The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket

(NB: This is a review of the original book, not the film-tie in, as illustrated from the product description/image.) This book is about the woes of The Baudelaire children, who at the start of the book, are orphaned by the loss of their parents in a fire, and their efforts to escape the clutches of Count Olaf. Olaf has to be one of the vilest villains I have ever had the disgust to come across in a children's book. His dastardly scheme is to become their guardian and then kill them...as he knows that they have a huge inheritance...and if they were to 'tragically' get disposed of...then the fortune would become his. But obviously, the story isn't as ...  Read the complete review

Book Info: Name: The Bad Beginning Author: Daniel Handler (AKA Lemony Snicket) Released: September 1999 Series: Book one in 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' Awards: Nevada Young Readers Award, Colorado Children's Award, Nene Award RRP: £6.99 Children's books are special, very special indeed. There is something very imaginative and creative with each one, and a pleasing innocence, even with novels of dark tone, playfully skip from page to page. First published in 1999, Lemony Snicket's 'The Bad Beginning' is the first book in a series of 13 wonderfully titled 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. With only 163 pages, would ...  Read the complete review

Violet, Klaus and their baby sister, Sunny Baudelaire are three very unlucky, very sad children. Their beloved parents have recently perished in a fire at their home. Not only have they lost their mother and father, but they have also lost all their possessions. The only things left to them are the clothes they stand up in. Mr Poe, the asthmatic, bronchial executor of their parents' will tracks down a relative with whom they must live. Count Olaf is not a nice man. Tall, thin, gaunt and distinctly suspicious, he does not treat the Baudelaire orphans well. They share a room with one bed, their clothes are ...  Read the complete review

Having watched the film last year, starring Jim Carrey as Count Olaf and Jude Law as Lemony Snickett, and throughly enjoying it, I finally got around to picking up the first volume in this 13 part series of children's books. Normally I would not include a description of the outside of a book in my review, but the original edition I have is beautifully bound and it would be almost criminal not to mention it. Inside the front cover is a small place for your child to inscribe their name and throughout the book, the story is accompanied by excellent illustration that wonderfully compliments the text. The story is not a happy one, as Snickett is at great pains to ...  Read the complete review

Even though I am in my 20's I have always been a big fan of children's books and when I first read about the book "a series of unfortunate events" by Lemony Snicket I knew I would love them. My prediction was correct and I have all 13 books in my collection and I have read them several times each. The bad beginning was the first one of the series. The book is very dark and depressing. I was quite surprised when I read it the first time round as nothing really nice happens at all through the whole book and I know it seems crazy but this is one of the reasons why I like it so much. Its just so different from other children's books I have read and this ...  Read the complete review