Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Written by: Leo Maurer

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been making my way back through The Series of Unfortunate Events written by Lemony Snicket. The series is actually written by Daniel Handler, as the name Lemony Snicket is a pen name. Using this pen name, Handler has taken an interesting approach to the narration of the plight of the Baudelaire children. He inserts himself into the story, and acts somewhat as if he is experiencing the story first hand. 

The series focuses on Sunny, Klaus, and Violet Baudelaire, whose parents recently died due to a fire at their house. They receive this news while taking a stroll on a beach, from their parent’s financial advisor, Mr. Poe. Mr. Poe then places them in the care of Count Olaf, an apparently distance relative of theirs. As the children arrive at the Count’s house, they immediately know something is wrong, he is a disgusting man, with a disgusting house, and a disgusting theater troupe. As the days and weeks continue the children eventually learn he is after their fortune. 

Snicket, the narrator and “author” of the books, opens almost every book with a warning to the reader. The warning is always a slight variation of the book contains sad content and will not have a happy ending; Snicket urges the reader to put the book down and move on to reading something happier and more upbeat. I quite like how he does this in the beginning of the books, but I think it could also become a problem for readers who find it obnoxious or redundant. As I've been reading through the series a second time, I've remembered by how I was almost sick of the warnings by the third or fourth book. Although this may be true, it adds a level of depth and realness to the book.

Another interesting aspect of the narration I found interesting is how Snicket inserts himself and his family into the story. The reader has the first mystery, what exactly happened to the Baudelaire's parents and house? Then, Snicket inserts his own mysterious past and implies he was friends or at least acquaintances of the late Baudelaires. In my opinion, this aspect of the story can get lost very easily on readers, as I did not pick up on it until my second read through of the series. I enjoy the mystery and break from the story of the orphans it adds, but at times the story seems to be too much for someone to absorb on the spot.

Overall, I'd award Snicket and A Series of Unfortunate Events 9.5/10 bologna slices. The story immerses the reader and leaves them wanting more after every page and chapter. There are subtle nuances of the plot and even the number of books (unlucky number 13), that add clever and playful charm to the books. I would recommend this book series to anyone, as there is a variety of characters and events that almost everyone can relate to. The half point comes off for some unnecessary redundancy and complexity of the plots, but overall the series is definitely worth reading.