I had thought of maybe writing a review of the first book in the series itself. So, read on! And hey, comments will be very appreciated!
The Trouble Begins
The Baudelaires live
in the large Baudelaire mansion with their parents. Violet Baudelaire, fourteen, is an inventor and is fondly called ’Ed’ after Thomas Edison by her father. Violet’s passion is in inventing, and she will, on a beach, find a way of inventing a clever way of skipping rocks. Klaus Baudelaire, twelve, loves to read and is the heir to a pocket dictionary to be given to him by his mother. On a beach, he will study rockpool organisms. And Sunny Baudelaire, an infant the size of a boot, loves to bite, and on a beach, she will - er - bite!
The blow comes when Mr. Poe, a friend of their parents, says that the Baudelaire parents have perished in a fire, which destroyed the mansion as well. So the Baudelaires live with Mr. Poe for a while, wear itchy clothing, and share rooms with Edgar (Allen??) Poe and Albert Poe, as well as eating boiled food. But then they have to move to Count Olaf’s houe. To say that his house was unpleasant would be a lie. It is like a menacing hovel with one long tower. However, their new guardian is worse than any house. Slaps, cooking, cleaning, washing, taunts from a horrible acting troupe and insults are only a few of the grim prospects the Baudelaires have to face. They find consolance with their neighbour, Justice Strauss. But the worst part of their stay with Count Olaf is yet to come...
My Personal Opinion!
It is, no doubt, an amazing book. The descriptions of the three Baudelaires’ misery at the perils their guardian puts them through are conveyed in a totally brilliant manner. You feel the pain when the Baudelaires are insulted by Count Olaf, the anger when Mr. Poe refuses to believe them, the slight relief that they find with Justice Strauss... And just the total unfairness with it all makes you sympathize with each of the children immensely. After all, can’t children be right sometimes, and adults wrong?
Snicket’s style of writing is an art in itself. He prefers not to dwell on one thing for several amounts of time. If you are new to the books, then this might be boring. But soon enough, it grows on you, as well as the witty dark humour. As I have said numerous times before, the book is supposed to be depressing, but is actually not so!
I found just a few flaws in this book. These were that this book is comparatively a bit boring next to the others. The adventure level is low, which makes the whole book a bit boring - but if you read it before reading the rest, then you will definitely find it gripping. Do get it if you can!
Comments! Please?