In a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted, a
young Lemony Snicket began his apprenticeship in an organization nobody knows
about. He started by asking questions that shouldn’t have been on his mind. Now
he has written an account that should not be published, in four volumes that
shouldn’t be read. This is the first volume.
There isn't an author quite like Lemony Snicket when it
comes to writing a book with a truly unique tone. In his distinctive and
humorous writing, Lemony Snicket undertakes to write about his early adventures
with an undisclosed organization. With caricatures of hilarious magnitude,
Lemony finds himself in the middle of scrape after scrape, and he keeps asking
all the wrong questions. His mentor is completely useless, and repetitively
tells him not to be so repetitive! I was very entertained and snorting at the
clever way Lemony is able to teach his readers new words and situations by
being completely overt about it. It’s funny and intriguing and makes you want
to know, who is the friend he was supposed to meet? What will his next
adventure be? And what does this story have to do with the Lemony Snicket we know
who writes about the Baudelaires? Or am I asking all the wrong questions?
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent
children. They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial
features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky. In the first two books
alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy
clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, a lumpy bed, a
deadly serpent, a large brass reading lamp, a long knife, and a terrible odor.
In the tradition of great storytellers, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that
is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. Never before has
a tale of three likeable and unfortunate children been quite so enchanting, or
quite so uproariously unhappy.
Just when the Baudelaire children think they have escaped
the Count, and found a relative that is truly interesting and enjoys them, once
more a series of unfortunate events unfolds to threaten their safety and their
new home. Without going into the actual events of the book, I can say that this
series is quite different and enjoyable once you become accustomed to the
unusual tone and content. Daniel Handler, AKA Lemony Snicket, is a great writer
and very diverse as well as a sarcastic bloke. This book is chuck full of fun
archetypal characters and situations as well as fun new words that the narrator
loves to explain to kids in his morose style. This series is quite fun and I
figure eventually I’ll get through them all someday and find out the eventual
unfortunate end.
I’m telling you why we broke up, Ed. I’m writing it in this
letter, the whole truth of why it happened.
Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is
writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up.
Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor,
books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and
every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking
relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the
box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.
It is a rare book that I find myself feeling such dislike
for. It is difficult for me to be objective with the content of this book,
which by the way, I never would have picked to read but was required for my
Young Adult lit class. This book won the Michael Pintz award for YA lit and I can
see why. To be fair, the format was creative and beautiful, the paintings added
so much to the book and I loved how the ‘letter’ was organized. On the other
hand, while Daniel Handler has a great style and his writing and plot were
simply amazing, it is purely the content that I couldn’t handle. I hate break
up songs, and this is the first break up book I’ve read, and I was sick at the
end. It’s basically about a girl who falls for a guy that she has nothing in
common with and he tells her he loves her and gets her to agree to sleep with
him.It is every girl’s worst nightmare
in words.I was so frustrated with the
character of Min, who was a truly engaging and interesting character that I
wanted to scream at her to not be an idiot.I was really hoping as I read this that this isn’t a typical teenage
story of modern days…my teen years were very mild by choice. This book made me
highly uncomfortable with what they call “the everything but” scenes and the
eventual “everything” scene which made me so sad.I didn’t find anything to redeem this book,
not a moral or anything. It’s a book that is sad. I can find nothing redemptive
in the plot.This just wasn’t my cup a
tea. Not to mention the frequent ‘bombs’ of language. Sheesh. Lot of innuendo,
sex scene, references, and language was pretty terrible. No violence. Mature
themes with drugs and drinking.
I give it a 1.5 out of 5 because I have to give it something
for the beautiful art presentation and format which was creative and lovely and
the writing tone (not content) is very nice.
If you want some fun, though I didn't care for this
book, this website can be pretty hilarious. http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/
It's a project that Daniel Handler started with people's breakup stories and
sometimes his responses. Some of the stories are pretty...dicey though. So
peruse at your own risk.
On the other hand, you MUST watch this. This guy is awesome.
