I mugged an old lady to get enough money to buy this.

Carnivals, unlike hospitals, are such jolly, happy places, filled with light and wonder and laughter. I've honestly no idea why the Baudelaires would end up in such a place or what they'd end up doing with themselves. Nonetheless, here they are, disguised as freaks, being cruelly mocked and taunted and humiliated by the crowds, and getting very worried about those lions Count Olaf brought and put in a pit and promised to publicly feed a freak to, while a picture of humanity emerges so grim and cruel and bestial that it would not be out of place in the pages of The Day Of The Locust or The Lottery. So the book really does manage to overcome the obstacle of being set in such a happy place! Phew!