The Carnivorous Carnival
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| Author | Lemony Snicket (under pen name of Daniel Handler) |
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| Illustrator | Brett Helquist |
| Cover artist | Brett Helquist |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Released | October 28, 2002 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 286 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-441012-9,first edition hard cover |
| Preceded by | The Hostile Hospital |
| Followed by | The Slippery Slope |
The Carnivorous Carnival is the ninth novel in the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket under the pen name of Daniel Handler.
[edit] Plot summary
The story begins where the Baudelaires are listening to Count Olaf and his troupe from the back of a trunk they were hiding in. They talk about a woman named Madame Lulu. Madame Lulu has told Count Olaf where the Baudelaires are hidden each time they move. Count Olaf and his troupe depart the car and Baudelaires then make it out of the trunk of Count Olaf's car through some clever lockpicking on the part of Violet Baudelaire. The orphans decide that they must be disguised, so they listen in on Madame Lulu's caravan in Caligari Carnival where she works as a fortune-teller. They hear her explaining to Olaf that her carnival needs more customers otherwise they may close. They also recognize the accent of Lulu, which is the same accent Olaf used when disguised as Gunther.
They return to the car and use Count Olaf's disguises. They disguise themselves as freaks for the carnival's House of Freaks. Sunny Baudelaire wraps herself in a beard (the beard Count Olaf used when he disguised himself as Stephano, a lab assistant, earlier in the series.) and goes as a wolf/baby. Violet and Klaus Baudelaire stuff into one large shirt as a two headed person with highly differing voices. They knock on the door and Madame Lulu answers it. She is a woman in a robe of different colors, and has a chain with an eye. She also has the same turban as Count Olaf used as he disguised himself as Coach Genghis. They ask to be freaks in the carnival and Lulu asks for their names. Violet quickly comes up with fake names. She states that her name is Beverly, Klaus's name as Elliot, and Sunny's as Chabo the Wolf Baby. She accepts them after a humiliating act for Olaf and the troupe and leads her to a caravan with three people inside. Colette is a contortionist, Hugo is a hunchback, and Kevin is a seemingly ordinary person who is ambidextrous.
The next morning the Hook-Handed Man knocks on their door and says to hurry up, and that when Olaf asked the question Is one Baudelaire parent still alive? to the crystal ball, the answer was Yes and that they are up in the Mortmain Mountains. The freaks get ready for the show and walk into a tent with a few people in it. After some rude acts, they return to the caravan and sit on the steps. Olaf arrives with a pack of lions for a lion's pit will be made. They will then select a freak and push them into the pit.
The orphans go back to Lulu's tent to consult her, and discover the V.F.D. symbol on the outside, a secret archival library under the tablecloth, and that the act of her fortune-telling is just some ropes and pulleys. When they are investigating the library, the tablecloth shakes, causing Lulu's crystal ball to fall and shatter. Lulu comes back in angry, but the orphans are unafraid, knowing that she gets all her info from the secret library while the guests are amused with a load of bells and whistles. Lulu breaks down and throws off her disguise, revealing herself as a woman named Olivia who just wants to give people what they want. She is revealed as a member of V.F.D. and tells them about the V.F.D. disguise kit and a schism which happened in the V.F.D., pitting former members against each other but she is unsure as to how the schism had started in the first place. Violet notes that the crystal ball has a fan belt that could be used to power the cars from the nearby roller coaster and that the orphans and Olivia could use it to escape to the Mortmain Mountains. Olaf comes, Lulu gets a new crystal ball, and everyone puts on their disguises. The orphans are shooed out, and go back to the caravan.
Debate ensues on who will be thrown judged by their freakishness. That night Esmé Squalor comes to their caravan in an I Love Freaks outfit. She tells them that if they are picked to be thrown in, they should throw Madame Lulu in instead. If they do that they will be part of Count Olaf's theater troupe. The next morning the orphans go and get the coaster carts ready. They return to the tent and Olaf comes out with an evil smile.
As the day comes, the audience arrive, and in any civilized society they would be regarded as bloodthirsty, sadistic maniacs. One woman is shown to be the reporter who broke the story that the Baudelaires murdered Count Omar. Olaf dramatically unfolds a paper that will show who is to be devoured by lions, and the orphans are picked. They use their knowledge on crowd control to lead the argument away from final bloodshed. A fight ensues on who will push them in, and Madame Lulu along with the fanbelt and one of Olaf's associates (the long nosed man) fall in to a bloody spectacle.
The orphans go to the tent and find a map of the mountains with a coffee stain on it. Olaf and Esmé walk in and Olaf states that the stain on the map means that people hide locations with stains and that the secret base is there. Olaf gives the Baudelaires a torch, burning down the camp. The orphans escape along with a seemingly unsuspecting Olaf, and Olaf recruits the other freaks. They all jump in Olaf's car and the caravan being towed by it. Violet and Klaus are in the caravan and Sunny is in the car. Olaf then reveals that Lulu told him that they are the Baudelaires, and the newly recruited freaks cut the caravan off the car to their seemingly imminent deaths.
[edit] Trivia and plot notes
- The Freak Names "Elliot" and "Beverly" are those of twin brothers, both played by Jeremy Irons, in the David Cronenberg film Dead Ringers.
- The Caligari Carnival is an allusion to the German Expressionist Film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
- The Hunchback named Hugo is undoubtedly an allusion to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," written by Victor Hugo.
- On the first picture, Count Olaf's car license is IH8 ORFNS or I hate orphans.
- On the last picture, there is a snow scouts handbook on the road, foreshadowing The Slippery Slope.
- The Carnivorous Carnival is the ninth book in the series that was released a year after the previous one. From then on, all the books were released a year apart.
- Even though the whole carnival burned down, there is a photograph of Lemony Snicket looking at a wooden roller coaster that some fans think is Caligari Carnival. Although, it is possible that the coaster survived the fire.
[edit] Cover images
 US cover |
 UK cover |
