Those Poor Kids, and the Invisible Hand
The expression "conspiracy theory" means an individual or an organization influencing a series of events. It has a political connotation, as this is often used to suggest Uncle Sam watching you. Some will be reminded of an old Mel Gibson movie, about a New York cab driver who is too obsessed about the US government. The title of the film is "Conspiracy Theory", but it has nothing to do with what you are about to read.
After you're done with "The Vile Village", the seventh book in the "A Series of Unfortunate Events", you'll wonder if the miserable circumstances that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire encounter are part of a conspiracy theory. A grand one, after thinking long and hard about it. After all, their meeting with one guardian after another is no longer a coincidence. You'll doubt it, as these adults didn't do a good job in protecting the children against Count Olaf. He happens to be their first guardian, who turns out to be a detestable character. He's after their fortune, and he'll do anything to get his filthy hands on it. After "The Wide Window", the third book in the series, you begin to suspect that this series is turning out to be predictable.
The turning point
Without a doubt, "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is becoming a treatise on the maltreatment of children. If it's offending you, then you better stop here.
The series takes a turn after "The Austere Academy", the fifth in the series. The improbable scenarios and the awful teachers in Prufrock Preparatory School pique your curiosity. Admit it or not, black humor interests you. Vice President Nero seems like Miss Trunchbull's distant cousin, agonizing the students with his nightly violin recitals. And he's far from being a musical talent. Mr. Remora, Violet's teacher, is getting attention for the way he consumes his banana and not the lesson he gives to his students. Mrs. Bass, on the other hand, is too obsessed about measuring objects. Klaus can do it on his sleep. Let's not forget Sunny, who must be Nero's competent secretary. Imagine a baby with four teeth, performing secretarial tasks.
There seems to be a mystic force behind the children's deplorable situation. Before you become superstitious about it, ask yourself if this is a matter of chance. Far from it. The children will get back to their cozy lifestyle after Violet reaches her 18th year. Money can bring out the worst out of anyone, which Count Olaf has shown. And the Baudelaires learn the bitter truth during their stay in 667 Dark Avenue. (Read "The Ersatz Elevator" once more, if you don't have a clue.) This leads to a lot of questions.
Did the narrator had an unfortunate encounter with Count Olaf? It's a possibility. Furthermore, the children frequently encounter the initials "V.F.D." It's not the Village of Fowl Devotees, the name of a small community where Violet, Klaus, and Sunny do chores for the inhabitants. Their parents know it, but dead people can't talk. The Nevermore Tree is their only hope, a favorite resting place of crows. They see a couplet every morning.
An initial way to speak to you, it's time to open the eighth book.
