Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Bad Beginning

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

44 reviews

brynalexa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Read this to my kids over bedtime the last few weeks to share some of what I read as a child… I did not remember it being this dark?! Child marriage?! Reference to “wedding night” 😱

On the other hand, it’s just as clever and cheeky as I remembered. I was also able to get lots of little lessons out of it like “not all adults are safe”, consent, etc.

Could do without the transphobia, fatphobia, and ableism imbedded in the troupe of bad guys….

Leaving it up to the kids if we carry on the series.

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azalya01's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I loved this book as a kid, so I'm reading it over again. The first book in the series is really charming and sets up what the reader is meant to expect in terms of narration and pacing in the rest of the series. I love the of mystery, humor, and genuine sadness that makes you really invest in the lives of the Baudelaire children, no matter how crazy the gets. I forward to reading more of the series.

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maddy707's review against another edition

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mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I’ve decided to re-read this series to try to pull me out of a massive reading slump. This was the first series I ever read as a child and I loved it. All these years later and I loved this book just as much. I love the writing of this series, I love the Baudelaire siblings, I love the mystery of VFD. The nostalgia is just what I needed.

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smacey's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.75

4.75/5.00

I originally read the SoUE books as a kid growing up, back when I fit the population that this series was meant for. I loved them. I am re-reading them now as a 27-year-old, and upon finishing book #1, I am sensing why I may have always liked them so much: these books are essentially the juvenile version of trauma porn (in a good way, to those who also believe that is a thing). I thought that my enjoyment of dark, twisted, trauma-filled stories started in adulthood, but I now think that maybe I've just always been this way. Regardless of the self-reflection this book has brought about for me, this was definitely a different reading experience as an adult vs. child.

I have critiques of this book for sure, but when I take a step back and examine those critiques from the perspective of what audience this book is intended for, they mostly don't hold. My main example is how Justice Strauss and Mr. Poe are insanely inept, to the point of being entirely frustrating and seemingly unrealistic as their obvious incompetence and consistent dismissal of the three main characters goes against the expected character of a high court judge and experienced banker. However, when you view it through the lens of a young person, their inability to listen to the Baudelaire children and the way in which they miss the obvious signs of abuse, neglect, and general cruelty of Count Olaf despite allegedly being intelligent, well-meaning adults can be, and likely is often, extremely relatable as a kid around the age of Klaus or Violet.

Essentially, this book is entirely well-written in the utterly unique Lemony Snicket style which I don't believe could ever be replicated, and although the pace is quicker than I'd like and the plot isn't as complicated as I'd prefer, once again, as a piece of children's fiction, it does exactly what it was meant to - create a relatable but simultaneously far-reaching (but still believable) fictional story focused on characters the same age as its intended audience and told in both a captivating and educational manner. My only standing critique is I would have loved more detail/a slightly longer story (but I also know that happens with each expansion of the series, which I look forward to re-delving into). Despite the maturity I now have a decade since my first read, the story still holds.

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seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad fast-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

2.75

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buzzinfly's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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sierra5304's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I love the narration and illustrations. The protagonists are nice.

Count Olaf is a great antagonist/terrible human. The tragedy in children’s fiction makes this series stand out. The subject matter of adults failing children is very real (but not very present in children’s fiction) handled well in an age-appropriate way.

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