Series Review: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 1999-2006
Pages: 3,436
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4 Stars

Dear Reader, 
I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.
In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.
It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Never has such a miserable tale of the depressing disasters that follow the lives of three unfortunate orphans been so charmingly absurd and enjoyable to read. Though the books are intended for an MG audience, the satirical humour spouted by narrator Lemony Snicket and more mature themes of moral complexity in the later books can be appreciated by an older audience. The books are incredibly formulaic and repetitive (essentially the orphans are passed off to a new guardian each book, Count Olaf shows up in a new disguise and attempts to steal the Baudelaire fortune, and the orphans use their smarts and talents to get away from him), but the repetitiveness had a more familial and calming effect on me rather than boring me.

I read the series in its entirety via audiobook, narrated by inimitable Tim Curry (except for books 3-5 which are narrated by Lemony Snicket himself). And I can't think of two people more suited to the narration of the gothic tones combined with the general absurdity of the stories presented in A Series of Unfortunate Events. If you're looking to try out the series for yourself or want to do a reread but don't feel like you have the time to fit all 13 books into your reading lineup, I would highly recommend checking out the series on audio.

Finally, let's talk about the Netflix TV Show. I can't speak about the movie adaptation starring Jim Carrey that was released in 2004 as I never saw it, but I understand it was not at all well received. However, I have seen the first season of the Netflix adaptation, starring Neil Patrick Harris and covering the first four books, and I am happy to report that it is most excellently done. It took me a few episodes to get into the rhythm of the story and characters, but once it hits its stride the show captures the gothic tone and absurdist themes of the books perfectly and is pretty faithful. Once again, this is proof positive that having the original author of the books (Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler) handle the script of the movie/TV show is the best way of ensuring that the adaptation is a good one.

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