The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1)
by Lemony Snicket
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lemony SnicketIllustrator: Brett Helquist
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-09-30
ISBN: 006075589X
Number of pages: 162
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Reviews of The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1)
Book Review: Book Review by Derek R.
Summary: 5 Stars
Do you think your life is bad? If you do, you haven't even begun to feel what it's like to have a miserable and unfortunate events in life like the Baudelaires are having. In Lemony Snicket's first book, The Bad Beginning, the adventure begins. This is a fantastic book!
The Baudelaires were once a family with no worries until a day when the Baudelaire children were at the beach and a mysterious fire destroyed their house and killed their parents. They were assigned to other people that were close to their parents, but one person, the very first one, was a treacherous man. His name was Count Olaf. He figure out that the Baudelaire fortune was open and he tried to steal it. As many times as he has tried to steal the fortune, the Baudelaire children always end up finding a way to stop him from stealing it. Also, Count Olaf has a troupe that follows him around, and they do whatever he says, because if they don't listen to him, they don't get any part of the Baudelaire fortune.
So read about the Baudelaires and their unfortunate events and encounters with Count Olaf and his troupe as they try to steal the Baudelaire fortune. If you don't you might never know what a miserable and unfortunate event life is like, and you'll be reminded of this story over and over until you are so miserable that you begin a story just like this one.
Summary of The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1)
Dear Reader,I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.
In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.
It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket
Make no mistake. The Bad Beginning begins badly for the three Baudelaire children, and then gets worse. Their misfortunes begin one gray day on Briny Beach when Mr. Poe tells them that their parents perished in a fire that destroyed their whole house. "It is useless for me to describe to you how terrible Violet, Klaus, and even Sunny felt in the time that followed," laments the personable (occasionally pedantic) narrator, who tells the story as if his readers are gathered around an armchair on pillows. But of course what follows is dreadful. The children thought it was bad when the well-meaning Poes bought them grotesque-colored clothing that itched. But when they are ushered to the dilapidated doorstep of the miserable, thin, unshaven, shiny-eyed, money-grubbing Count Olaf, they know that they--and their family fortune--are in real trouble. Still, they could never have anticipated how much trouble. While it's true that the events that unfold in Lemony Snicket's novels are bleak, and things never turn out as you'd hope, these delightful, funny, linguistically playful books are reminiscent of Roald Dahl (remember James and the Giant Peach and his horrid spinster aunts), Charles Dickens (the orphaned Pip in Great Expectations without the mysterious benefactor), and Edward Gorey (The Gashlycrumb Tinies). There is no question that young readers will want to read the continuing unlucky adventures of the Baudelaire children in The Reptile Room and The Wide Window. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
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