Before we begin:
I have a confession to make, and it is one that is really hard for me to admit so sit tight. I have not actually read the first book of this series. I know, how could I say that I like this series this much without even reading the full thing? To this I say it’s not my fault that I didn’t read it at first, my teacher picked out the book for my reading group but there wasn’t enough of the first book so we read the second one. Of course, now it’s my fault considering I own my own copy of the book, but the plot is thoroughly explained in the rest of the series and I haven’t been able to sit down and read it since I know the story already…
What’s it about?
This 13 book series follows the three Baudelaire orphans (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) as they go through their exceptionally unfortunate life. They are passed from guardian to guardian as an evil man, Count Olaf, follows them and creates over-the-top schemes to steal the enormous fortune that their parents left them.
For a series of children’s novels, this story is quite dark. Not only do these children experience death in nearly every book, but they are constantly being underestimated by the adults in their lives. They also quickly learn that they can’t rely on any of those adults and have to band together to survive.
The Children
The three children are all described as highly intelligent and having “pleasant facial features”. Individually, though, they all have very defining traits.
Violet, the eldest Baudelaire, has a very inventive and mechanical mind. She is always coming up with new inventions to get the three out of sticky situations. She also has a hair ribbon that she uses to tie up her hair when she is thinking about an invention.
Klaus, the middle Baudelaire, is the definition of “book smart”. He uses libraries and books to his advantage, frequently tasking himself with gathering information for the trio. He also has glasses, making it obvious that he’s really smart.
Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire, is just a baby. She can’t even talk yet, though her siblings are able to translate her babbling. She also has extremely sharp teeth. So sharp, in fact, that she at one point shapes a round rock into a skipping rock with her teeth.
Why do I like the books?
The whole series holds a dear place in my heart because it is simply fantastic. The characters are hilarious, it is incredibly relatable to any child, and it has a genuinely interesting plot. Also, the narrator/author of the story, Lemony Snicket, is an actual character in the larger story which absolutely blew my mind as a child.
The writing in this series is also absolutely incredible. The story that we are reading is an tragic and dark one, but the overall tone of the books is lighthearted and charming. Of course, the deep undertones seep through when it is necessary, but the books never stay that way for long. The author also teaches his young audience a lot of vocabulary and phrases without being boring. He defined terms such as calamitous, in loco parentis, standoffish, misnomer, and penultimate, to a second grader in a way that I understood and enjoyed.
The Baudelaire children are truly inspirational because they go through tragedy after tragedy and they never really give up hope. When one of the siblings is down, the other two are there to pick them back up. They go through years of neglectful guardians (or good ones that end up dead) after living a life of privilege with their parents, but are able to remain positive for the most part. They are also constantly showing the adults, who never listen or see what’s truly wrong in a situation, that they are more than what everyone makes them out to be.
The movie…
Oh boy, where do I start… The movie was made in 2004, two years before the book series concluded, and they couldn’t have done a worse job. If you enjoyed the book in any capacity, the movie is simply horrifying. The plot of the movie spans the first three books only, with no hint of them planning on making a sequel. It actually starts out correctly, the first half or so of the first book is there, then they move on to books two and three, before adding in the second half of the first book and then coming up with their own ending.
The Netflix Original!!
This show is honestly one of the best translations from book to screen that I have ever seen. The narration style is preserved, the story line is perfect, and the personality of this series is really well translated.
There is a joke about making movies/tv shows about books where someone says “the script should just be a copy of the book”, and this show feels like they did exactly that. They really took the time to put in all of the little details. It is honestly really good if you have read the books or not.
My Childhood Library 