murmurations_x's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
"To Beatrice - darling, dearest, dead."
Growing up you where either a Percy Jackson kid, a Harry Potter kid or a Lemony Snicket kid and I was most certainly was a Lemony Snicket kid. Oh boy, did I eat this stuff up as a kid and re-reading them as an adult is really quite enjoyable too, I am excited to make my way through the series again and where better to start than the bad beginning....
The Bad Beginning is a excellent start to these series, we get the know the Baudelaire children and their talents and intelligence (man I wanted to be Violet Baudelaire so bad) I love our villain Count Olaf, he is far more menacing than I remember. He is so creepy to Violet in this book in ways at time that went over my head as a kid but give me the creeps now as an adult.
The writing of our fourth wall breaking story teller Lemony Snicket is some of my favourite of all time, I still love the fact that Daniel Handler wrote these as pseudonym, Snicket is more a character himself than a writer and you can only imagine how my mind was blown and confused finding this out as a youngster. One of my favourite elements of these stories is the dedications to Beatrice, they are short, funny, beautiful and some times moving. The dark humor in this book .... *chefs kiss*
This story was dark, funny, adventurous and I cannot wait to head straight on to the next one!
Growing up you where either a Percy Jackson kid, a Harry Potter kid or a Lemony Snicket kid and I was most certainly was a Lemony Snicket kid. Oh boy, did I eat this stuff up as a kid and re-reading them as an adult is really quite enjoyable too, I am excited to make my way through the series again and where better to start than the bad beginning....
The Bad Beginning is a excellent start to these series, we get the know the Baudelaire children and their talents and intelligence (man I wanted to be Violet Baudelaire so bad) I love our villain Count Olaf, he is far more menacing than I remember. He is so creepy to Violet in this book in ways at time that went over my head as a kid but give me the creeps now as an adult.
The writing of our fourth wall breaking story teller Lemony Snicket is some of my favourite of all time, I still love the fact that Daniel Handler wrote these as pseudonym, Snicket is more a character himself than a writer and you can only imagine how my mind was blown and confused finding this out as a youngster. One of my favourite elements of these stories is the dedications to Beatrice, they are short, funny, beautiful and some times moving. The dark humor in this book .... *chefs kiss*
This story was dark, funny, adventurous and I cannot wait to head straight on to the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Kidnapping
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Body shaming
erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This series had been on my radar for well over a decade, but I didn't have the motivation to start until I was in a book club that has it on the reading list. The vibe of the whole thing is a bit Dickens meets Roald Dahl with less of the child slavery and fart jokes. I can't stand Roald Dahl, so it you're a fan at least you are aware of my bias.
The tone of the story is charming and peppered with conversational notes for children on vocabulary and grammar ("vocabulary and grammar", in this sense means, the words that are used, and in which order, so that they make good sense.) I laughed at parts of the story such as when a child is reading late at night and is so tired that he repeats the same part over and repeats the same part over and repeats the same part over.
I find it a little irksome that to have scary adult characters they lean into the body horror, caricaturing an amputee with two hooks for hands and a fat, gender indeterminate person with white eyes. It's a bit circus freakshow, and challenges my desire for positive representation of Disability. Call me a snowflake, I dare you.
For a book that ostensibly has nothing but unfortunate happenings, sad beginnings, and sad endings, I was still not surprised that the children use their extensive resourcefulness to solve problems. It would be utterly unengaging if there was no hope, but the whole point is that these children are relatively irrepressible (which means that compared to most people, they don't let unfortunate or difficult things stop them). Yes the ending faces them with a new valamity, but such is the way with serial stories.
The tone of the story is charming and peppered with conversational notes for children on vocabulary and grammar ("vocabulary and grammar", in this sense means, the words that are used, and in which order, so that they make good sense.) I laughed at parts of the story such as when a child is reading late at night and is so tired that he repeats the same part over and repeats the same part over and repeats the same part over.
I find it a little irksome that to have scary adult characters they lean into the body horror, caricaturing an amputee with two hooks for hands and a fat, gender indeterminate person with white eyes. It's a bit circus freakshow, and challenges my desire for positive representation of Disability. Call me a snowflake, I dare you.
For a book that ostensibly has nothing but unfortunate happenings, sad beginnings, and sad endings, I was still not surprised that the children use their extensive resourcefulness to solve problems. It would be utterly unengaging if there was no hope, but the whole point is that these children are relatively irrepressible (which means that compared to most people, they don't let unfortunate or difficult things stop them). Yes the ending faces them with a new valamity, but such is the way with serial stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, and Bullying
dreamerfreak's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, and Child abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
thechocolatefinger's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, and Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Alcoholism
The adult/minor relationship (villain adult man with 14-year-old girl) isn’t real, it’s aSpoiler
fake marriagemckiheather's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Having seen the Netflix show a couple times and finally getting to read it, it’s such a good story because I don’t think there’s really any other story like it and it’s told in such an interesting way. I think the audiobook format also adds to that story telling in a really interesting way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Grief, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
micaelacccc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Why is this marketed to children? So so so creepy and gave me the ick at Count Olaf and the men who thought Violet was a "pretty thing"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent
Minor: Grief
sadiaa's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely started reading for the nostalgic element, can't wait to get through the whole series
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent
anonymousbiblioholic39's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
** SPOILERS AHEAD **
Enjoyment: 5/5
* The Bad Beginning was a very fast-paced and enjoyable read. I finished it in less than a day, and I think it would be perfect for anyone who wants a quick read to fly through.
Writing: 3/5
* I really enjoyed all of the creative interjections to the story that the author added in where he addressed the reader. Idk, I just thought that was a cool way of narrating a story. Outside of that, the writing wasn't anything remarkable or lousy, just what you'd expect for the genre.
Characters: 1/5
* There wasn't much character development. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny did have their own separate interests and personalities, but they didn't feel all that real. We never got to see why Count Olaf wanted the Baudelaire estate outside of just simple greed, either. Pretty much all of the side characters were shallow and some even useless, should I say so myself. Justice Strauss was flat as a character, and the descriptions of Count Olaf's theatre troupe were unnecessary filler.
Plot: 4/5
* The book was well plotted, but the marriage shenanigans were creepy, so minus 1 star for that
Overall rating: 13/20, 65%
Enjoyment: 5/5
* The Bad Beginning was a very fast-paced and enjoyable read. I finished it in less than a day, and I think it would be perfect for anyone who wants a quick read to fly through.
Writing: 3/5
* I really enjoyed all of the creative interjections to the story that the author added in where he addressed the reader. Idk, I just thought that was a cool way of narrating a story. Outside of that, the writing wasn't anything remarkable or lousy, just what you'd expect for the genre.
Characters: 1/5
* There wasn't much character development. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny did have their own separate interests and personalities, but they didn't feel all that real. We never got to see why Count Olaf wanted the Baudelaire estate outside of just simple greed, either. Pretty much all of the side characters were shallow and some even useless, should I say so myself. Justice Strauss was flat as a character, and the descriptions of Count Olaf's theatre troupe were unnecessary filler.
Plot: 4/5
* The book was well plotted, but the marriage shenanigans were creepy, so minus 1 star for that
Overall rating: 13/20, 65%
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol
Minor: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
booksjessreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read this for my StoryGraph genre challenge, since I had wanted to read this as a child and never got round to it. I feel weird reviewing this when I am not part of the target audience, but here we are.
I thought this was quite enjoyable, and certainly super weird. It isn't something I would have picked up as a child but it was interesting. Lemony Snicket was very clear in that there isn't a lot of happiness in this book, and he wasn't wrong, but some part of me felt like perhaps it was too much for a children's book. But, children might like this... idk?
I felt like there should have been some sort of trigger warning for the child abuse However, I thought it was written well and it was comical in places. I also liked how Snicket was both the narrator and a character in the book. This just added a great dimension to the story.
Some people have mentioned how they didn't like the definitions of words being brought up constantly within the text. I didn't mind them so much and I knew why they were there. They did break up the writing, but I am not who the book was aimed for, so I skimmed past the definitions and just kept reading.
Overall, a good read and I have decided to continue reading the series.
I thought this was quite enjoyable, and certainly super weird. It isn't something I would have picked up as a child but it was interesting. Lemony Snicket was very clear in that there isn't a lot of happiness in this book, and he wasn't wrong, but some part of me felt like perhaps it was too much for a children's book. But, children might like this... idk?
I felt like there should have been some sort of trigger warning for the child abuse
Spoiler
Klaus getting slapped and adults literally laughing at him would certainly not be comfortable for some children to read here.Some people have mentioned how they didn't like the definitions of words being brought up constantly within the text. I didn't mind them so much and I knew why they were there. They did break up the writing, but I am not who the book was aimed for, so I skimmed past the definitions and just kept reading.
Overall, a good read and I have decided to continue reading the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Confinement
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
i feel weird critiquing when i know i'm no longer the target audience (🥲) but there are literally five plot points it’s so short. i don't think i fully realized, as a fourth grader, the gravity and emotional trauma of the Baudelaire's situation… like ?!? pit in my stomach. also, this is not an attempt to "cancel" the book, but what must it be like to read this as a child going through abuse only to have Mr. Snicket tell you twenty times "it doesn't get better for these kids". i guess that’s its form of a trigger warning?
Spoiler
the slap to the face and all the other adults laugh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Grief, and Death
Minor: Incest, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Pedophilia