Name: El ascensor artificioso / The Ersatz Elevator
Rating: 3.990506329113924 (316 reviews)
ISBN: 9780307209399

Lemony Snicket

Veronica Canales

The woeful saga of the Baudelaire orphans continues as evil Count Olaf discovers their whereabouts at Esme Squalor's seventy-one bedroom penthouse and concocts a new plan for stealing their family fortune.

El ascensor artificioso / The Ersatz Elevator

The Ersatz Elevator (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 6)

Barry Hess

There is nothing to be found in the pages of A Series of Unfortunate Events but misery and despair. You still have time to choose another international best-seller to read. But if you must know what unpleasantries befall the charming and clever Baudelaire children read on . . . The Ersatz Elevator is the sixth instalment in A Series of Unfortunate Events in which Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire encounter a darkened staircase, a red herring, friends in a dire situation, three mysterious initials, a liar with an evil scheme, a secret passageway and parsley soda. With 5 million copies sold in the UK alone, one might consider Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events to make him one of the most successful children’s authors of the past decade. We, however, consider these miserable so-called adventure stories and the Hollywood film starring Jim Carrey that accompanied the books for children as nothing more than a dreadful mistake.

The Ersatz Elevator

Ellie Harrison

It was a mysterious, edge of your seat,  story where you could not tell what was going happen especially when they went down the elevator shaft.

Within this story, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire encounter a darkened staircase, a red herring, some friends in a dire situation, three mysterious initials, a liar with an evil scheme, a secret passageway and parsley soda.

Giulia Pianta

I love this series so much.
I really like reading about the Baudelaires, they are so smart. I like the setting in the manor, and the idea of a fake elevator that concelas a tunnel to their houses.
The VFD has finally appeared and they are hinting at some secret that will be discovered in the next books. I have a few hints but I still have no idea what the organisation does exactly and why Olaf is so bad.

Olivera Mitić

This is definitely a surprise!

The sixth installment of this series turned out to be the best one so far. It didn't have the usual repetitiveness, the adults seemed less incompetent (or just weren't asked for help as much), intrigue is added and I'm dying to see the bigger picture of the mystery.

What might have made my reading experience better is that I switched to the audiobook format. The narrator was exceptionally good and the book just flew by faster. I plan on listening to the rest of the series instead of reading it, because I think I will be able to get much more out of it that way. I do hope the books will continue in this manner and that every other sequel will be as great and refreshing.

Jelke Lenaerts

I really liked this one and all the twist and turns it took. This definelty is the most surprising in the series so far. I also really liked that at least one of the guardians really had the Baeudelaire's best interests at heart.

Emily

Oh Lemony Snicket, how he never ceases to make me laugh. I love this series and the Baudelaire orphans, and I love to hate Count Olaf of course. A great installment of this series, and I'm very excited to continue soon and to find out what VFD really is!

Loredana

Jeni Enjaian

The biggest disappointment about this edition for me is that it seems to be the last of the series translated into Spanish. I've searched quite extensively and come up empty.
Other than that I do not have anything new to add to my review of this book that I haven't already said in my reviews of the earlier books in the series as well as the original English editions. 
I definitely recommend this series and hope that the remainder of the series will be translated into Spanish some time during the future.

After reading the last book, I thought the series is getting way to dull, but I was wrong.
This book was quite enjoyable. A lot better than the last one for sure.

Leelynn Brady

Find this review and more on my blog Sometimes Leelynn Reads.

“If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives.”

I have to say that out of all the books in this series that I've read so far, I think this one is my favorite. Not only do we get to find out what happened to the Quagmire triplets (I'm not spoiling anything for you, sorry!), but we actually get to find out a little bit more about the Baudelaire parents. In this book, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny have the opportunity to have a guardian that lives only a few blocks away from their old mansion. Even better, one of their guardians - Jerome Squalor - actually used to be friends with their mother. This had to have been before the children were born, however, because, throughout the book, it didn't seem like they recognized them at all. He knew about them, but they didn't know anything about him.

Curious. 

The adults are still pretty hopeless in these books, but at least the Baudelaires finally have one guardian that seems to genuinely care about them. Well, at least until the end, but I won't get into that. It was nice to see them loved for once, and I'm glad that they got a break from such terrible conditions.

On the other hand, who really pays such close attention to what's "in" and what's "out"? It sounds exhausting. I can't wait for the next one. I'm pretty sure I'm going to finally finish the series this year, and it's been a long time coming.

Lysh (She/Her)

** spoiler alert **
           This series just gets better with every book. In this 6th telling of the Baudelaire’s unfortunate life, our three favourite orphans are sent to live in the penthouse of a tall apartment building with estranged and rich friends of their parents. This couple are very “in” and live fashionably day-to-day. Every second is spent thinking about what is popular and what others will think of them. I enjoyed this take on consumerism and the sneaky remarks made throughout. The wife, Esmé, dominates this relationship and leads the household with determination. Her husband, Jerome, lives his life avoiding arguments and hence never stands up for himself or those around him. I appreciated the subtle remarks about how Jerome’s lack of action against evil was just as bad as the evil itself and the way this aligns with our world. 

The orphans are saddened by the disappearance of the Quagmire triplets and yearn for their safety. They are confused by the single clue that they left behind in the wake of their kidnapping, which could tie all their mysteries and woes together. Three simple letters; V.F.D. 

Of course our vile villain, Count Olaf, shows up. It was interesting that there was actually little to no interaction between him and the children. Rather, the orphans were alone for a lot of this plot, combing through the massive penthouse and apartment building for clues. 

What I continue to love about these books is the focus on vocabulary. The audience learns the meaning of “ersatz”; a German word for “fake”, and from there the plot thickens. Although there are many ersatz factors in the lives of the Baudelaires they will certainly have each other’s love and support for their journey to “The Vile Village”. 

Half a star off because this is the point where Snicket starts to draw out his plot with random ramblings; albeit somewhat amusing ones. 

Recommended for those who’ve read the first 5 books...or enjoyed the Netflix series
Format: Hardback 
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars 
2018: 38/40 books

Sandy

4.5, though I'll be rounding up here just because it's one of my top favourites of the series! It's especially heartbreaking because they could have such a good time with Jerome, sigh.

Manon van Heumen

I always like how Lemony Snicket's books have a repetitive way of beginning. You are sure the misery will start on the very first page and will continue until the last. This book was no different, and I really liked it. It's a light read, perfect to curl up with on a rainy afternoon!

El ascensor artificioso / The Ersatz Elevator

Reviews

Highlights