
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A Kids's Review (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-20 00:00>
The Ersatz Elevator is one of a series about three orphans, the Baudelaires, whose parents die in a tragic house fire. Their parents were extremely rich, and in their will they leave all their fortune to Violet- their oldest daughter. The orphans are passed around from guardian to guardian. Somehow the evil Count Olaf-their first care taker who would do anything for their fortune keep finding out where they are and always has some kind of plan to steal their fortune.
In this particular story the orphans move in with Mr. and Mrs. Squalor, a fairly wealthy couple who live in the penthouse of a very, very tall building. Guess who finds his way into their lives again?! Count Olaf or should I say Gunther his disguise name finds his way back into their lives. He throws the children down an empty elevator shaft so they can't stop his evil plan.
There are 8 main characters. In this story there there is Mr. Poe the caretaker who was almost like a social worker for the orphans. Violet, the oldest orphan who is 14 and loves inventing. Klaus who is 11, the middle orphan. He loves reading and researching. is Sunny, she is 5. She cannot talk yet but her siblings can understand her made-up words and translate them to anyone in need of translation. Sunny loves to bite things. There is also Mrs. Squalor, who is into what's "In" style and what's "Out" of style. Her husband, Mr. Squalor, just follows his wife's orders and doesn't argue anytime with anyone. Last and meanest is Gunther who is really Count Olaf but nobody recognizes him except the orphans, and nobody believes them.
My favorite character is definitely Klaus because he has the responsibility of always taking care of sunny. If something goes wrong he gets blamed. I can relate to that in a lot of different ways. One way is that I'm the youngest in my family and when anything is missing or anything goes wrong, I get the blame! I see things like that happen to Klaus a whole lot.
I love this book, I love this whole series. It has action, adventure, suspense, fiction, but also some fact and truth. My favorite part of the book was when the three children use food to leave a track so they didn't get lost inside the huge apartment. I thought that was funny. My least Favorite part of the book was at the auction and the Baudelaires are in a box and they told Mr. Squalor to vote for that box he was overthrown by another bidder. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes action, adventure, suspense, fiction, and some truth. Even if someone liked only one of those categories he/she would probably enjoy this book. |
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1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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