Book #165: The Vile Village

Book #165: The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket

February 20, 2015

Book the Seventh of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and one of the better ones in the series thus far, in my opinion. In this book, Mr. Poe enrolls the Baudelaires in a program called "It Takes a Village," in which an entire community takes on the care of orphans. The kids choose one called...V.F.D.

However, the Village of Fowl Devotees is not the V.F.D. that the Baudelaires are looking for. This kooky village, in the middle of a desert, revolves around the migration of thousands of crows. They roost uptown and downtown at various parts of the day, finally settling for the night in Nevermore Tree (I see what you did there, Handler!). The huge tree is in Hector's yard. He's the local handyman, and while the entire village (run by a counsel of bossy elders) is technically in charge of the Baudelaires, he's the one really caring for them. He's a nice guy, but a huge wimp.

Now, I've been suspicious of Mr. Poe for some time now, but this book made me believe more than ever that he's the one tipping off Olaf to the kids' whereabouts. He shows up in V.F.D. before they do, having enough time to construct the ugly crow fountain and hide the Quagmires inside before the Baudelaires even arrive. I'm glad that at the end of the book, the kids have cut ties with Poe and have realized that they must stand alone and take care of themselves. 

What I liked about this book, first off, was the development of the Baudelaire children. Over the last couple of books, Sunny's dialogue has made more and more sense, and she's even speaking in coherent two-word sentences now...and she begins walking at the end of the book. Klaus turns 13 in this story, and of course it's a pitiful birthday, as they've been framed for murder and are waiting to be burned to death!

The mystery deepens in this story as well. A man named Jacques Snicket is falsely accused of being Olaf, due to his unibrow and his tattoo of an eye on his ankle. Lemony's brother seems to know the Baudelaires, but they don't know him...they do, however, seem to know who Lemony is, but the story doesn't really get into that. Jacques claimed to have the tattoo for his job, at the volunteer...we don't hear the rest, as Esmé, disguised as a cop, stops him from saying more. 

Having not looked up anything on V.F.D., here's my tentative theory: it stands for volunteer fire department. It would make sense for Olaf to be part of this group, as a front for his arson plot. Here's the problem, though: why the eye tattoo? Why the eyes all over Olaf's home? Is there still a connection to the optometry office in Paltryville? I'll keep these ideas in mind as I read on. 

The Quagmires at least are out of Olaf's clutches and in Hector's care. The Baudelaires end the book completely on their own, as Esmé and Olaf (who are totally doing it now...gross) escape together again. Now that Poe is (maybe) out of the picture, will Olaf have as easy a time finding the Baudelaires in their next hiding place? We shall see...