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

by Lemony Snicket

book data

16,631 ratings, 3.67 average rating, 1,649 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		25%
4		33%
3		28%
2		9%
1		3%

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published

December 1st 2000 (first published 1999) by Scholastic, Inc.

binding

Paperback, 162 pages

isbn

0439206472 (isbn13: 9780439206471)

description

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire find out their parents are killed in a fire. They are taken to a greedy man who wants their enormous fortune. How ...more

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02/08/08

Chris rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in January, 2006

I am not a violent man. In my lifetime, I have never been in a fight. I've never seriously threatened anyone with violence, never made anyone feel afraid by my physical presence, never even really seriously considered doing violence to another person.

Having said that, the feelings this book evoked in me were... violent.

Not because Lemony Snicket has written a book where terribly unfortunate things happen to small children - I have no problems with that and in fact encou...more

Like this review? yes (23 people liked it)

36 comments

02/25/08

Lizziegolightly rated it:

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)

Like this review? yes (8 people liked it)

1 comment

10/25/07

Monk rated it:

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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07/21/07

Millie rated it:

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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03/10/09

Morgan rated it:

Unlikeable, flat, contrived, and joyless. This is for fans of snuff flicks and Dickens. I blame Godard.

I also should add that I think this book enforces a poor lesson for abused kids. I understand the desire for gruesomeness in children's fantasy, but this touches on real world concepts of abusive homes and teaches that seeking help from neighbors, teachers, and librarians will not help you. I'd preferred that the neighbor was killed wanting to help, than the way this book was se...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

6 comments

08/13/07

fleegan rated it:

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

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

07/15/08

Suzanne rated it:

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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12/06/08

Jennifer rated it:

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

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

4 comments

03/29/09

Natalia rated it:

(review of isbn 0807219908)

bookshelves: 2009, audiobook, tnbbc-2009-spring-challenge

Read in March, 2009

I remember being a kid, and feeling powerless in an adult world. where adults acted in ways that seemed inexplicable and capricious to me at the time. I enjoyed this book as a caricature of that feeling, exaggerated to an entertaining degree.

I think the fact that I listened to the audiobook read by Tim Curry increased my enjoyment of the book. I got the impression it was really intended to be enjoyed out loud, and they couldn't have picked a better narrator. (Though I did find myself...more

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01/07/09

Lori rated it:

Read in January, 2009

recommends it for: Young readers

Even though this is a book for younger readers, I enjoyed the story telling. I also enjoyed how the author would explain words or phrases which will help advance the vocabulary of young readers. It's a quick read about 3 children who are inventive in finding ways to improve their situation and get out of danger. Even though it is the series of unfortunate events, it was fun to see how Violet, Klaus and Sunny end up fixing the problems they encounter. While it isn't my favorite series, I am e...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

2 comments

12/28/08

Justin rated it:

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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12/05/08

Adriana rated it:

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.
(less)

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11/20/08

Jacquelyn Higgins rated it:

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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09/18/08

Kevin cnca rated it:

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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1 comment

01/10/08

Nic rated it:

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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08/21/07

Punk rated it:

bookshelves: ya

Read in November, 2005

YA, Miserable Orphan Fiction. Everyone knows about the Baudelaire children and how their parents died in a fire, leaving them Dismal Orphans. I find the word "orphan" funny, so I got giggles out of how Count Olaf is constantly addressing the children as such (eg. "Good morning, orphans."), and I liked the narrator's self insertions, his snide little vocabulary lessons and colorful language, but the story itself wasn't anything special. Part of that is because I saw the movie ...more

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03/07/09

Soyounjeon rated it:

Read in February, 2009

no matter what have the passion to stand up and remember life is not fair all the time

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04/01/09

Jared rated it:

Read in March, 2009

I have read the book, The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. In this book, there are three main characters, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. Violet is the oldest, Klaus is in between and Sunny is a baby. Violet, is fourteen years old, and is a very smart girl. She likes to invent things, and she wishes she could spend all of her time inventing things. Violet thinks that it is important to take care of her younger siblings, and she does a great job at it.
Klaus likes to spend a lot of his time read...more

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03/10/09

Tara rated it:

bookshelves: best-child-teen-series, booklist-for-2007

Read in August, 2007

I saw this series for the first time years ago, as a completely thrilled (yeah, I'm a geek,) Barnes and Noble employee.

After waiting patiently for most of the series to become available, I bought books 1-10, and sat down to read.

This has be one of the most enjoyable children's series I've read in a LONG time. Far from the usual formulaic "orphans are in a bad situation, but everything conveniently works out alright in the end," the Baudelaire orphans have a to...more

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01/30/09

Taz rated it:

Another series that is close to my heart.

This series is brilliant. I love the way Lemony Snicket writes, his writing style is very different from the hoards of children's+ books out there. This collection is very dark, but mixes a sense of humor even amidst all the terrible things that the Baudelaire orphans have to endure. He's very clever, imaginative, and takes the children's plight seriously.

Each book takes the Baudelaires (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) into a different...more Another series that is close to my heart.

This series is brilliant. I love the way Lemony Snicket writes, his writing style is very different from the hoards of children's+ books out there. This collection is very dark, but mixes a sense of humor even amidst all the terrible things that the Baudelaire orphans have to endure. He's very clever, imaginative, and takes the children's plight seriously.

Each book takes the Baudelaires (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) into a different environment, and the tiles of the books are named after the places they have to stay, such as "The Austere Academy" or "The Ersatz Elevator". Very witty, I think. I love the title names. Since their parents died in a horrible fire, they've been moving around from place to place, trying to hide from the villian Count Olaf, who nefariously hunts them so he can kill them and take over the Baudelaire fortune. But each time they live somewhere new, something even worse has to happen, which is why the books are known as "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

The most intriguing part are the shocking clues left behind by someone or a group of someones for the orphans to piece together and eventually face what really happened to their parents on that fateful night, and what their parents were a part of.

I'm telling you, these books are not to be taken lightly, and very addictive and has a lot of heart. Not cliche in the slightest, which is what sets them apart from the genre.

And also, these books are a million times better than the all powerful Harry Potter. Whereas Rowling tips right and wrong upside down constantly (and shamelessly), Snicket is quite aware that there is a right way to do things, and there is a wrong way to do things which make us just as bad as the bad guys. There's no ambiguity in the roles of good and evil, and as the series progresses, the Baudelaire orphans grow and learn just how fine that line is. I'm nearly done with the series, and I'm so glad I stuck around. The books haven't failed once to own up to the unraveling momentous finish that I am shocked there hasn't been as much fanfare as the undeserved HP books recieved.

Lemony Snicket is not who you think he is, either....(less)

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quotes from this book

"But one type of book that practically no one likes to read is a book about the law. Books about the law are notorious for being very long, very dull, and very difficult to read. This is one reason many lawyers make heaps of money. The money is an incentive - the word "incentive" here means "an offered reward to persuade you to do something you don't want to do - to read long, dull, and difficult books." More quotes...