It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.

In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.

Hal is on his way." The nurse announced reentering the room.

Boredom is not black licorice, Snicket," she said. "There's no reason to share it with me.

How can someone so wonderful do something so terrible?

who would dare think that, forever? Some idiot girl who wouldn’t know how things played out.

Taking one’s chances is like taking a bath, because sometimes you end up feeling comfortable and warm, and sometimes there is something terrible lurking around that you cannot see until it is too late and you can do nothing else but scream and cling to a plastic duck.