The Basic Eight

I read an "adult book" by Daniel Handler this weekend called The Basic Eight. I have been struggling with what to say about this book. It has the same wonderful use of words as Mr. Handler's books written as Lemony Snicket: A penchant for telling us what the character really means by what they are saying, foreshadowing, talking to the reader, and defining things in an interesting way. He uses a diary format, but also includes vocabulary and discussion questions which are very funny. I have to say I was surprised by the ending, which rarely happens to me anymore, so that's a good thing. But I was also somewhat grimmed out by the whole thing, so maybe I should warn you, dear reader, to run in the other direction, or to go read something safe. But I won't.