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    Series of Unfortunate Events #6: The Ersatz Elevator
    Series of Unfortunate Events #6: The Ersatz Elevator
    Series of Unfortunate Events #6: The Ersatz Elevator
    Audiobook4 hours

    Series of Unfortunate Events #6: The Ersatz Elevator

    Written by Lemony Snicket

    Narrated by Tim Curry

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

    In their most daring misadventure, the Baudelaire orphans are adopted by very, very rich people, whose penthouse apartment is located mysteriously close to the place where all their misfortune began. Even though their new home in the city is fancy, and the children are clever and charming, I'm sorry to say that still, the unlucky orphans will encounter more disaster and woe.

    In fact, in this sixth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, the children will experience a darkened staircase, a red herring, an auction, parsley soda, some friends in a dire situation, a secret passageway, and pinstripe suits.

    Both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted, A Series of Unfortunate Events offers an exquisitely dark comedy in the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl. Lemon Snicket's uproariously unhappy books continue to win readers, despite all his warnings.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 21, 2004
    ISBN9780060793425
    Series of Unfortunate Events #6: The Ersatz Elevator
    Author

    Lemony Snicket

    Lemony Snicket had an unusual education, which may or may not explain his ability to evade capture. He is the author of the 13 volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, several picture books including The Dark, and the books collectively titled All The Wrong Questions.

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    Reviews for Series of Unfortunate Events #6

    4/5

    1,988 ratings49 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I loved it! it is definitely one of my favourite books.
    • 5/5
      The mystery made this book so good.
      I LOVED IT, just like I loved the Netflix series!
    • 4/5
      Another winner from Mr. Snicket. I even learned a new word "” ersatz! How I escaped 6th grade vocabulary without that gem, I'll never know.P.S. I'm extremely glad that Tim Curry is back reading these books. He adds so much to it.
    • 5/5
      A-list titles like this one make my Scribd subscription well worth the price. I wish I read more (properly read, I mean) but I often cannot as easily as I can listen. Now that audio is unlimited, I'm really living for this.
    • 4/5
      In this installment, Violet, Klaus and Sunny are placed with a fashionable couple in their old neighborhood. Esme is a very famous financial wizard and her husband Jerome spends most of his time not disagreeing with Esme's strong opinions. Esme is very concerned with what's 'in' and what's 'out'. Right now, orphans are 'in' so Esme welcomes the three Baudelaires into her home. But Violet, Klaus and Sunny know that Count Olaf must be lurking somewhere, waiting to catch them again.
    • 5/5
      The Ersatz Elevator is splendiforous, a word which here means, "unbelievably awesome and good." Both. The sad saga of the Baudelaire children continues, as they are sent to live with their parent's freind Jerome, and his wife, the uber-fashionable Esme Squalor, on Dark Avenue, because orphans, Esme announces, are "in."
    • 3/5
      This book seems a lot slower paced than others in the series, and nothing new really happens, but I continue to love the wordplay in this series, which is as witty as ever in this book.
    • 3/5
      The Baudelaires go to live with some very rich friends of their parents'. Unfortunately, Esme Squalor is too busy trying to be fashionable to care about the orphans, and her husband's kind heart is matched only by his weakness. When their guardians refuse to help the siblings escape Count Olaf, they know they must help themselves. In the midst of this, they start discovering that Olaf's plots are part of a wider conspiracy--one that their parents might have been part of.
    • 3/5
      The sixth book, The Ersatz Elevator, finds the Baudelaire's back in their hometown, just a couple of streets over from where they used to live. With their parents. When life was good. This time they've been placed with friends of their parents, the Squalors who live in a penthouse on 667 Dark Avenue. Which on a side note, the puns and other easter egg references crack me up. Jerome and Esme Squalor are a mixed bag. One is kind, the other is fashionable. One is a pushover, the other is a pushee. Their lives are dictated by what is "in" and what is "out". Fortunately for the Baudelaire's, orphans are "in". Unfortunately elevators are out which means a lot of stairs. Living with the Squalors is strange but certainly could be worse - they could be kidnapped like the Quagmire triplets were. Sick with worry about their friends, the Squalors barely rate on their list. ...and then Count Olaf appears. This time, Count Olaf is disguised as Gunther, the new auctioneer for the In Auction Esme is throwing. The children have no idea what is going on or what Olaf is up to, but they're determined to find out - especially if it will give them a clue to the whereabouts of the Quagmire triplets. Which it does. The penthouse floor has a second elevator door that when opens leads down to a cage. In the cage are the Quagmire triplets! Once again, they try to tell the Baudelaire's about VFD and how it's important but are shushed. The Baudelaire's a more focused on coming up with a plan to get them out and prevent Count Olaf's plan - which is to smuggle the Quagmire's out of town by auctioning them off. The logic on this one was a bit weird. I never really got how this was going to get Olaf the Baudelaire's fortune. It really wasn't the best regarding the Quagmire's either since they were previously already out of the country. The Baudelaire's climb up and down the elevator shaft multiple times coming up with a plan but are foiled by their own willingness to trust adults when they explain everything to Esme and get pushed back down the elevator shaft. Because Beatrice apparently stole everything from her (and yes we were all asking who the hell is Beatrice (in relation to the Baudelaire's) and what has she got to do with anything?) and she would get her revenge. Well and Count Olaf is her former acting coach, she thinks he's a genius and stealing money is "in" or at least money is but in this case that's more or less the same thing. Anyways so the Quagmire's are auctioned off, hidden in a big box with the letters VFD printed on the side. But wait, no - it's a red herring!!! This bit honestly had me laughing. It was so ridiculous. The children are hidden in the big ass statue of a red herring. While the VFD box is empty - or at least empty of children. It's actually full of Very Fancy Doilies. Masterful. Mr Poe arrives just in time to be absolutely useless, Jerome continues to be a pushover and the Baudelaire's are determined to rescue the Quagmire triplets, no matter what - even if that means giving up a more or less satisfactory guardian. Having given up on happiness, they settle for truth - they can rely on each other. I have more questions than the Baudelaire's have misfortune and I already know I'll likely never know the answers to them. How frustrating. Still, an action packed read. 3 stars.
    • 5/5
      Well, financial advisors are evil, just as I suspected.
    • 4/5
      This one was actually pretty good. The author has hit his stride with the writing style, the cross-book plot is sidling into view, and the characters actually have some agency, all in the same book.
    • 3/5
      While I loved this series as a whole, this particular title didn't quite meet the bar. It is difficult to recall exactly what threw me about this book so many years after having read it, but I'm guessing it might have something to do with the character Esme, who strikes me as too over-the-top, even in a series of books with highly unusual characterizations.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed reading this book because even though, by now, we know how things will unfold, the element of mystery and surprise is still prominent throughout the whole story. Moreover, Esmé could be the definition of a despicable woman, her and Count Olaf are a match made in hell!
    • 4/5
      I loved the Mrs. Squalor's being totally obsessed with being "IN"This book made me laugh.
    • 4/5
      I don't know why, but I didn't enjoy this book as much as the ones before it in the series. It's still good, don't get me wrong, but I just didn't like it as much. Still a good read and I would still recommend it. 4 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      I'm not sure how Mr. Snicket manages to make these books interesting, when each book is essentially the same plot line, but maybe it is because of all the snarky word choices and definitions. Certainly there is a full selection of ridiculous and evil adults, per usual, as well as the mysterious new children that seem to have a clue about the underlying mystery. I particularly liked the whole "in" and "out" aspect of this book which hopefully will make young readers think a little more critically about things that are popular in their lives.
    • 3/5
      In this installment, the Baudelaires are taken in by a wealthy couple who are obsessed with what's "in" and what's "out." Unfortunately, elevators are currently "out" - and their new guardians live in a penthouse apartment. The evil Count Olaf shows up in the guise of a trendy auctioneer, and the Baudelaires are intent on rescuing their friends from his clutches... while simultaneously avoiding those clutches themselves.
    • 4/5
      The mystery of V.F.D. is finally beginning! But will it ever end...?I like the whimsical part of town this story takes place in, with the constant changes of in and out. The restaurant Salmonella. The parsley soda. The stairs. Jerome is a really great guy, and yet really disappointing. But that's how all good adult characters are in the Series of Unfortunate Events.Violet, Klaus, and Sunny really are in their element in this book, inventing and researching and biting the heck out of things. They're getting really really resourceful and their courage and boldness is growing too.One of the best things about the series is a whole is Lemony Snicket. As the Baudelaire story progresses, his does too and he gives you brief snippets of his life throughout the narrative. Also, he can go on at quite some length about things that aren't really relevant at all, and not only is it educational, it's entertaining. Love this guy.
    • 4/5
      The first real spanner in the works, the plot thickens a little we finally get a little more VFD action, I really want to know what it is now.
    • 4/5
      In the sixth book of this series, the Baudelaire children are taken in my the Squalors. The sinister building they live in has an incredibly long staircase and an elevator, but the elevator is out of service (or is it?). What is in the elevator? And where are the Quagmire triplets? The story proceeds with more and more hints that the fire that killed the Baudelaire parents was NOT an accident. Sometimes the story bogs down, since the formula for this series is now very predictable, but enough is revealed about the narrator's story to keep you reading.
    • 4/5
      The audiobook is fantastic! Fun and quirky, as always, with music and read by Tim Curry!
    • 3/5
      Okay, these books are supposed to be absurd. I get it. But I was somehow able to not let my obsessive sensibilities get in the way through the first five books in this series. It didn't matter than a baby was dangled in a cage, that an old curmudgeon almost tricked a judge into marrying a minor, that children worked in a lumber mill, that these children could stay awake for twenty-four hours day after day, that there are banana eating leeches that can capsize a boat, and that anyone would hire Sunny as a receptionist (adorable!!! but not believable.)This one grated on my patience though. Now what follows is a wee bit spoilerific, but you won't care. Three children climb down sixty-six floors of an elevator shaft using electrical cords, neck ties, and curtain pulls, climb back up, climb back down holding broiled fire tongs (did I mention one of these children is an infant?), climb back up, fall down the shaft only to have said infant climb back up using only her teeth, yada yada yada. Okay, so maybe a little more than a wee spoiler, but you'll forgive me.Yeah, I get it, it's a children's book, but my voice of reason was shouting at me and it's never fun to be yelled at. So, otherwise the book was okay. A few funny moments and Handler's definitely adding nicely to the mytharc of the story now, which I'm glad to see. Overall, this one entertained me about as much as The Miserable Mill which is why I'm giving it the same unfortunate rating.A Series of Unfortunate Events:The Bad Beginning – 3.1The Reptile Room – 3.2The Wide Window – 3.6The Miserable Mill - 3.3The Austere Academy - 3.4The Ersatz Elevator - 3.3
    • 4/5
      For the millionth time in their short lives, the Baudelaire orphans are subject to incredibly unfortunate events. Ever since the Bad Beginning, the three siblings are on constant alert; wondering how the nefarious Count Olaf could possibly insinuate his fortune-stealing self into their latest home. In this instalment, the city’s sixth most important financial advisor adopts the orphans in her never-ending quest to be the ‘innest’ person in the city.This instalment is, on the most part, as funny, heartbreaking and clever as the other instalments, perhaps ever more so. However, there are some plot points that need addressing. (spoilers ho!) I’m not sure why Olaf needed to set up an auction in order to sneak the Quagmire triplets out of the city, couldn’t he have just shoved them in the back of a car like he did in the last book? And also, the idea that a baby could scale the interior of a 66 story elevator shaft, no matter how sharp her teeth, is bordering on insane (end spoiler). Rant over. If you can accept a few glaring plot inconsistencies such as these, then this book is the best of the series. From reading the last few books, we all know that the world that Lemoney Snicket has imagined is a farfetched one, with comically exaggerated characters such as the guardians Esme and Jerome Squalor, but that is why the series is so enjoyable. Little by little we also begin to learn a more about the mysterious V.F.D, what could it be! The little asides by the author are, as always, quite informative and funny; the characters, as always, are ridiculously and hilariously over the top and the ending, as always, is tragic and upsetting. If you can handle these three things, you will certainly enjoy this book as much as I have.
    • 3/5
      I still love the Series of Unfortunate Events, but this one irked me. The main plot made no sense to me:SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!The Baudelairs discover that Olaf is hiding the triplets in the basement of their building and intends to use the auction to sneak them out. When they discover this plot, his accomplice pushes them down the elevator shaft to hold on to them until they can be collected.Why was it necessary to hold the triplets in the basement of the building only to sneak them out of it?What was the purpose of putting them there to begin with?Why did he have to sneak them out: everyone who was anyone was on his payroll?Why did he have to sneak them out: there was a second exit?Why not just shove the Baudelairs down the shaft to begin with and use the second exit and auction to hide THEM? After all, they may not have liked the accomplice, but they trusted them.It was all very convoluted and unnecessary.END SPOILER
    • 4/5
      This book definitely has the feel of being a volume of a series, but does not suffer for it. It is not as funny as the other books, but is perhaps more sinister.
    • 5/5
      This is the sixth book in a sad, yet interesting series called "the Series of Unfortunate Events." In this book we see the Baudelaire orphans as they are sent to yet another treacherous home by banker Mr. Poe. The Baudelaire are sent to a home on 667 Dark Avenue to live with Jerome and Esme squalor in their penthouse apartment. In Dark Avenue, there are rules saying whats in and whats out, and so life for the Baudelaire's is rather difficult with there new guardians. When the Baudelaire's discover that there friends, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, are hidden by Count Olaf in an empty elevator shaft, they realize that there new home is just as dangerous as ever. After being pushed down an elevator by Esme, the Baudelaire's attend an auction in which they mistakenly lose there friends. the Baudelaire's are then taken back to Mr. Poe to move on with there wretched lives. REVIEW- I think this book is an interesting story . "The Ersatz Elevator," is a book that definitely does not raise your spirits, given the title, "A Series of Unfortunate Events." Although this story is rather depressing, I enjoy the style in which it is written, giving references to the authors life to relate to the story. I enjoyed this book out of all the series most because this shows some of the secrets beginning to unfold, the secrets of the whole series begin here. I would suggest this book for people interested in mysteries, and people who don't mind having there spirits dampened. This story puts the Baudelaire orphans to the test to see of they can remain noble people in the face of treachery. Even though it is a little depressing, I really enjoyed this book.
    • 3/5
      My fav part would be the solid black pages lol
    • 4/5
      Resumed reading the series, having taken a break after finishing the Austere Academy. The series restarts well with an expanded theme. Their friends, the Quagmire triplets, having been kidnapped by Count Olaf in the previous book, the Baudelaire orphans now have the additional responsibility of rescue as well as self-preservation.Their is some broad, but very amusing satire, on fashion. The youngest Baudelaire's character is further developed; she has become both very brave and utterly adorable.
    • 5/5
      This is a good book. Shows how strong bonds are between friends.
    • 5/5
      I love all the characters in Snicket's books so far but Esme' just irritates me with her love of everything that's "in". Besides her I have nothing else that's negative to say. As always I find this a marvelous book.