Book the Thirteenth: The End

2006, first edition, from HarperCollins
Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Brett Helquist
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Thirteenth: The End
Bought new for $12.99
Hardcover in good condition
B-

And so it ends.  Not with alliteration, not with all the mysteries solved, not with a bang.  The once over-the-top satiric series has morphed into a philosophical question, so that among the references to Erewhon, Caliban, and the like, it seems like there should be a mention of Utopia.  In the mid-aughts, my book collection is full of war, invasion, fear, paranoia, betrayal, and abandonment.  Yet here the Baudelaires ponder whether it's better to be protected or to be informed.  Not coincidentally, a benign snake offers them bitter apples that save their lives.

I miss what the series was, but all things considered, and with over seven years' hindsight, I'm OK with this ending.