"The End" has no end

Despite the fact that they're supposedly for children, I have read — and mostly enjoyed — all 13 books in the Series of Unfortunate Events.

The best description for the books is "Postmodernism for beginners." The author — a character himself: Lemony — is constantly pointing out the flaws in the narrative. The miscommunications. The words with double meanings. The failings, mistakes and no-win decisions of the main character. And the moral ambiguity and unpredictability of the world at large.

Then there are the frequent and obvious metanarratives. The largest: the children, at the end of the book, find a history, The Series of Unfortunate Events, and eventually end up recording pieces of their own story.

On the whole, the story — while being too precious at times — succeeds at its major goal: that not everything is as it seems. And nothing, and no one, is perfect. This truth leads up to an ending that is completely unsatisfying and anticlimactic. And an ending that I really enjoyed.

I like the Series series because it deftly employs the writing style that is, unfortunately, so close to my heart. But its getting further and further from my "head."