A Series of Unfortunate Events
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of thirteen novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. Although they are classified children's novels, the books often have a dark, mysterious feeling to them. The Bad Beginning is the first of 13 volumes in the appropriately named collection, A Series of Unfortunate Events.
The books follow the turbulent and complicated lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. The comically dark tale centres around three children, Violet, Klaus and baby Sunny, whose parents are killed in a fire which also destroys their home - a tragic event which sets the tone for the rest of the book. The children are placed in the custody of a murderous relative, Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance and, later, orchestrates numerous disasters with the help of his accomplices as the children attempt to flee. In The Bad Beginning, to obtain the Baudelaire fortune, he becomes the adoptive father of the Baudelaire orphans Violet, Klaus and Sunny. After he loses custody of the children when his ‘Marvelous Marriage’ play fails, he begins to stalk and follow them everywhere, plotting complicated schemes to obtain the fortune, even if it means bribing and murdering them, their guardians and people nearby.
As the Baudelaires discover that their parents were part of a mysterious organisation called VFD and work to get to the bottom of what that means, the reader is there with them, trying to decipher the hints and clues. This is what made the books so much fun to read for me at a young age. The books had been around a little while before I discovered them in the children’s section of one of my favourite bookstores, so I think I was around nine or ten when I first began reading the series. I absolutely loved the mystery of it all, as well as (of course) the unique, witty and captivating writing style of Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler. Packed with alliteration, literary references and mystery, Daniel Handler’s series did something other books would not: took children seriously. Snicket’s commentary references everything from Shakespeare to Melville. I especially loved the way books feature as an essential part of the plot: the heroes love reading and use literary references as code, whereas “wicked people never have time for reading. It’s one of the reasons for their wickedness”.
The illustrations by Brett Helquist are wonderfully atmospheric and give further glimpses into the unfortunate situations that Violet, Klaus and Sunny find themselves in. Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) incorporates Helquist into his writing, most notably in the Letters to the Editor.
The books follow the turbulent and complicated lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. The comically dark tale centres around three children, Violet, Klaus and baby Sunny, whose parents are killed in a fire which also destroys their home - a tragic event which sets the tone for the rest of the book. The children are placed in the custody of a murderous relative, Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance and, later, orchestrates numerous disasters with the help of his accomplices as the children attempt to flee. In The Bad Beginning, to obtain the Baudelaire fortune, he becomes the adoptive father of the Baudelaire orphans Violet, Klaus and Sunny. After he loses custody of the children when his ‘Marvelous Marriage’ play fails, he begins to stalk and follow them everywhere, plotting complicated schemes to obtain the fortune, even if it means bribing and murdering them, their guardians and people nearby.
As the Baudelaires discover that their parents were part of a mysterious organisation called VFD and work to get to the bottom of what that means, the reader is there with them, trying to decipher the hints and clues. This is what made the books so much fun to read for me at a young age. The books had been around a little while before I discovered them in the children’s section of one of my favourite bookstores, so I think I was around nine or ten when I first began reading the series. I absolutely loved the mystery of it all, as well as (of course) the unique, witty and captivating writing style of Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler. Packed with alliteration, literary references and mystery, Daniel Handler’s series did something other books would not: took children seriously. Snicket’s commentary references everything from Shakespeare to Melville. I especially loved the way books feature as an essential part of the plot: the heroes love reading and use literary references as code, whereas “wicked people never have time for reading. It’s one of the reasons for their wickedness”.
The illustrations by Brett Helquist are wonderfully atmospheric and give further glimpses into the unfortunate situations that Violet, Klaus and Sunny find themselves in. Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) incorporates Helquist into his writing, most notably in the Letters to the Editor.
If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other one,” starts The Bad Beginning, the first instalment of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. With that sentence alone, I was hooked. First published 20 years ago, the story of the Baudelaires has had a feature film adaptation on the big screen, as well as the hugely popular Netflix tie in, spread over three seasons.
I adore this story so much and I'm so happy that I took the time to re-read it. It made me feel so nostalgic to revisit the books and fall in love with them all over again. The books immediately captured my attention and sparked my imagination. I couldn’t put them down! Re-reading them as an adult now is understandably quite a different experience, but the enjoyment factor is just the same. The books are addictive, the characters are fantastic, likeable and often more than a little scary.
And then there’s Count Olaf. I could talk about Olaf for a lifetime. He really is the ultimate villain: complex, unhinged, amusing, totally bizarre and unpredictable, yet also strangely fun and charismatic. Count Olaf is a criminal mastermind and a fugitive. He is always plotting to get the Baudelaire Fortune. He is identified by his unibrow, as well as his tattoo of the VFD eye on his left ankle, although he is not the only one bearing these traits. He usually attempts to hide them in his various crazy disguises. Count Olaf is said to be a distant relative of the Baudelaires - their third cousin four times removed, or their fourth cousin three times removed. It is most likely, however, that this relation is a lie he fabricated so that he could adopt the Baudelaire orphans to get their fortune.
When I think back to childhood and the books that really inspired me with my reading, these books immediately spring to mind. Daniel Handler's writing is so entertaining and amusing. The storylines are exciting and the mysterious elements of each book keep you hooked from chapter to chapter. Even as a younger reader, the books are quite short and easy to read. The various plot twists and turns make for extremely addictive reading, and so much fun!
Happy 20th Anniversary to A Series of Unfortunate Events!