A Bad Beginning

A Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (1999)

I really liked this book. It may have only taken me 45 minutes to read, but it was a very enjoyable 45 minutes.

A Bad Beginning begins the tale of the Baudelaire children, who, in the first few pages of the book, are orphaned and lose everything except the clothes on their backs.

Let me quote the back of the book, to give you an idea of the writing style:

Dear Reader,

I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

I mean really, how could you not LOVE a book written like that? There are ten books in the series so far, with thirteen (?) proposed.

Harper Collins

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