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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16482 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-01
• Released on: 2004-09-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

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

Amazon.com Exclusive Content
Lemony Snicket Door Poster
Keep the wrong people out of your room! Print, personalize, and post this important sign.

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

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. With the movie poised for release and a wealth of promotional materials (including editions of the books with disappointing photos on the covers) already available, it wouldn't do to ignore the latest book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Snicket reconnects with the Baudelaire orphans precisely where he left them, tobogganing down the Stricken Stream, and then sends them down under the waves in a submarine escapade, during which, of course, they encounter the evil Orlof and his cronies. Snicket, who hasn't lost his touch for peculiar, imaginative setups, injects plenty of wry asides and witty vocabulary enrichment. His villains remain deliciously villainous, and the long-suffering Baudelaires still accept struggle without complaint. This time, though, Snicket adds a few characters who don't quite fit the molds, and this is the first book to hint that the unfortunate events that have dogged the kids through 10 previous adventures may be coming to an end. Book the Twelfth will surely provide more clues. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

If Widdershins and Olaf spoke sensibly.....
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.

Wonderfully miserable eleventh book in the series.
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.

Grim Grotto is Greatly Gratifying
"Book the Eleventh" in "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket is all wet and dripping with further dismal tales of the lives of the Baudelaire orphans. Of course, in the usual Lemony Snicket fashion, the sad tales are told in such a funny way that the book becomes hilarious instead of being depressing like he claims it is supposed to be. "Grim Grotto" is the longest book in the series, but if readers can get past the dreary descriptions of the water cycle - meant to lull them into a catatonic state so they won't continue reading the depressing tale - they will be greatly rewarded.

The story picks up with Violet, Sunny, and Klaus rushing down the Stricken Stream in a toboggan, just where we left them at the end of Book the Tenth. But the orphans escape peril for the moment when they are saved by a submarine called the Queequeg. "The submarine Q with its crew of two," is manned by Captain Widdershins, a colorful character who ends all of his sentences with a resounding "Aye," and his stepdaughter, Fiona, a bright young teenager with an over-zealous interest in fungus.

This new installment of the unfortunate events of the Baudelaire children includes a number of underwater adventures including a run-in with that ever-present villain, Captain Olaf, and his band of miscreants, a trip to an underwater cave, a budding romance, and the reemergence of characters that were long gone. It's an exciting tale that will definitely attract the loyal followers of the series. However, Snicket (who is really writer Daniel Handler) also includes flashbacks that will help those readers who have not been so faithful in keeping up with every volume.

The "Grim Grotto" is definitely gratifying to those who have been waiting to know what happens next in the Baudelaire's. However, if they can get through all the warnings not to finish the book, they will be no closer to discovering the mystery of V.F.D or the sugar bowl then they were before. This inability of "Book the Eleventh" to answer any questions formed by previous volumes leads to questions about whether or not all the loose ends will be able to be tied up in the remaining two books of the series.

But however grim the "Grim Grotto" proclaims to be, the subtle humor will prevent anyone's spirit from being dampened.