Book Cover

Reading is one form of escape. Running for your life is another.

# Review

This is another series of books I’ve wanted to read growing up but haven’t gotten around to. The story follows a trio of orphans as they run away from adults who want to take advantage of their inheritance.

# The Bad Beginning

The first book sees the trio of orphans being placed in the care of the evil Count Olaf, who schemes to secure the orphans’ inheritance for himself. The story is interesting but the language is extremely dry, even for a children’s book. The language is over-repetitive and very predictable.

# The Reptile Room

The second book sees the trio being adopted by their kind herpetologist, only for it to be thwarted by Olaf. Major themes, such as the ignorance of adults, are being developed.

# The Wide Window

The third book sees the orphans being adopted by their cowardly Aunt Josephine, before being thwarted again… by Count Olaf. The story is beginning to be repetitive as it follows almost the exact same plot as the previous book.

# The Miserable Mill

The orphans serve as child labourers at a lumber mill before again being pursued by Count Olaf. Snicket’s language is starting to rub off on me poorly during this book. The unending explanations of different terms is annoying and condescending. The attempt at humour is also very poor; I do not think I would’ve found Snicket’s writing funny even as a kid.

# The Austere Academy

The orphans are enrolled in a strict boarding school where they find new friends: the Quagmire triplets. The Quagmire triplets are some of the few likeable characters in the series, which is refreshing.

# The Ersatz Elevator

The orphans move in with the Squalors in their penthouse apartment in the city. New characters are introduced, such as Esmé Squalor, a fashionable financial advisor. Snicket introduces the theme of the ridiculousness of constantly chasing new fashion trends.

# The Vile Village

The orphans are taken in by a village with very strict laws. This is probably one of my favourite books of the series, as it deals with the theme of conformity and blindly dealing with authority.

# The Hostile Hospital

The orphans are employed at a hospital where they work in the library. The theme exploring the virtues of reading is brought to the forefront in this book. Snicket also explores the nuanced line between good and evil in this book.

# The Carnivorous Carnival

The orphans arrive at a carnival and pretend to be freaks to escape Olaf. Snicket continues to blur the line between good and evil in this book.

# The Slippery Slope

The orphans are separated near the secret base of the VFD, with Sunny being stuck with Olaf. Sunny’s character development really shows in this book, as she ages and becomes more self-sufficient.

# The Grim Grotto

The orphans go on an adventure underwater in a submarine as they search for the legendary Sugar Bowl. This book actually has a decent plot that did not feel completely nonsensical.

# The Penultimate Evil

The orphans work at a hotel to gather intel and various characters from the previous books are brought back. I like the premise that the orphans don’t know who is good or evil but I found the mystery to be unsatisfying as it’s never really solved.

# The End

The orphans, along with Count Olaf, wash up on an island run by someone who appears almost as a religious figure. Many questions are left unanswered.

Overall the books are merely OK. Snicket sticks to his writing style throughout the entire series, such as using terms with the acronym “VFD” and overly explaining everything to the reader. Although reading the series as an adult, I can’t imagine myself enjoying the overly childish writing even as a child. I did like that Snicket writes the series from the perspective of someone involved in the story.

The stories are largely nonsensical, with very little logic. It almost feels nihilistic because there is no meaning behind them. The stories feel inconclusive; the good characters don’t “win” while the bad characters largely escape unpunished. The plots are also very repetitive, especially for the first few books. There are some themes but Snicket doesn’t explicitly develop them. The illustrations are good, though.

# Conclusion

I wouldn't recommend this if you're an adult, and probably not if you're a child either.

# Overall rating: 6.4

What does the rating mean?