The Bad Beginning

Book Description

Critics

• The Best Reviews: Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning

  Click review title to read full review "Three children, many unfortunate events" Reviewed by Guest Reviewer Posted June 16, 2004 The Bad Beginning is the first book in Lemony Snicket's, A Series of Unfortunate Events. The story starts out with three ... (read full critics)

  thebestreviews published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

• A Series of Unfortunate Events #01: The Bad Beginning

  Review-a-Day Monday, November 19th, 2001 A Series of Unfortunate Events #01: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket A review by Georgie Lewis A terribly well-read editor friend who works for a well respected publisher of young adult fiction confessed to ... (read full critics)

  powells published on Mon, 6 Sep 2010

11 Reviews

• 2 people find this helpful

  

  Through a weird set of circumstances, I came to read The Reptile Room with a group of students. This, as many know, is the second book in the A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. This is a series I have wanted to read, but frankly, with such a lengthy list of unread books, I have not ta ... (continue)

  Through a weird set of circumstances, I came to read The Reptile Room with a group of students. This, as many know, is the second book in the A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. This is a series I have wanted to read, but frankly, with such a lengthy list of unread books, I have not tackled. As I read The Reptile Room, my OCD kicked in. I just had to read the first book in the series.

  For the past week I had been wanting to stop off at the used bookstore in town to pick up a copy. It didn’t happen. But yesterday Beetle remained home with her mother, which freed my trip home from work. I stopped in and found two copies of the first book (The Bad Beginning): one hardcover and one paperback, both priced the same. :( I selected the hardcover.

  Upon opening the book, the nameplate was signed with a familiar name; the boy who lives across the street had owned this book. I took this as a good omen. :)

  The Baudelaire children (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) do indeed have a series of unfortunate events. First their parents die in a house fire. Then they are shepherded off to Count Olaf, their closest (in distance) relative. The Count, a drunkard, actor, and otherwise miserable brute devises a plan to take control of the vast Baudelaire fortune.

  Ah yes, dear reader, upon Violet turning of age (she is 14 now) she will inherit a great fortune. Until then, Violet and her siblings are bounced about among the seedy.

  While the fortunate remains safe for the time being, there is no happy ending, as Lemony Snicket is fond of highlighting. Life is miserable for the Baudelaires.

  Lemony Snicket’s writing is a breath of fresh air. The author frequently takes time out to explain terms and events to the reader. These read much like movies/television shows where the actors break out of character and address the camera. What great fun! The Bad Beginning is classic English humor that, much in the spirit of the late Roald Dahl, captures the reader immediately.

  Follett states the reading level of this book sixth grade (ages 11-12). Much like Rowling’s Harry Potter series, A Series of Unfortunate Events has captured young readers. Many of my fourth graders are reading the series and an even larger group of fifth graders are too. Interesting, well-written prose will always find an audience and this book is just that.

  It looks like I will be visiting the bookstore again real soon . . .

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  Batona said on Jun 5, 2007 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  A great beginning indeed

  If you think you are going to read an interesting review revealing the truth about the story of the three Baudelaire orphans, you are totally wrong.
  First of all, there is no truth in this story but one: adults are the dullest people ever (Mr Poe! The Crowd! In her kindness, Justice Strauss herself! ... (continue)

  If you think you are going to read an interesting review revealing the truth about the story of the three Baudelaire orphans, you are totally wrong.
  First of all, there is no truth in this story but one: adults are the dullest people ever (Mr Poe! The Crowd! In her kindness, Justice Strauss herself!)
  Second of all, there is nothing the Baudelaire siblings can do but depend on each other. That's the strength of the three and of the story itself (is that a moral?).
  And this is just the (bad, bad) beginning.

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  Valeria said on Jan 27, 2012 about the Audio Cassette edition | Add your feedback

• 

  So funny! I love how the narrator explains the vocabulary and Sunny's words and thoughts. I just listened to the audiobook - I'd read the series years ago - and although at first the sound effects throughout were extremely distracting, I really enjoyed it once I got used to it.

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  jeanette said on Jul 8, 2011 about the Audio Cassette edition | Add your feedback

• 

  It's a good story and it's easy to read for the non-english people, like me :)

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  Rocy said on Jul 23, 2010 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

• 

  I picked up book 1 to read to my son hoping it would spark an interest in reading for him and I'm so glad I did. We take turns reading and trying to figure out what happens next. This is such an enjoyable book and I look forward to the series to come.

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  Leahrussell76 said on Feb 25, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

• 

  A bit of a let-down, this book, I thought it would be funnier. Count Olaf is a truly nasty character and the book is quite one dimensional.
  Also, it is really a `children´s book`, lots of explaining of difficult words and such.
  But it should be quite entertaining for a child who likes `da ... (continue)

  A bit of a let-down, this book, I thought it would be funnier. Count Olaf is a truly nasty character and the book is quite one dimensional.
  Also, it is really a `children´s book`, lots of explaining of difficult words and such.
  But it should be quite entertaining for a child who likes `dark` stories.

  Is this helpful?

  Linda Wilke said on Jun 30, 2008 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

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Book Details

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• English Books
• Mass Market Paperback 162 Pages
• ISBN-10: 1405249536
• ISBN-13: 9781405249539
• Publisher: Egmont Childrens Books
• Pub date: Jan 01, 2010
• Also available as: Paperback, Hardcover, Audio CD, Audio Cassette, Library Binding, School & Library Binding and Others
• In other languages: other languages Livres Français, Libros en Español, Libri Italiani

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