The Bad Beginning

I actually read this book a long time ago - back when these books were really popular and I could find them at my local department store. However, I forgot all about it until it popped up in my recommendations here.

2 stars for being forgettable.

I'm not too fond of the Lemony Snicket thingy, nor the “it means...” Part of the fun is looking up words one doesn't know and finding other words in the process.
Also, I don't know when this is supposed to be happening.

Lemony narra la historia de tres hermanos que desde un indicio se quedan huérfanos tras la muerte de ambos padres a la misma vez en un accidente. La persona que cuida de su herencia los hospeda en su casa hasta que encuentran un tutor para que viva con ellos. El tutor, llamado Conde Olaf, se presenta como un personaje egoísta, insensato y de lo menos cariñoso con los niños Baudelaire; desde ese entonces ellos van a tratar de hacer lo posible para despegarse de ese rufián y vivir en lo posible juntos y felices.

Desde el comienzo el autor te indica que la historia no es alegre, y que si estas de humor para un libro con final feliz, que no sigas leyendo Una serie de eventos desafortunados porque no va a ser nada feliz. Este autor tiene una clase de misterio en todo lo que hace, es decir, a lo largo del libro en su escritura. La sinopsis y al final del libro, el escribe cartas que mantienen el espíritu misterioso y realista de estos cuentos, algo que me pareció interesante desde un principio.

La variedad de personajes que muestra durante la historia, y sus personalidades son extraordinarias. Me encontré esperando ser como los hermanos Baudelaire; con esa clase de talento que demuestran constantemente y también en la forma de pensar de estos niños.

Hay, casi en la mayoría de los capítulos, definiciones sobre palabras; sin embargo el Autor le da un tono irónico, sarcástico a cada una de ellas. Por ejemplo:

La palabras significa aquí .

Y muchos otros ejemplos más.



También el autor hace definiciones de las palabras de bebé que pronuncia Sunny Baudelaire; algo muy original en mi perspectiva.

En el libro, posiblemente por la editorial, las ilustraciones de los elementos de cada capítulo son esplendidas. Nunca quise poseer un libro con ilustraciones, pero estas son tan artísticas y extrañas que lo primero que hice al notarlo fue contemplarlo durante minutos, no se pueden comparar.

Retomando la historia, como dice el dicho “el que avisa no traiciona”, el cuento está lleno de desdichas, los pobres niños nunca descansan y sus esperanzas van de mal a peor. Lo bueno de esto es que son muy amados entre ellos, y se mantienen como una familia fuerte llena de fe en su felicidad.


Antes de leer el libro vi la película, y como me gusto mucho la película decidí leer, obviamente, los libros y como sucede en la totalidad de los casos, el libro es muy diferente a la película. El primer libro solo abarca una pequeña parte del libro, y eso me da la teoría de que la película fue hecha con partes de cada libro, las más importantes. Hay algunas características que dejaron en la película y otras que no, pero eso, lamentablemente, siempre sucede en las adaptaciones.



En conclusión, es un libro misterioso, inteligente, excelente escrito y con ilustraciones alucinantes. Lo puedes leer en una sola tarde como yo y mantenerte atrapada en la historia y la acción de esta. Definitivamente estoy esperando a leer el segundo libro con impaciencia.

it was a fresh and interesting idea ;)

Started and finished this series when I was a tween. Oddly eerie, entertaining, hopefully and relatable. Never forgot this series and enjoyed the Netflix adaptation when it came out.

This series was very popular when they came out. I read the first 3-5 books before I decided to stop. The story is obviously depressing but what's even worse is that it's essentially the same plot in EVERY SINGLE BOOK. The kids get put with some crappy “caregiver”, they try to get help, they try to escape, only to be put with an even worse person. Overall it's a depressing and boring series.

I read almost all of these books in third grade. And I loved Them Then. And I still do.

• This is quintessential gothic literature, quintessential here is a cumbersome word for the perfect example of quality or class, cumbersome here is a word to describe something laborious and unnecessary, laborious here is a...you get the idea.
• Count Olaf is to this day the scariest villain in literature I've read. Lemony uses such descriptive words that make Count Olaf even scarier when he isn't there. Gleaming, gripping, sharp, it's such a great contrast to his messy appearance. You wouldn't expect him to be so capable given how crinkled his clothes or how many crumbs are in his eyebrow.
• The third layer of Snicket lore sprinkled in throughout this whole series is a game changer and something I haven't seen topped yet. Maybe Gorillaz if that counts.
• The theme of resilience in this series is very timely for me now just as it was when I was a kid. Relentless evil and trauma that makes you feel helpless. But my favorite part in each book is when Violet digs into whatever instance situation the siblings find themselves in and solve a seemingly unsolvable problem.

I'd forgotten the author's habit of explaining words. That was charming when I was a child, but kinda annoying as an adult. Still one of my favorite series. I'd also forgotten how delightfully morbid this series was. Looking forward to rereading it!

Now I know this one will be super short

I do struggle to write a proper rewiev of this one as honestly. I know how the rest of the series is and I may just kinda think of the entire series and not just THIS book. 
But for me it is an obvious 5 star.
Snicket is great at ‘being in carcather' during the entire thing. Like all expleations are based on ‘this will end bad' and yes, I will admit. It is kinda annoying at times. But the commitment helps so much and it helps keep the feeling of it being a kinda child ghotic vibe. The vibe I just abseultly love.
The only negative part is kinda just generally how... can we say invested count Olaf is in marrying Violet. (also if any names I say are wrong I blame the transelations) Just did he actually spend real time trying to find other sulutions?.... he should have spent longer atleast

i liked it well enough, but i'm really not the target audience. the adults are comically stupid

What drew me into reading it was the opening line of the Chapter One: ‘If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.' It's a kind of sad story where three kids are so unfortunate that no one wants to be like them. They hear some terrible news at the beach, which they initially hope is just a terrible joke, but sadly, it isn't. From there, their struggle begins.

They don't have proper food, space to sleep, or clean clothes, but they look after each other and fight for each other's lives. In short, if you're prepared for the misfortunes faced by these children, dive into the entire volume of ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events.'

It's a concise yet gripping read.

You will like few interesting lines as well I find this one
” So unless you are very, very lucky, you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better,even if your circumstances have not changed one bit.”

I'm dying lmaooo, I love how Count Olaf gives the orphans rocks to play with

This book has a unique writing style that the Netflix show captures quite well. So much do that I hear the narrator's voice in my head when reading. 

I enjoy the way the Baudelaire's figure the plot while the adults are so unaware because of their adult assumptions. Count Olaf is a great villain, in part because no one expects him to be as vile as he is. 

I read this in elementary school the first time. I remember being entranced with the series and had many of them back then. I itched to re-read this one recently and thankfully the library had a Kindle copy. It does what it says on the box! Short, quick to read, and pretty ludicrous if you stop to think about the plot. But it's a kids book, so why would you?

This book is fun, dark and beautifully written. The writing is so clever and a joy to read. I enjoyed every second, and was reminded of why I love Middle Grade so much. I can't wait to pick up the rest of the series, even though I've watched the movies and the Netflix series, I know that reading the source material is going to be a wonderful experience. I strongly recommend you pick up this little book. 

4.5:

Unfortunately, I loved this very much. There's not that much of a nostalgia factor here for me, because as a child I only ever watched the Jim Carrey adaptation, which aesthetically shaped me as a person during my angsty teens. But I know for certain that, had I picked this book up at 11 when I probably should have, I would've eaten it right up. WHY did the Baudelaires only ever suffer? I can't stand it, I positively HAVE to keep reading because surely the tide will change for them? Surely it will?

Lemony Snickett is also hilarious, and for obvious reasons this book is very short, yet I highlighted a whole bunch of quotes because they made me laugh out loud. The whole vocabulary schtick must be an amusing way for kids to learn new words, I know kid-me would've loved it.

Reading this was way too much fun and I can't wait to get to the rest of the series. I ain't watching the Netflix adaptation though, because I don't like NPH. Sue me.

I ADORED this book so much.

I'm a huge movie fan. My interest in books only came up recently. I loved the netflix adaptation of this series and been wanting to read the books for long time now. Finally got my hands on one, now I can say reading the story was better. Lemony Snicket's writing is by far my favorite.

3.5

I loved reading this series as a kid and definitely felt nostalgia listening to it on audiobook. I loved curry as the actor who narrated it.

An enjoyable read. As warned, nothing good happens in this book, the first tale of the Baudelaire children. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I have been in a reading slump lately so I decided to pick this up. After I started reading I realized this was a book I had read to my boys when they were little. I didn't remember much of the story so it was still interesting to read but it did bring back a lot of memories of my boys and their thoughts as I read the story. Mostly, I remember their thoughts on what they would have done to save the little girl. My younger son, being a super hero, would have flown up to the tower, smashed the bad guy down, and then saved the little girl. I remember those days of trying to get my youngest to understand that he did not really have super human strength and that he really did need to stay out of the road and avoid strangers.

I did think the book was a bit dark for kids but my oldest son did enjoy this series and is now a totally normal adult human that does not require therapy. If your child gets scared and has bad dreams I wouldn't give them this book. In this book both parents are killed in a house fire while the kids are out. The children are then orphans who cannot even retrieve any of their belongings because they are burnt to a crisp. They are left with a sizable fortune but it cannot be accessed until Violet, the oldest, is of age. According to their parent's will they must be placed with a relative so they are placed with the closest relative available. This person is a horrible man who lives in a dark, dirty house with a creepy tower where they are forbidden to go. This man is mean and makes them eat lumpy oatmeal for breakfast and then gives them very difficult chores to do while he is gone - like chopping wood or making dinner for his entire theatre group. They realize the man is only trying to get their fortune and doesn't care about them at all. The man will do anything to get what he wants, including locking the baby up in a cage in the top of the tower.

N/A

Even though it comes with a lot of warnings, i didn't believe them, and it was totally darker than I expected lol. Fun darkness.