The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (1999)

Contrary to many other readers, the first thing I read on the cover of any book is the author's name. I guess it is the only way of getting a sense of the identity of the person who wrote the book. What it is in a name you may ask? you would be surprised.

At any rate, my younger brother came to me crying one day about this book review he had due for his English class. The fact that he hadn't read the book was not at all helpful. I, eventually, decided to write the report for him myself and thus read the book for him also.

When I first read the author's name "Lemony Snicket", I remember thinking "what a very unfortunate name". When I read the title of the book "A Series of Unfortunate Events" I was really impressed with the uniqueness of the title.

How can you not be interested in a book that is called "A Series of Unfortunate Events"? The very title of book is a description of the lives of many people I know, and it is probably a fair description of the author's life too.

The author warns the reading before embarking on reading the book by saying that the book is "not going to have a happy ending, and, although it is a childrens book, very few happy incidents take place throughout". I immediately realized that this book was going to be something different, and That I'm not going to be reading the story about the boy who rescued the dying dog, or the story about the girl who found her way home. I set the miserable mood for myself by dimming the lights in the room, and started reading.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning" tells us of the miserable lives of the three Baudelaire children: Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire, and Sunny Baudelaire. In the very first chapter of the book the two parents of the children die, their house gets burned down and they are left in the custody of a Banker that lacks any real sense of compassion.

The children are soon taken in by their closest relative Count Olaf, who is the embodiment of evil in the story. He accommodates the children with a single bed for all three, gives them very little food, and expects them to do all these chores for him from chopping wood to cooking meals. Count Olaf soon goes after the fortune the children will inherit when they become adults. He starts scheming and the Baudelaires are faced with the challenge of protecting both themselves and their parents' fortune. As the title implies it is just one unfortunate event after another.

This book really really caught my attention in many ways. What really impressed me was how it was so different and unique in every way imaginable. Firstly, it was so extremely direct. It tells it to children the way it is.

I also realized that it has a very high educational value, since it introduces new vocabulary and concepts to children without being at all patronizing. The book is the best reality check for any kid or adult. For me the message was that although life can be a series of unfortunate events, the only thing that makes it go on is that we never give up hope, like the Baudelaire children never did. They kept using their brains to get out of every problem they were shoved into. It reminded me of how responsible I should be with respect to my own life. The children never complained about being victims, they just took as much responsibility as they can and placed it on their shoulders and kept trying to make the best of their lives.

Though the book is full of negative images and occurrences, it is about being positive really in a world that breeds negativity.

Many claim that this book is not realistic. I believe that while it is not realistic, it is a reflection of reality overstated for a child to comprehend. It is an analogy that Lemony Snicket draws between our lives and the lives of the Baudelaires. Don't get me wrong the book is not a fantasy fairytale by any stretch of the imagination, but it still keeps a certain magical quality to it.

Count Olaf seems like a Witch to me and his house a Haunted Castle of some sort. Violet, Klaus and Sunny collectively have all the qualities any hero would require whilst maintaining very child-like characteristics. For me "A Series of Unfortunate Events" strikes the balance between Fantasy and Reality.

The book is also a victory for relativity in general. I never enjoyed descriptive language and beautiful images that were so negative before. It experiments greatly by showing everything in a negative light and sets a gloomy mood that only generates excitement and pure fun on the readers part.

I have to say I really like the character of Violet. A responsible, informed young lady. I also really enjoyed Count Olaf's mob, they were an ensemble of very interesting characters indeed (the bald man, the man with hooks for hands, the tall women, the person who doesn't seem to be a man or a woman).

All in all, this is a book that introduces children to sarcasm, reverse psychology, relativity, and the importance of diversity and difference in the world we live in.

After reading the book I decided not to write the book report for my little brother. I forced him to read the book and write the C- book report himself. If Violet, Klaus, and Sunny can handle so many unfortunate events, then he sure can handle a very unfortunate grade.