#0493

wibble wobble

Hi @evawalters22,

you’re absolutely right, coffee is a thinly-veiled metaphor throughout “All The Wrong Questions”.

On a simple level, it plays into the parody of Noir novels Daniel Handler likes. Most noir hard-boiled detective protagonists are alcoholics who drown their sorrow in liquor every 5 pages. But since Daniel Handler is writing a series intended for children, he replaced it with coffee, another addictive beverage. He does the same thing with molasses in “File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents”, which looks like an humorous substitute for cocaine.

“It’s different,“ you said. "You’ve made, Min, everything different for me. Everything’s like coffee you made me try, better than I ever - or the places I didn’t even know were right on the street, you know? I’m like this thing I saw when I was little, where a kid hears a noise under his bed and there’s a ladder there that’s never been there before, and he climbs down and, it’s for kids I know, but this song starts playing …” Your eyes were traveling in the treey light.[Daniel Handler, Why We Broke Up]