Their guardian, a terrifying man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, known only as 'Sir', proposes unsatisfactorily that if they work in his mill, he'll 'try' to keep Count Olaf away. Klaus trips over Foreman Flacutono's strategically placed foot and his glasses get broken.
He returns from the village eye doctor, none other than Dr Orwell, strangely changed. Violet believes Klaus has been hypnotised, and when they discover Dr Orwell's receptionist, Shirley, is really Count Olaf dressed horribly, her worst fears are confirmed. Dr Orwell herself becomes the victim of the nasty accident at the lumbermill she, Foreman Flacutono and Shirley have arranged.
Sir decides to pack the children off to their next dismal adventure at The Austere Academy. First Edition, Twenty-second Printing with a copyright date. Published by Scholastic Books. Published by HarperCollins Publlishers, Inc, Digest Size Paperback with pages. Illustrated by Brett Helquist. Third printing New - Softcover Condition: new. Quantity: Soft Cover. Condition: new. Also find Softcover.
Used - Hardcover Condition: Good. Condition: Good. Has been read but is in good condition. Very minimal damage to the cover including scuff marks, but no holes or tears. Binding has minimal wear. All pages are undamaged with only minimal creasing and no tearing, no pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. No missing pages. Also find Hardcover First Edition. Published by Egmont UK Ltd, New - Softcover Condition: New. Condition: New.
No defects. A New, Unread Copy. A beautiful, square, tight copy with clean, white, unmarked pages. May have a minor blemish from store shelf. First Edition First 5 books in series, in pack, in shrink wrap. Readers incapable of running fast enough to escape… More. Shelve A Series of Unfortunate Events. Collection of Lemony Snicket paperback Unfortunate… More. Books Hardbacks in a cardboard slipcase. The Cumbersome Collection by Lemony Snicket.
Enjoy Lemony Snicket's hilariously gloomy series f… More. Shelve The Cumbersome Collection. The Horrendous Heap by Lemony Snicket. Experience Snicket in the worst way possible: from… More. Shelve The Horrendous Heap. The Complete Wreck by Lemony Snicket. Shelve The Complete Wreck. Book , Contains 6 books in the Series of Unfortunate Even… More. Shelve Box of Unfortunate Events Books 4 5 6. Readers incapable of running fast enough to escap… More.
A Warning from the Publisher: If you have come this… More. A Warning from the Publisher: Many readers have que… More. The Beatrice Letters by Lemony Snicket. Top secret—only for readers deeply interested in … More. Shelve The Beatrice Letters. It has been my solemn occupation to complete the history of the Baudelaire orphans, and at last, I am finished. The Baudelaires are forced to listen to Count Olaf brag about how he has triumphed, how successful he is, and how rich he will be with his hands almost on the Baudelaire fortune.
Olaf orders the Baudelaires to sail to the nearest luxury car dealership, which they know is ridiculous because they are stranded in the middle of the ocean. After a storm, the Baudelaires and Count Olaf become shipwrecked on an island.
However they are welcomed onto the island by a girl named Friday Caliban , while Count Olaf is shunned Having tried to force Friday to call him king, even pointing the harpoon gun at her. The island facilitator, Ishmael , introduces the Baudelaires to the Islanders and their customs. Although Ishmael He prefers Ish always tells the islanders "I won't force you," it soon becomes apparent that his decisions go largely unquestioned and his suggestions are obeyed like orders.
Ishmael is chair-ridden and claims his feet are injured. After the Baudelaires introduce themselves, Friday suggests a toast to the Baudelaires which her mother, Miranda Caliban , agrees to. Ishmael says, "Let's drink a toast to the Baudelaire orphans! They toast with the coconut cordial which everybody carries, but which the Baudelaires dislike.
Ishmael repeatedly keeps offering the cordial to the Baudelaires, despite that they repeatedly decline because they think it tastes strange. Kit Snicket on a "Vaporetto of Favorite Detritus" a raft made of one's favorite things. After another storm, more objects wash up including a giant pile of books tied together in the shape of a cube, an unconscious and pregnant Kit Snicket , and the Incredibly Deadly Viper from Uncle Monty 's collection.
The island people arrive and Count Olaf tries to fool them with a bad Kit Snicket disguise with the diving helmet containing the Medusoid Mycelium tucked under his dress as his supposed baby.
Strangely, the islanders immediately see through Olaf's flimsy disguise and cage him. The Islanders then debate whether the Baudelaires should be expelled from the colony when Count Olaf yells out from the cage that they are carrying banned items in their pockets.
Ishmael decides that the children, Kit, and Olaf should all be abandoned unless they agree to abide by the colony's rules. After everyone leaves, Olaf tries to tempt the children to let him out of the cage by promising to explain the many mysteries and secrets which they have been surrounded by since The Bad Beginning , but they ignore him.
That night, two of the islanders Finn and Erewhon sneak out to feed the children and ask them a favor. A group of discontented colonists are planning a mutiny against Ishmael in the morning because they are annoyed by his all of his rules. They ask the Baudelaires to go over to the arboretum where all the contraband items are collected and find or make some weapons to use in the rebellion. Further, the mutineers refuse to help Kit unless the Baudelaires help them. The children agree and set off for the arboretum.
The Baudelaires discover a well-appointed living area before they are discovered by Ishmael. 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. View all 5 comments. This was fantastic! I read the series when I was a kid and then just now had to reread it for my Children's Lit class! And I'm glad I did! Because eff yeah!
He's sarcastic and realistic and cynical and hilarious. Best of all, even though this is absolutely a children's book it treats the reader who is technically supposed to be a child as an intelligent human who is capable of This was fantastic!
Best of all, even though this is absolutely a children's book it treats the reader who is technically supposed to be a child as an intelligent human who is capable of figuring things out and having a good vocabulary and understanding subtext and foreshadowing. Also, I just added this to my favourites shelf because geez this is a favourite! View all 9 comments. I was pretty excited when I read this book because that was the first time I read this book and I also had no idea what the book was about and I quite enjoyed reading it.
The book never bored me but the book wasn't really amazing either. Neither good nor bad. The characters in the book were pretty interesting except the villain, he creeped me out. She was so cute! I don't think I will continue reading this series. I don't know why, but I just don't feel like I want to continue reading the series. This book was pretty good, nonetheless and I love the illustrations in this book!
If you're interested in reading this book, I suggest you to try reading it. Maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did. I have been pretty curious about this series since If you have, what do you think of it?
Apr 14, Brian Yahn rated it really liked it. Easily one of the best children's stories I've read, The Bad Beginning is a high stakes, whimsical twist of a fairytale. Count Olaf, the antagonist, ruins everything, but in a way that's super fun to read. As the stakes pile on, and bad luck for the main characters becomes the worst luck, and the tension reaches an all time high, the writing still maintains this playful even keel to keep everything fun and enjoyable.
It had me tearing through pages to see just how bad the beginnings got. And I lov Easily one of the best children's stories I've read, The Bad Beginning is a high stakes, whimsical twist of a fairytale. And I loved every sentence. View 1 comment. I started reading The Series of Unfortunate Events to help me with a small reading slump. Each book is easy to read and nice and short. I wanted to read them as a child but never did so this was a perfect opportunity to do so.
View all 6 comments. Shelves: humor. 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 Children is one filled with tragedy and d I never really did get into Harry Potter. The story of the Baudelaire Children is one filled with tragedy and dire peril. Orphaned after a massive house fire in which their parents burned to death, they are put in the care of their parents' will's executor until a distant relative, Count Olaf, comes to claim them The children however do manage to give him a run of it.
In the end, they still have their money, but they simply are foisted off someplace else where there parents are still dead and their lot becomes more miserable. This is not a story for happy endings as the author will remind you, time and time again.
The real thing about the book that I love is the writing style and tone of the narrative. The author is quite the wordsmith, and he no doubt had it in mind that kids should be learning big, expansive words. He then mixes it up with subtle and unsubtle word play in the fourth book, the narrator goes into the sensation of deja vu, and when you turn the page beginning that chapter it's the same page over again that left me quite amused.
I only read about four of the books. The downfall of the series is that the villain never changes and the stories are all essentially the same at their core: the children go to live someplace horrible, and Uncle Olaf comes back to try and take their money. It's a one trick pony in that regard, but I really was quite taken by the wording of it.
It's worth the investment for the first book and it's a quick read. Give it a shot. View all 10 comments. Jul 19, R. Gold rated it it was amazing. The Baudelaires just escaped Count Olaf and his plot to steal their fortune and I find even though I know the basic premise of each stor Wow! Even better the second time around! The Baudelaire children - Violet, Klaus and Sunny - are suddenly orphaned when their parents tragically die in a fire.
Their new legal guardian? A distant relative, the devilishly conniving Count Olaf, who will stop at nothing - not even murder most foul! Eve The Baudelaire children - Violet, Klaus and Sunny - are suddenly orphaned when their parents tragically die in a fire. The atmosphere of the world is bizarrely, but not off-puttingly, anachronistic. Even the framing device plays into the Gothic impression.
Daniel Handler is the real author but his name is nowhere on this book. That said the writing is appropriately accessible for the intended younger audience and the world as a whole, and plot, is also simplistic to match. Count Olaf is a deliciously evil villain and is by far the standout character. The Baudelaire kids were ok but not especially interesting and everyone else was basically just window-dressing. The Bad Beginning is a really good start to this promising series - a charmingly strange and fun read!
View all 4 comments. I think a 3. This was a joy or as Lemony Snicket would prefer, a misery to reread. I haven't read this book in more than 10 years, so there were a lot of details I had forgotten, but I still love the Baudelaire siblings and how terrifying and sinister Count Olaf still is to me.
It is written for younger audiences than the books I usually read, of course, so I might be basing a tiny bit of my rating on nostalgia, but I still loved the experience of getting back into I think a 3.
It is written for younger audiences than the books I usually read, of course, so I might be basing a tiny bit of my rating on nostalgia, but I still loved the experience of getting back into this world and these characters. And now onto The Reptile Room! View all 3 comments. Also, I just feel that I would like it more when I reread it. I am updating my reviews for all the books in the series because I realized that they are much better than I initially thought.
After a while, I realized I really did like this book and it's very unique. I know I still would have liked it more as a child but I still really like it now. It's so sad and that's what makes it different because it's not all happy.
In life, not everything works out. I think this series would have been something I would have loved as a child. This was a very short book and I read it in one day. View 2 comments.
Shelves: fiction. Made for kids, but adults like it too! The Bad Beginning is one of those kids' books that doesn't try to "talk down" to their level. Yes, it breaks the 4th wall and assists the reader with more advanced words, often for comedic purposes, but it never feels like the drudgery of a school lesson. This first book in the series concisely sets up the sympathetic main characters and their dilemna, pits them against their colorful arch enemy and sweeps you up in the saga straight away.
A most excellent Made for kids, but adults like it too! A most excellent beginning indeed! Mar 18, Katie rated it really liked it. Glad to say these lived up the the expectations of my year old self.
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