Reviews

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

wombat_88's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

wayfaring_witch's review against another edition

3.0

I listened to this on a well produced audio book with multi-voice, big acting names, and fancy sound effects. This may or may not have skewed my enjoyment of the book but if you like your audiobooks with a little more pop, this is a good one to look into.

I enjoyed the book, but the characters were a bit shallow. Violet is an inventor, Klaus is a bookworm, Sunny is a biting baby, Mr. Poe is a sneezy rule abiding banker, Justice Strauss is a kind judge, and Olaf is a theater nut who will do anything to get the Baudelaire fortune. Anything. I honestly couldn't tell you anything more about each of the characters. Even with Count Olaf as the main antagonist, I couldn't bring myself to hate him. It was too black and white. Albeit, these are meant for a younger audience than myself.

The writing flows, and the story is intriguing while a bit disturbing. Count Olafs final plot creeped me out. And I'm going to leave it at that.

sir_readsalot91's review against another edition

4.0

the grown ups in these book always annoyed me. they were so dumb

marinaslibrary's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

LOVED THIS 

kaypeas's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sandraagee's review against another edition

5.0

Consider this to be my review for the entire series. Love it! Lemony Snicket is standard to which I hold all other snarky writers. Why? Because while his snark is delightful (the linguist in me loves him to bits), he also knows how to be serious when he needs to. He's an expert in smoothly changing the tone of a story and bringing readers along with the Beaudelaires for a delightfully whimsical, yet exceedingly emotional ride. Mystery, action, suspense, humor, and an abundance of literary references - what else could you ask for?

rhysciar's review against another edition

4.0

Valahol a közepén megfordult a fejemben, hogy leteszem ezt a könyvet, és nem olvasom tovább, annyira depresszívnek tartottam, viszont örülök, hogy nem tettem így. Bár kicsit fura volt a stílusa, és féltem is tőle (valamiért azt hittem, hogy pocsék humora lesz), élvezetes kis könyv volt. Mondjuk el nem tudom képzelni, mi lesz az árvák sorsa a sorozat legvégén, és hogy mi történhet még velük, de épp ezért kell tovább olvasnom majd.

colin_cox's review against another edition

5.0

Despite feeling distinctly gothic and Victorian in style, tone, and aesthetic, The Bad Beginning is a tricky book to place, but that's not a problem. Several friends have recommended this book, and I certainly understand why. The Bad Beginning is a lovely children's book, and despite my reservations, weaves a compelling narrative about loss, family, and perseverance. To my surprise, Snicket dips into second-person without it feeling contrived. Instead, this choice accentuates this book's rich and wholly unique narrative tapestry.

Another intelligent decision that I'm sure readers have discussed is the ways in which the characters in this book disrupts and challenge normative assumptions regarding sex and gender. Violet, the oldest of the three Baudelaire children, does not skew traditionally feminine. Instead, she enjoys and has an aptitude for mechanical engineering, which unto itself is not so profound and progressive, but considering the intended audience, choices like this undercut gender normativity before it can begin to resonate in the minds of its young readers.

louisasbookshelf's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I was obsessed with The Series of Unfortunate Events movie when I was younger and never read the books. I am happy I am getting around to this series now! The Bad Beginning is book one of the thirteen book series and does a great job setting up the rest of the series. 

castawaydragon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5