The Grim Grotto (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 11)

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
It's tough when the things that stand between you and your desired sugar bowl are a host of deadly mushrooms and an uncomfortable diving suit. The unlucky Baudelaire orphans find themselves in deep (once again) in this eleventh book in Lemony Snicket's odd-and-full-of-woe-but-quite-funny Series of Unfortunate Events. In The Grim Grotto, the siblings find themselves headed down Stricken Stream on a broken toboggan when they are spotted by the submarine Queequeg, carrying Captain Widdershins, his somewhat volatile stepdaughter Fiona, and optimistic Phil from Lucky Smells Lumbermill. The adventures that follow as the crew tries to get to the aforementioned sugar bowl before Count Olaf are so horrible that the narrator inserts factual information about the water cycle so that readers will get bored and stop reading the book. It doesn't work. As per usual, readers will want to soak up every awf! ul detail and follow the Baudelaires all the way back to the place we first met them--Briny Beach. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

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An Interview with Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket has captured the hearts of childen and adults alike with the hilariously gloomy series that began, of course, with The Bad Beginning. Amazon.com had a chance to question the author of this marvelously morbid and delightfully depressing series, and the communication was grim indeed. Read the cumbersome communique and see for yourself.

A Few Words from Daniel Handler
Due to the world-wide web of conspiracy which surrounds him, Lemony Snicket often communicates with the general public through his representative, Daniel Handler. We were lucky enough to hear from Daniel, and asked him the questions we ask every author, Amazon.com's The Significant Seven

Product Description

Dear Reader,

Unless you are a slug, a sea anemone, or mildew, you probably prefer not to be damp. You might also prefer not to read this book, in which the Baudelaire siblings encounter an unpleasant amount of dampness as they descend into the depths of despair, underwater.

In fact, the horrors they encounter are too numerous to list, and you wouldn't want me even to mention the worst of it, which includes mushrooms, a desperate search for something lost, a mechanical monster, a distressing message from a lost friend, and tap dancing.

As a dedicated author who has pledged to keep recording the depressing story of the Baudelaires, I must continue to delve deep into the cavernous depths of the orphans' lives. You, on the other hand, may delve into some happier book in order to keep your eyes and your spirits from being dampened.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Customer Reviews: Read 243 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

If Widdershins and Olaf spoke sensibly..... September 22, 2004
39 out of 44 found this review helpful

There's good and bad here. First the bad.

Captain Widdershins bore a striking resemblance to Willy Wonka in his style of speech and general flakiness. Whereas Wonka was entertaining, however, Widdershins was the most annoying character yet in this entire series. An example of his style of speech: "Aye! The Submarine Q and Its Crew of Two is not in the best of shape, I'm afraid! Aye! We've been attacked by villains and leeches, by sharks and realtors, by pirates and girlfriends, by torpedoes and angry salmon! Aye! ... Everything from the radar mechanisms to my alarm clock is malfunctioning! Aye! That's why I'm glad you're here, Violet Baudelaire!" Ever sentence he speaks ends in an exclamation point, which makes for exhausting reading, and the four "Aye's" in this particular example were just too much. This is typical of his speech throughout his entire presence in the book. After the Baudelaire's left Widdershins, I thought the tedium of lunatic prose had ended.

I was wrong. First, his stepdaughter assumed his manner of speech, just as she assumed captainship of the submarine. And then there was Olaf. Always Olaf.

I'm of the opinion that Count Olaf found his way into a mushroom patch much sooner than the Baudelaires, for nothing else can explain his complete change of character. To be certain, he still has schemes, plans, and matches to burn things with, but he has now been given the world's most annoying laugh, and his use of it in every sentence of dialogue is nonsensical. Count Olaf is no longer the fearsome adversary he has been for the past ten books. He has transcended the stark originality of his evil nature and is now banal and juvenile. I am incredibly disappointed in this change of character, not to mention bewildered. It's difficult to take a villain seriously when he laughs like this: "Ha ha ha heepa-heepa ho! Tee hee tort tort tort. Hot cha ha ha. Sniggle hee! Ha, if I do say so myself." That is our first introduction to his laugh, and while the use of the word "tort" is amusing and clever (tort is, by definition, a wrongful act), the overall effect is one of annoyance.

Now the good. Unfortunately I can't go into too much detail about the good, or I'll be giving away some minor secrets.

We learn more about V.F.D., more about their codes, what their history was, although we certainly don't learn everything. Still, it's fascinating and interesting. "Snickett's" intellectual humor is in full swing, and I particularly enjoyed his repeated use of an archaic definition of the word lousy in Chapter Seven. Also, for the very first time, concepts of black and white enter the picture. Up until now, people were either good or bad. Now we're seeing shades of gray, and one of the characters we see this shade of gray in happens to be handled brilliantly. I was sadly, but pleasantly surprised to see this character do the unexpected.

Much of what we learn begins to put together a more complete picture of this hazy world that the Baudelaire's have been living in, and I can't be more grateful for that. It's been a long road to the denouement.

Last, the ending. It's the very best in the series. And of course I can say absolutely nothing about that.

4 out of 5 stars

A water cycle shouldn't leave you high and dry October 17, 2004
26 out of 31 found this review helpful

This eleventh book in the series is all wet. Dreams evaporate, misfortune precipitates, and unanswered questions collect. The Grim Grotto however, is far from boring, with the introduction of the Widdershin family of submariners, who have a surprise in store that will hook the unsuspecting reader. Old friends are reunited, enemies are more amusing than threatening, and young romances blossom from the depths of the Stricken Stream to the shores of the Briny Beach.

However, if despite all the warnings you insist on finishing this book, you will realise that after you have followed the Baudelaire siblings through their latest collection of tragedies, you are still no further along the story than when you started, but you will have gained valuable knowledge about poisonous mushrooms and wasabi. Be sure to make a note of all this, because, dear reader, you never know if this dubiously useful information will save your miserable life one day.

Lemony Snicket shows his sensitive side, reducing his most evil villain to a giggling, doting boyfriend, organizing poetry readings, and ending the story with the slimmest hint of happiness. There's something very wrong with this picture.

This is not a stand alone book, even though quite a hefty chunk of it is devoted to flashbacks. If you haven't read the first ten adventures, I'm afraid you have the untimely and expensive misfortune of having to go and buy ten books, providing of course you are prepared to partake in a collection that will depress you if you haven't been blessed with a strong constitution. Persons suffering from melancholy and depression disorders should heed the author's warnings and read happier books with pleasant endings.

This episode is a one sitting read if you're a Very Faithful Devotee, but the unanswered questions and sub-story lines that lead nowhere will leave you Veritably Foolishly Dumbfounded. It's really a 3.5 star book, but like the elusive Mr. Snicket, I like to end on a less sad note every once in a while.

Amanda Richards October 16, 2004

2 out of 5 stars

Shuddering October 4, 2004
19 out of 30 found this review helpful

Before I get overwhelming votes of how this review was unhelpful hear me out. Although I most likely think the almost cult following of kids have already checked this was not helpful I shall continue. I have enjoyed the other books in this series, and I am disappointed that in my opinion the books are not as good as they used to be. The series is growing weary after this and "The Slippery Slope" I have gotten a little immune to the explanation of words and the writer's chats with readers. Although I believe in the past Daniel has done these things superbly, maybe he still is, but its kind of lost its hint of cleverness.

In this book I must also say that some things were actually more annoying than sarcastically appealing. For instance Captain Widdershins, Aye, was irritatingly overused , Count Olaf's laugh felt written just for Jim Carey, and the description of the water cycle, which almost successfully convinced me to put the book down. Another dissapointment for me was the fact that after 11 books we get no more revelation, and I almost felt like this book was just prolonging the end of the series.

What I've always loved about The Series of Unfortunate Events is the playing of humor to the children as well as the adults. I didn't find "The Grim Grotto" to do this. The shocks and twists in this book were not really unforeseen, it was almost expected. Overall I think the Grim Grotto could possibly be a book in the series you skip, since besides new minor characters nothing really happens of importance. I can just hope that book 12 is as marvelous as the rest of the series, because as they say 3 strikes your out, and I will unfortunately put down the series of unfortunate events forever.

A Bliss of 4

5 out of 5 stars

Wonderfully miserable eleventh book in the series. September 22, 2004
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

The Baudelaire orphans continue their miserable adventures in the newest book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. When the story begins, they find themselves trapped on a floating toboggan in the middle of the Stricken Stream. Eventually, they are washed downstream to the sea, where they encounter a submarine, the Queequeg, and its crew: Captain Widdershins, who is extremely fond of saying the word "aye"; his stepdaughter Fiona, who loves to read about mushrooms; and Phil, the cook, who they met long ago during their time at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Captain Widdershins is searching for the lost sugar bowl, determined that it will not fall into the hands of Count Olaf and his evil associates, and so Baudelaires and their new friends head off to the Gorgonian Grotto, where even more misfortune awaits them. Fans of the series will not want to miss this latest addition. It's just as miserable, hilarious, and wonderful as the previous books in the series. I cannot wait until the next book in the series is released.

5 out of 5 stars

Submarines...poisonous mushrooms...those poor Baudelairs! October 9, 2004
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

I highly recommend this book to readers of the previous ten books! While this book is longer than the others (and has some slow areas), the story is full of surprises - interesting locations, dreadful happenings, etc.

Count Olaf and his evil minions are still after the Baudelaire children, but Olaf has definitely changed. He doesn't seem nearly as evil as he was in past and he now has the most awful laugh which just about drove me crazy (perhaps this was intended???). There are also changes in the Baudelaires - the children are growing up. Sunny is no longer a baby and has become a very interesting character. The older sibs have more issues to face, including conflicts with each other. We receive more clues about VFD and characters from previous books show up - and not everyone is quite as they have appeared in past.

I found more to laugh about in this book and the ending is probably the best so far. Don't get me wrong - there are still so many miserable, horrible, mysterious things - we will have to read the next two books to (hopefully) get all our questions answered. I, for one, can't wait!

A note to those who haven't already read books 1 - 10. If possible, try to read all the books in order prior to reading this book. Each book builds on the previous one and so many references are made to past books, you won't understand the story very well - heck, it is hard enough for those who have read them in order to follow, because there is so much time in between books!

Also, this is not a "happy ending" series of books. While I think they are fantastic and my son loves them, I urge parents to read the books first before deciding if they are appropriate for their younger readers.

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