Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
Advantages:
Keeps both adults and kids absorbed
Disadvantages:
None
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The first chapter of this book begins with these lines:
'If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.'
Being human and totally sadistic, I had to continue reading after those first few lines ( now, before you begin to label me, remember that everyone of us are a little nosy and sometimes, we are tittilated by someone else's misfortune. Otherwise, how do you explain myriad of people buying magazines that scream out headlines like "Boob Jobs Gone Wrong" or "End of a FairyTale- X Leaves Y" :-) ?)
The remarkable thing about this unfortunate book is that it is written for children. No 'And the lived happily ever after'. No 'good triumphs over evil'. Nothing.
****************************************** THE STORY -
This book tells the tragic tale of three unlucky children - Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire whose comfortable lives suffered a seismic change when their parents died in a fire. The three unfortunate children were sent to live with a distant relative, Count Olaf - a greedy, evil man who plotted and schemed to get his grubby hands on the Baudelaire fortune. Throughout the story, the children seemed to attract disaster like a moth to a flame. And the ending is still no better.
********************************************
'A Series of Unfortunate Events' is very well written and aimed at younger children aged 7-10. A friend of mine thinks that children should be reading happy, positive things to improve their psyche. I cannot concur to that belief. I feel that this story opens up the eyes of the children to the real world. In reality, children do lose their families and have their lives turned upside down, not everyone related to us is a good guy and not every bad guy gets caught. The story helps young readers emphatise with the characters and to fully appreciate the lives they have now.
I really like the style of writing that the author adopted. He tells the story like as if he is literally sitting with you and telling you the story, adding in his own experiences and thoughts. For example:
'I am certain that over the course of your own life, you have noticed that people's rooms reflect their personalities. In my room, for instance, I have gathered a collection of objects that are important to me, including a dusty accordion on which I can play a few sad songs....'
In addition to that, he gives the meaning of some words which he thinks that children might not know, by incorporating into the story. Like:
'...their parents gave them permission to take a rickety trolley - the word "rickety", you probably know, here means "unsteady" or "likely to collapse" - alone to the seashore...'
You will find such definitions of words peppered throughout the story. This way, young readers will learn new words very easily, without having to trudge their way to the nearest dictionary (which you know, most children will never do).
Even if you haven't got children, give this book a go. The story will definitely get you wanting more.
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books Price: £6.99 Hardcover: 180 pages ISBN: 1405208678 First published in: 1999
'A series of unfortunate events' is now in its 12th book -
1- The Bad Beginning 2- The Reptile Room 3- The Wide Window 4- The Miserable Mill 5- The Austere Academy 6- The Ersatz Elevator 7- The Vile Village 8- The Hostile Hospital 9- The Carnivorous Carnival 10- The Slippery Slope 11- The Grim Grotto 12- The Penultimate Peril
More details
How does it compare to similar audio books?
Excellent
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Excellent
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