The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket and read by Tim Curry

Summary:

Dear Reader,

Before you throw this awful book to the ground and run as far away from it as possible, you should probably know why. This book is the only one which describes every last detail of the Baudelaire children's miserable stay at Heimlich Hospital, which makes it one of the most dreadful books in the world.

There are many pleasant things to read about, but this book contains none of them. Within its pages are such burdensome details as a suspicious shopkeeper, unnecessary surgery, an intercom system, anaesthesia, heart-shaped balloons, and some very startling news about a fire. Clearly you do not want to read about such things.

I have sworn to research this story, and to write it down as best I can, so I should know that this book is something best left on the ground, where you undoubtedly found it.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Review:

I have come to view all car rides where I am not listening to a book in A Series of Unfortunate Events to be sad, boring car rides. These books make my short commute to work every day, one of my moments I most look forward to. And this installment certainly did not disappoint.

The kids are on the run now. Unlike every book that has become before this one, the kids have no one to look out for them. They have no more guardians. And Mr. Poe was MIA. Also, for the first time, I thought they stood a fair chance of making it through alive with some more facts about their parents’ death.

This volume was also the scariest for me. There’s something about being knocked unconscious for an unwarranted, experimental brain surgery that had my pulse racing as I was listening to this story. I loved that the kids were willing to take risks in this one. They have learned to take matters into their own hands. And I love how easy it was for them to fool people, to disguise themselves, and to finally learn some small smidgen as to what is going on.

3 cheers for libraries! However, spoiler alert: I must warn readers who love libraries: the library of records in this book, while a little helpful, also did not escape the clutches of Olaf and Esme. I know I should probably be more disgusted by the pair burning down a hospital than I should be by them burning down the library, but yikes. It all made my heart ache.

I like that the children never cease to learn how incredibly absurd the world is. For instance, the VFD (volunteers fighting disease), go around to every hospital room to sing a song and give out heart-shaped balloons, but they won’t actually give patients things they need like glasses of water. And no one seems to question whether or not an infant can be responsible for murder. Or why 3 young children would volunteer without an adult present.

All that aside, I loved how different this book was from the rest of the series. The pace was fast and some of the plot was rather scary. The humor and absurdity of everything stood strong.  A little smidgen of a secret was learned. The children had the most daring, exciting ending yet. And I cannot wait to continue with this wonderfully fun story. I give this one a 10/10.