Tag Archives: lemony snicket

March 14, 2024 · 5:17 pm

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Vile Village

Children’s book series about three hapless orphans

It was time for my annual December Short Stack Reading Challenge and I was very behind in my reading goal last year. I decided to start with something easy and chose this book which is seventh in the series and watch the TV adaptation at the same time.

Photo is of “The Vile Village” by Lemony Snicket. The hardcover book is resting on bare sandy dirt, with four scraps of lined paper surrounding it. Each scrap has handwritten couplets on them. The cover is of a young boy with dark hair climbing a rope ladder surrounded by black birds.

“The Vile Village” by Lemony Snicket is the seventh book of 13 in the  “A Series of Unfortunate Events” collection. The book picks up immediately after the events of the previous book, and the Baudelaire children are sent to live in a village where orphan children are ostensibly looked after by all the residents. However, what they find is a town full of outrageous and inflexible laws, ominous black crows and gruelling unpaid work. After being misreported as criminals, the Baudelaires find they are taken even less seriously when Count Olaf inevitably returns.

Throughout the series, the Baudelaires have been disappointed again and again by guardians they have been assigned by the incompetent Mr Poe and it is in this book that they find themselves completely on their own. The friends they do have remain as out of reach as the mysterious V.F.D. and it is only through their ingenuity and teamwork that they are able to survive. This book explores not only how absurd and unfair laws can be when they are not built on any logic or applied with any sense of reason, but also the impacts of unethical and inaccurate journalism.

While I thought that this book introduced an increasing level of sophistication in terms of themes explored, I found that the little puzzle introduced was a bit simplistic and the solution (and hiding place) was a bit unrealistic.

Again, an enjoyable read and well-adapted by the TV series.

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September 20, 2023 · 10:46 pm

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator

Children’s book series about three hapless orphans

I was looking for some easy summer reading (last summer, still very behind on reviews!), and I came back to this series which I have been chipping away at while watching the TV series.

Photo is of “The Ersatz Elevator” by Lemony Snicket. The hardcover book is sitting in front of elevator doors. The cover is tan with a red spine, with an image of a girl in a dark dress abseiling down an elevator shaft.

“The Ersatz Elevator” by Lemony Snicket is the sixth book of 13 in the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” collection. Following the events in the previous book, where the Baudelaire children make and subsequently lose new friends after a brief stay at a boarding school. Their new guardian, Esmé Squalor, lives in a fancy penthouse at the top of a very tall apartment building and is obsessed with keeping up with trends. Her husband Jerome complies with her every demand. However, even at the top of such a tall building, the Baudelaire children are not immune from Olaf’s schemes, and once again surrounded by incompetent adults, it is up to to the Baudelaires to try to save their friends.

This was a really interesting book because there was a bit of a gear shift in the way that the Baudelaires are let down by the adults who are meant to care from them. In previous books, adults have disbelieved them, been cruel to them or simply have not been up to the task. This was the first book where I felt like there was an adult who could have helped the Baudelaires, but simply chose not to because it was easier not to rock the boat. This felt like the biggest betrayal of all.

Again, I am really enjoying the TV adaptation. Even though it feels like it has lost some of the grimness of the book series which is what makes it stand out, the sense that there are adults actually trying to assist the Baudelaires is a nevertheless welcome addition.

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April 27, 2021 · 11:46 pm

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Austere Academy

Children’s book series about three hapless orphans

I am still enjoying reading this series and watching the corresponding TV adaptation, and I was looking for a snappy read to curl up in front of the heater with now the evenings are getting colder. If you haven’t read this series before, I would recommend starting at the beginning.

Image is of the book “The Austere Academy” by Lemony Snicket. The hardcover book is sitting inside an open notebook where the letters V.F.D. are written diagonally next to a pen. A tape measure snakes around the book and the notebook.

“The Austere Academy” by Lemony Snicket is the fifth book of 13 in the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” collection. After the Baudelaire children Violet, Klaus and Sunny barely escape the events of the previous book unscathed, they are sent to a boarding school called Prufrock Preparatory School. Any hope that finally their luck may change is dashed when Vice Principal Nero advises that because they don’t have a guardian, they will be living in a small, crab and fungus-infested shack. The only upside is that they have finally made some friends: the two Quagmire triplets Isadora and Duncan. However, when a new sports teacher called Coach Genghis starts at the school, things begin to look very dire.

I think that this is my favourite book in the series so far. There is some subtle but noticeable character development. The Baudelaires have started to lose faith in the adults around them and for the first time, do not sound the alarm when they realise a new scheme is afoot to steal their inheritance. Instead, they cut to the chase and start making their own plans. I also really enjoyed that Sunny has started occasionally saying actual words that Snicket doesn’t need to interpret.

Interestingly, I actually liked the plot of this book better than I did the corresponding TV series episodes. The TV adaptation attempted to soften the situation by introducing some additional benevolent characters, and I felt that the Baudelaires’ lack of hope in the book made the ending much more tragic.

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January 17, 2021 · 1:13 pm

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill

Children’s book series about three hapless orphans

I was getting towards the end of 2020 and my reading goals, I thought I might tackle some of the books on my to-read pile. I have been reading this series for some time, and have been very much enjoying reading the book and then immediately watching the corresponding episode in the TV adaptation. If you haven’t read this series before, you should probably start with the first book.

Image is of the book “The Miserable Mill” by Lemony Snicket. The hardcover book is balanced on a wooden pallet next to some reflective wooden rainbow sunglasses

“The Miserable Mill” by Lemony Snicket is the fourth book of 13 in the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” collection. After the events of the previous book, the three Baudelaire children Violet, Klaus and Sunny appear to have run out of distant relatives and are this time sent to live at a place called Lucky Smells Lumbermill and, it soon turns out, to work there as well. The work and living conditions are enough to contend with by themselves, however when Klaus’ glasses are broken and he has to go to the sinister optometrist nearby, Violet and Sunny must work together to help their brother back to his usual self.

I do think that this series is improving with time, and I enjoyed seeing the children break out of their usual roles of inventor, reader and chewer to solve the problems they are faced with. Unlike the previous books, this book tackles some broader social issues like workplace conditions, minimum wage and exploitation.

However, the TV series continues to draw out much more sophisticated themes without fundamentally changing the story and the episodes that adapt this particular book was excellent. The TV series has introduced significantly more overarching elements to the plot and in these episodes lead the viewer to draw a particular conclusion that was shattered in a spectacular and heart-wrenching way . Without significantly changing the plot, the TV adaptation also reframed business partners Charles and Sir as a couple and explored an unequal distribution of labour in their relationship.

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March 23, 2020 · 9:39 pm

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room

Children’s book series about three hapless orphans

I was reading my review of the first book in this series, and I actually cannot believe it has been almost three years since I wrote that review. As is often the case, I was scrounging around for short books to read at the end of last year to meet my reading goal, and I thought I’d pick the series back up. The hardcover editions of the series are really lovely with deckle edges and eerie illustrations.

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“The Reptile Room” by Lemony Snicket is the second book of the 13 that make up “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. After things end rather badly with Count Olaf, the Baudelaire children are sent to live instead with Dr Montgomery Montgomery, a world renowned herpetologist who lives in a wonderful large house housing countless species of reptile. The children warm to him immediately, and prepare to accompany him on his next expedition to Peru. However, when Uncle Monty hires Stephano, the new assistant is strangely familiar to the children.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first. Uncle Monty is a lovable character who is as oblivious as he is brilliant, and I thought his profession and the way the reptiles are woven into the story made it for a much more interesting read.

The adults are still pretty useless in this book, and I will stress that this is a book for a particular age group.

I’ve been finding it interesting actually watching the Netflix television series, episode by episode after reading the books. The series has drawn very heavily from the books, but has given the audience a little more of the over-arching story. It is a bit of a different experience, but if you’re keen to get your kids reading, getting them into both the books and the TV show might not be a bad idea.

 

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April 14, 2017 · 9:43 pm

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning

Somehow, I never read this book when I was a kid. I’m not quite sure how this happened. It was first released when I was 11 years old, around the time the Harry Potter books were gaining traction, and I was a big reader. I think I had heard of them, but maybe I thought they sounded a bit childish, or maybe they sounded needlessly grim. Either way, I missed the boat. Now, you may remember that some years ago a film adaptation was made starring Jim Carrey. I remember watching it and being quite underwhelmed, and the film was not memorable at all. However, recently a new TV adaptation has been made starring Neil Patrick Harris. It’s available on Netflix, it’s gotten really good reviews, so I figured the time was nigh for me to give this book series a go before I watch the show. Canty’s had plenty of copies in stock, and the hardcover editions have really cool roughly cut page edges that add to the ambiance. Also, if you watch the show before reading the book – be warned: there are spoilers in the first episode that aren’t in the corresponding book.

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“The Bad Beginning” by Lemony Snicket, is the first book of 13 in the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” series. The story introduces the three Baudelaire children. 14 year old inventing genius Violet, 12 year old bibliophile Klaus and baby Sunny who is good at biting stuff. When the children receive the terrible news that their parents have died from the executor of the will, Mr Poe, they are sent to live with their distant relative Count Olaf. It’s not long before the children cotton on to Count Olaf’s nefarious plans to steal their inheritance.

I think the first thing to say about this book is that it is definitely a book for children. I’m pretty certain that if I had read this book as a child, I probably would have gotten a lot more out of it. Snicket has a that glib style of writing that I remember finding very funny as a kid. He uses lots of “big” words but explains their meaning in a careful way without being condescending. He also gives plenty of examples of the children being independent and being able to capably solve problems, do chores and cook. I think this is a quirky, educational book that would probably be a good gateway book to get reluctant readers reading. However, as an adult (especially an adult that studied law), it’s a bit hard to suspend disbelief enough to really immerse yourself into the story. A big piece of the plot hinges on a “law of our community” that itself is completely implausible in both it’s text and application. I also found the sheer incompetence of the adults (particularly the judge and the banker) to be really annoying. I know this is a bit of a trope in children’s book, but their collective ineptitude was just a bit much.

A solid children’s book that would be perfect to help kids improve their reading, but probably a bit of an eye-roller for parents.

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