The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1)

by Lemony Snicket

book data

10912 ratings, 3.76 average rating, 1235 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		25%
4		33%
3		28%
2		8%
1		3%

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published

March 2001 (first published 1999) by Listening Library (Lib)

binding

Audio Cassette

setting

Brazil

isbn

0807288470 (isbn13: 9780807288474)

description

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 ...more

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Chris rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

02/09/08

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in January, 2006

I want to kill Lemony Snicket.

Not because he's written a book where terribly unfortunate things happen to small children - I have no problems with that and in fact encourage it, as it builds character. I want to kill Lemony Snicket because he's a terrible writer who should never have been allowed to have his words put to paper. His hands should be chopped off at the wrists, boiled for twelve hours in turpentine, and then nailed above the front door of his publisher's as a warning to ...more

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30 comments

Lizziegolightly rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

02/25/08

When I was a child, I learned a thing or two from reading the works of Roald Dahl. The most important of these lessons is that adults are, more often than not, either evil or oblivious and, to co-opt Lemony Snicket's writing style, by oblivious I mean "lacking conscious awareness; unmindful."

As an adult, I have only received mountains of proof substantiating the notion that adults are either evil or oblivious. All you need to do is watch the news or enter the workforce and yo...more When I was a child, I learned a thing or two from reading the works of Roald Dahl. The most important of these lessons is that adults are, more often than not, either evil or oblivious and, to co-opt Lemony Snicket's writing style, by oblivious I mean "lacking conscious awareness; unmindful."

As an adult, I have only received mountains of proof substantiating the notion that adults are either evil or oblivious. All you need to do is watch the news or enter the workforce and you too will realize the same. So it is through this lens of animosity towards grown ups (hey, just become I am one doesn't mean I have to think like one) that I read the first installment of Lemony Snicket's 13-part serial A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Snicket, or his alter ego, seems mighty influenced by Dahl and Edward Gorey. Like the former, most of the adults in the book are worthless. Those who aren't are either dead or somehow taken away from the Baudelaire children. Like the later, bad things keep on happening to our protagonists.

The three Baudelaire children-- Violet, Klaus and Sunny-- live a rather charmed life with parents who love and respect them. Upon an unsupervised excursion to the beach, a fire consumes the Baudelaire home and kills the parents. The three children are taken into the temporary care of Mr. Poe (who has a son named Edgar, by the way) until a relative can be located. After some time, the children are pawned off on Count Olaf, a horrid actor with a title and no money. From the beginning, it is obvious that he has only taken in the children because of the vast fortune they are set to acquire. When he learns that the inheritance will be withheld until Violet is of age, he punishes the children repeatedly. We will stop there, lest I give away the end of this first book.

Aside from a page-turner plot, what works in the book's favor is the language. Snicket uses large grown-up words with the context of child-sized sentences. He defines the words without being condescending and goes on to explain many of the legal concepts that are used throughout the story. The characters are also intriguing. The adults in the story often appear as grotesque figures that make just enough sense to keep the storyline plausible. And, in the grand tradition of children's literature, the Baudelaire orphans are quick-witted and strong-willed.

I found this book as part of a three series boxed set at a thrift store by my house. Each book is small and hard covered, designed to look like a Victorian tome and filled with beautiful illustrations. Now, I can't wait to get started on volume two....less

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Monk rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

10/25/07

Read in January, 2002

recommends it for: Those Who Missed The Potter Bus

I never really did get into Harry Potter. I imagine that this is viewed as a crime by most everyone on this service. For some it is heresy. But, I refuse to stand shamefaced - Hogwarts just didn't do it for me.

I didn't think this would either.

However, I was more than pleasantly surprised. I am of a somewhat morbid streak, and the Series of Unfortunate Events books, I must say, tickles that grotesque bone in a way most pleasing.

The story of the Baudelaire Child...more

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fleegan rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

08/13/07

Read in January, 2005

Okay, I know this is a popular series and all, but frankly, I just don't see the charm. I do like that there's lots of vocabulary lessons in the book, but I don't like that the book is basically about child abuse. No, really. You want to write a kid's book? Fine. You want to write a kid's book about child abuse? Fine. Great even. But for the love, abuse is a serious thing, m'kay? And? AND? THE PART WHERE THE EVIL, GREEDY UNCLE TRIES TO MARRY THE 14 YEAR OLD ORPHAN GIRL?! EW! HELLO?! MR. SNICKET,...more

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1 comment

Jennifer rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

12/06/08

bookshelves: 2003, adventure, lemony-snicket, ya

Read in May, 2003

I am not sure why I picked this up - Maybe I was hoping to capture some of the Harry Potter goodness in a different series? Not sure. But I did read this and I found it both irritating and compelling.

The themes were pretty darn adult in this book (series), but the writing was aimed at 7 year olds. The children are told their parents are dead on the first page of the book and that they are to stay with their Uncle Olaf - Who is a bad bad man. The children are pretty much abused by th...more

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4 comments

Kevin cnca rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

10/06/08

The book of a series of unfortunate events is a really good book. If you like a book that has characters that are smart in any situation then you would finish the whole series. The main characters are sunny the infant of the house, Klaus the book worm of the house and then we have violet the gadget lady. They get all of their smartness from both parents.
The plot of my book is for count Olaf, the "uncle" they never met, he is trying to steal their fortune. He tries to do many ...more

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Nic rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

01/10/08

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Nic by: Alyssa

I had heard of these books, of course; I saw the movie, and a friend recommended the series to me, so I thought I'd try them. I felt a little silly going around with something so clearly written for younger readers, but a good story is a good story.

The author definitely has something here. In a way, it's the ultimate "orphan story," because bad things just keep happening to the, well, orphans. They're likeable characters, and the consistent unhappy endings to the books g...more

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Millie rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

07/21/07

bookshelves: transcendently-fabulous

I love the entire Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events. This book came out at the most opportune time to offer an alternative to the saccharine niceness of the abysmally ubiquitous Harry Potter, and thank goodness for that (I'm sure the monolithic HP franchise inspired, at least in part, the conception of Lemony Snicket, Count Olaf and the Baudelaires). The writing style encourages readers to question language and the function language plays in our lives while describing the ill-fated liv...more

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Suzanne rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

07/16/08

bookshelves: eye-gougers

Read in June, 2003

Ugh. Rarely have I read a book so artificial, trite and purposefully unpleasant. I do like Edward Gorey, so I thought that the allusive title would be more in the spirit of the weird and delightfully obscure. However, I found this book to be calculated and unoriginal, with nothing of whimsy or genuine strangeness. In addition, it was clumsily written in a deliberately stilted style none the more charming for being intentional. I don't entirely understand the popularity of this series, but suspec...more

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Justin rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

12/28/08

bookshelves: novels

Read in December, 2008

I read this in a night while visiting my folks. They went to bed and my mom has all the Snicket books so I thought I'd read one. I'd seen the movie and thought it was great and I've heard nothing but excellent things about this series. I sat down by the wood stove, started reading and, forty five minutes later, I was done.

It was a great forty five minutes! The writing style is so funny and quirky and engaging. The story is superbly paced and the characters are a lot of fun. Who...more

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Adriana rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

12/05/08

The Bad Beginning, the first book out of thirteen in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events tells a fictional story about the start of all the tragedies in the lives of the three Baudelaire children.
The Baudelaire’s misfortunes come into play when they receive the awful news from Mr. Poe, a Banker in charge of their enormous fortune that their house has burned down and their parents had died in the incident. Requested in their parents will that their guardian...more The Bad Beginning, the first book out of thirteen in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events tells a fictional story about the start of all the tragedies in the lives of the three Baudelaire children.
The Baudelaire’s misfortunes come into play when they receive the awful news from Mr. Poe, a Banker in charge of their enormous fortune that their house has burned down and their parents had died in the incident. Requested in their parents will that their guardian must be a relative, they are sent off to live with Count Olaf who they actually have never heard of or seen. When they begin living with Olaf they realize what a terrible person he is and the plans he has up his sleeve to steal the Baudelaire fortune left by their parents. The main characters are 14 year old Violet, the eldest of the three and is most known for tying her hair up when her brain is at work thinking of things to invent, a hobby she is fond of. Next is Klaus, her 12 year old brother who’s more of a scholar and has a passion for reading. Last but not least is Sunny the baby who enjoys biting things and speaks gibberish in thrilled out bursts. Other characters that you will encounter in this woeful tale are Count Olaf’s theater troupe, a group of weird looking beings of all shapes and sizes who are just as sinister as Count Olaf himself.
The Bad Beginning is quite the interesting tale because everything about the book is just captivating! My favorite characters were the two women who wore bright powder all over their faces because they remind me of the actors in Panic! at the disco’s music video for their song, “I write sins not tragedies”, which happens to be one of my favorite songs. One of the best things about this novel is how descriptive it is because of the style it’s written in but most of all because of the beautifully detailed images provided by Brett Helquist. I was able to visualize all characters and the situations they were put into. The book was confusing at times because some of the vocabulary words used, luckily at times Lemony Snicket took the time to define them for you, how nice is that? A question that I have that wasn’t answered was how did the Baudelaire home get burned down in the first place? Was it an accident or was it an act of Count Olaf’s behalf? An issue that this book relates to is how envious people can get over someone’s valuables and will do anything to get them.
I would definitely recommend The Bad Beginning for kids just as well as teenagers because even though it might be child like at times it’s also mature and sophisticated enough for older readers. This novel is twisted and misleading which makes it so thrilling, I would consider it for readers who like these types of stories.
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Jacquelyn rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

11/20/08

Audio review:
Genre: Fiction Reading level: Age 9+
Can a book be both humor and horror? From the author’s fictitious name to his odd style and use of vocabulary, this series breaks the mold of the traditional juvenile story. The Baudelaire orphans are not a cheerful bunch. The reader is warned, in no uncertain terms, to read something else should they desire a happy book. Each of the three children relies on their own special talent to rescue the siblings from one scrape after a...more

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Rummy rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

09/15/08

Read in September, 2008

Now I started a new series - we'll see if I'll finish it. The author followed through with his threat that there wouldn't be a happy ending.

I can handle "bad endings" (like Thomas Hardy, Ernest Hemingway, etc.) but I usually can't handle stories where the grim happenings never let up and the protaganist never sees relief (like The Chocolate War, Night of the Moonbow, etc.)

This book, however, becomes an exception since it's so over the top and meant to be humorou

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5 comments

Katy rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

12/16/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in December, 2008

I give the book a 3 out of 5 because while I'm not running to tell my friends about how TOTALLY AWESOME! this book was, it wasn't half bad, for what it is.

That takes me my rant to all you goodreads reviewers out there who have bashed this book.

No, it isn't the best written book I have ever read. Lemony Snicket is not Shakesphear, but its a children's book, aimed at elementry aged readers and for that audience I give it a 5. It is written in a way that kids (even weak rea...more

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Jaime rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

02/15/08

bookshelves: 2005, adventure, audio, juvenile_fiction

Read in February, 2005

One of the first things you hear in this book is that there is no happy ending, there is no happy beginning, and there isn’t any happiness in the middle, either. And boy, he ain’t kidding. This book was extremely dark and disturbing and I can’t imagine how it appeals to the young readers like it does. But, despite the darkness, dismay, and general creepiness, it’s a very good and interestingly written story. I plan to continue the series.

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Jesus rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

12/18/08

In the series of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning (Book 1), is yet a mysterious, tragic, and emotional. I would have to say that the genre of this book is fiction, and mysterious. There are many characters in this series but the main ones are the Bauldelaire children but were now they are orphans. Their names are Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. There is one more character, the dreadful Count Olaf. The Bauldelaire orphans start of as of ...more In the series of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning (Book 1), is yet a mysterious, tragic, and emotional. I would have to say that the genre of this book is fiction, and mysterious. There are many characters in this series but the main ones are the Bauldelaire children but were now they are orphans. Their names are Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. There is one more character, the dreadful Count Olaf. The Bauldelaire orphans start of as of course children, who lived in an extremely wealthy family. Until, one gray and cloudy day the children Violet, Klaus, and Sunny went to Briny Beach where they always hangout together. They have found out that their parents have perished in a horible fire. Who soon then meet their new guardian, Count Olaf.
The Bad Beginning starts here, where it's about these three unfortunate orphans. They meet their new guadian who seems really creepy, scary, and hard to understand. They don't understand why their parents had never mentioned him ever in their lives. Soon then they find out why he has come into these children's lives. The main idea of this book would have to be that there are not always happy beginnings nor endings, and that some lives could be perfect until pieces start to brake. People who would like this book would have to be quite emotional, hard to get, superstitious, and yet not very understandable, so if your this person read this book. My overall impression about the Bauldelaire orphans would have to be that they are intelligent in many ways, and that they always know Count Olaf's every plan, and crazy if you think about it.
This is one of my favorite books of all times. I mean many people and I could relate to the Bauldelaire orphans. It makes me wonder how a life starts out perfect to end up being sorrow. I could understand their lives but how could end up being so tragic. Now I understand how some children have felt after they have lost a special someone, and that lives are not fair yet cruel to some of us. I hope that you enjoy this book!

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Spencer rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

05/10/08

Read in April, 2005

recommends it for: age 9+

This is a good big series. However, the 4 or so books after this one aren't very important to the rest of the series besides a few characters are introduced that come in in the last books. These first several books have the same basic storyline, so they get repetitive. The change happens at number 7 or 8, and from there on out, it is a very addictive and interesting series.

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Melanie rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

09/14/08

Read in September, 2008

This author definitely has a different style of writing. I was left with mixed emotions...sometimes thinking it was humorous other times depressing(mostly depressing). Katelynn read the first one and part of the second before deciding she didn't like it because it was too scary. I think they were a little beyond her level anyway.

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Marie rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

07/16/07

Has there ever been a book that draws kids in as much as this one? Has there ever been one that makes vocabulary so gloriously appealing? No! there hasn't, so read the dang thing would ya?!

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Maddy rated it:

(review of isbn 0439206472)

12/29/08

Read in December, 2008

I can't wait to read the other 12! I went to the library and, sadly, books 2 and 4 were MIA...but alas I will casually creep around the children's section until they are returned (shameless). In the meantime, I have in my possession books 3 and 5...which I am, embarrassingly enough, hoarding from the youngsters.

I only gave this book 3 stars because of the simplicity of the tale, though there were a few unexpected twists. The Baudelaire children are cunning and resourceful, and I can...more

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