Reviews

The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket

nmussarrat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

stationannie's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Similar to how I felt about Aunt Josephine in the second book, “The Wide Window,” Hector was rather annoying with how scared he was of the village elders. He was a nice man, but it was difficult to stand by and watch him act so cowardly despite being a fully grown man. 

When the Baudelaires needed him most, it was especially infuriating. Alas, it would not be “A Series of Unfortunate Events” if we didn’t have terrible adults.

ashlina8's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative lighthearted mysterious

3.5

karbingut's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

3.25

bear_miya90's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

monicasuleima's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

kgsicko's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

jgurniak's review

5.0

The Baudelaire's now live in a village and Count Olaf is able to baffle all the citizens.

avatarslayoshi's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 I've always held this book close to my heart because I got it during a book drive in elementary school. Outside of that, I didn't remember a lot of it so that made this fun to pick back up.

While the orphans being raised by the village feels a little like Snicket was running out of ideas for who could be the new caretakers, it was given a fun twist because of the "takes a village" saying so it's easily forgiven. Also, throwing in all of the ridiculous rules and chores gave this book its fun spark in an otherwise bleak setting.

Also!!! Getting some more focus on V.F.D. gets me a lot more excited to continue with the series. Something about this mysterious organization that ties back to their parents creates a great backbone for why this series is playing out the way that it is. I do wish the Quagmire triplets were in more of the book, or at least that they didn't have a similar plotline to the previous novel (being hidden for most of the book, being found by he Baudelaires, and then quickly whisked away). At least this time they had more information about V.F.D. and gave the orphans their first big clue to work off of.

Upon my rereads, I'd rank each novel as follows:

1. The Austere Academy
2. The Wide Window
3. The Vile Village
4. The Miserable Mill
5. The Ersatz Elevator
6. The Reptile Room
7. The Bad Beginning 

keiyhta's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5