7.8 /10 1 Votes
Cover artist Brett Helquist Language English Publication date September 2001 Illustrator Brett Helquist | 3.9/5 Goodreads Country United States Publisher HarperCollins Originally published September 2001 Page count 255 Preceded by The Vile Village | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Media type Print (hardback & paperback) Genres Gothic fiction, Absurdist fiction, Steampunk, Mystery Similar Daniel Handler books, A Series of Unfortunate Events books, Novels | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Hostile Hospital is the eighth novel in the children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, the pseudonym of Daniel Handler. It takes place shortly after The Vile Village and is followed by a sequel, The Carnivorous Carnival.
Contents
Plot
After escaping the Village of Fowl Devotees, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire arrive at a store to send a telegram to Mr. Poe, explaining their situation and pleading for help. The store's generous owner explains that a van of 'Volunteers Fighting Diseases' arrives once everyday for a gas refill. The van arrives, and the Baudelaires, thinking it to be the acrynom 'V.F.D', escape into it after the owner recognizes them as the accused murderers in The Daily Punctilio, an unreliable newspaper series.
The Baudelaires discover that Volunteers Fighting Diseases is a group of enthusiasts that visit Heimlich Hospital to increase the morale of patients, who believe that 'No News Is Good News', and therefore have never read The Daily Punctilio (and don't recognize the Baudelaires). One of the members suggest the Baudelaires seek a Library of Records to find their V.F.D.
The three then volunteer to aid Hal, a visually disabled elder who works in Heimlich Hospital's Library of Records. As he doesn't let them read any of the files, the Baudelaires regretfully trick him into giving them his keys to enter the library at night. While reading a file on the Baudelaires, in which only the thirteenth page remained since investigators have taken the rest, they discover that one of their parents may have survived or escaped the mansion's fire - however, Esme Squalor enters the library, intent on destroying them and the files to clear Count Olaf's name in the crimes he has committed.
While escaping her clutches, Klaus and Sunny go through a small shaft, but Violet is taken. The two, using the volunteers' list of patients, find out that Count Olaf has disguised Violet's name with another name with the use of anagrams, and track her down to the surgery room. Mattathias (who is Count Olaf), the Head of Human Resources, announces via intercom that a craniectomy will be performed on Violet in an operation theatre. Klaus and Sunny disguise themselves as Dr. Tocuna and Nurse Flo to perform the surgery with the Hook-handed man and the Bald Man, both of which are recurring associates of Count Olaf.
While the two stall during the performance for Violet to wake up, Hal angrily accuses the Baudelaires for committing arson, and the hospital begins to burn to the ground. Violet eventually awakens, and they escape in the trunk of Count Olaf's car after overhearing him discuss hunting down the Snicket files, which apparently contains crucial information on V.F.D, Jacques Snicket and the Baudelaires. Near the end, the Baudelaires reflect their actions, and begin to fear that they'll reach the low moral level of Olaf.
Translations
Adaptation
The book will be adapted into the seventh and eighth episodes of the second season of the television series adaptation produced by Netflix.