The Wide Window
From ''The Lemony Snicket Wiki''
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 The Cover of The Wide Window. | ||||||||||||||||
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The Wide Window is the third book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, written by Lemony Snicket.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
The Wide Window introduces Josephine Anwhistle, A.K.A. "Aunt Josephine." It describes the Baudelaires' stay with their Aunt Josephine, who seems to be afraid of everything except Pretty Penny and cold cucumber soup. Then, when Olaf shows up disguised as Captain Sham, things take a turn for the worst, and the adventure starts. This is a book full of phobias, sailboats, solving puzzles, finding the right key, and everything unfortunate. Lemony Snicket describes it as the darkest segment of the series.
[edit] Plot Summary
This book begins with the Baudelaire orphans sitting at Damocles Dock. They are at Lake Lachrymose, and Mr. Poe the manager of their estate, arranges a taxi to drive the three Baudelaire's to the top of the hill which will be their new home. When the taxi pulls away, the orphans find themselves at a house at the edge of a cliff supported by wooden beams.
Once they are inside they find their new guardian waiting for them, Aunt Josephine Anwhistle. She is a very strange woman who has practically every 'phobia' there could be. She is particularly afraid of realtors. Klaus loves books, and loves libraries, but he is not too fond of Aunt Josephine's only because it is filled with Grammar books. Inside of the Library, there is a large window (The Wide Window). When you look out the window, you can see Lake Lachrymose. Aunt Josephine tells the children that Hurricane Hermon is approaching, so they go to gather supplies before it comes.
They encounter Count Olaf at the grocery store, except he is dressed as Captain Sham, therefore Aunt Josephine cannot tell who he actually is. The three children attempt to warn their new guardian about Captain Sham's true identity, but Aunt Josephine does not believe them because she finds him charming. Captain Sham also hid his tattoo, by wearing a peg leg.
Then, later that night, Aunt Josephine receives a phone call from Captain Sham, and she then sends the children away. The children are awakened in the middle of the night by a loud crashing sound, and they find a suicide note, presumably written by Aunt Josephine. The wide window is also smashed.
They can't believe their eyes, although they are quite suspicious. The note says that Captain Sham is to be their new guardian. The children then conclude that Count Olaf is behind it and then call Mr. Poe.
While Violet is talking to Mr. Poe, Klaus discovers a secret message hidden in the suicide note. It spells out Curdled Cave. The children then hurry to the docks, to find that the Fickle Ferry isn't available at the moment. Then they go to Captain Sham's Sailboats. The gate to the sailboats is locked, and the keys are in the hand of the hermaphrodite henchmen inside a shack by the gate. Sunny goes in to steal the keys from the henchmen and she succeeds. After a few moments however, the obese monster come lumbering out the door and grabs Violet and Sunny while Klaus is fumbling with the keys trying to open the gate. The obese henchman then pick up Klaus with his mouth and begins walking back to the shack. However, he trips over the Atlas of Lake Lachyrmose and this gives the Baudelaires enough time to escape, and steal a sailboat. Then they sail out to Curdled Cave where they find that their Aunt Josephine has gone into hiding. Aunt Josephine claims that Count Olaf made her write the note. Then, the Baudelaires convince her to sail with them across the Lake. Soon after, they are attacked by Lachrymose Leeches which had eaten and killed Aunt Josephine's husband. The leeches immediately begin to eat the boat and Coutnt Olaf arrives, takes the Baudelaire's, then throws Aunt Josephine into the Lake, where she is eaten by leeches.
When they get back to the docks, Mr. Poe is just fixing to hand the children over to Captain Sham when Sunny bites into his fake wooden leg revealing his tattoo. Once again, he escapes, and leaving the children searching for someone else to care for them.
[edit] Letter From Lemony Snicket
The letter on the back of the book from Lemony Snicket is as follows:
Dear Reader,
If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick-witted, but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and the one you are holding may be the worst of them all.
If you haven't got the stomach for a story that includes a hurricane, a signaling device, hungry leeches, cold cucumber soup, a horrible villain, and a doll named Pretty Penny, then this book will probably fill you with despair.
I will continue to record these tragic tales, for that is what I do. You, however, should decide for yourself whether you can possibly endure this miserable story.
With all due respect,
[edit] Outstanding Character Moments
None, currently.
[edit] References
[edit] V.F.D. References
No new V.F.D. References in this book.
[edit] Real-World References
None, currently.
[edit] Book Editions
[edit] Reviews
The Wide Window has been given mostly popular reviews, though the series has been banned within some states.
