Fun with Bob and Manny

If readers are getting sick and tired of the miserable lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, then there's another reason to read "The Grim Grotto". The eleventh book in "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is a homage to great authors and their enduring works. Those who look through the series would know it, delighted that Emma Woodhouse was one of the patients in Heimlich Hospital.

"The Grim Grotto" began with the Baudelaire children on an uncertain journey, as snowmelt brought them down from Mount Fraught. Captain Widdershins and Fiona, his stepdaughter, rescued them. They traveled to the bottom of the sea, hoping they would get the sugar bowl ahead of Count Olaf. This container holds vital information of the V.F.D.

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny have no idea about the initials. They were more confused after Captain Widdershins told them it stood for Volatile Fungus Deportation. They thought he was pulling a leg, until their arrival in the grotto. They don't mind the captain's penchant for guessing games, though. (Green Glade. Gleeful Gameroom? Grandma's Gingivitis!) But let's proceed to the book's literary allusions.

Here's a short guide for those who haven't read the book:

Herman Melville. Captain Widdershins was in charge of the Queequeg, where a portrait of Herman Melville was seen in one of the rooms. "A writer of enormous talent who dramatized the plight of overlooked people, such as poor sailors or exploited youngsters, through his strange, often experimental philosophical prose," Klaus proudly said during a conversation with the other mates in the submarine. Perhaps the young lad was getting emotional, which would make the author uncomfortable. Captain Ahab may be overlooked after all. Perceptive readers can guess the reason behind his obsession on albino whales. This is the premise of the novel, where the mystery of life will be resolved.

Gorgonian Grotto. It was a misnomer, as the cave was shaped like an inverted cone. It was named after the Gorgon sisters. They were known for snakes adorning their head, and how their stare can turn anyone into stone. Perseus knew it, which was why he enlisted Athena's help. The Baudelaire orphans didn't encounter the spirit of the Gorgon sisters in the grotto, but they were alarmed at the rapid multiplication of poisonous mushrooms. Coincidence? You be the judge.

Rosetta Stone. Children found an assortment of items in the grotto, including a wasabi. They are looking for the sugar bowl, but Violet located the Rosetta Stone instead. This stele, which was issued in 196 BC, provided an understanding of Egyptian heiroglyphs. It can be seen at the British Museum, but Handler is taking his readers on a joy ride.

Robert Browning, Lewis Carroll, and T.S. Eliot. Klaus picked a soaked manuscript, the Verse Fluctuation Declaration. It contained verses from Browning's "My Last Duchess", Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter", and Eliot's "The Waste Land". Those who were familiar with poetry would be intrigued about Handler's selection. All three poems have religion as their common theme. ("The Duchess" was set during the Italian Renaissance, when artists created works based on Greek mythology and stories from the Bible.) It wouldn't be hard to figure out the children on a life-changing trail, which most religious figures did before them.

Edgar Guest. He was fondly called the People's Poet. The hook-handed man, one of Olaf's cohorts, called him his least-favorite poet. Go figure.