Despite a severe allergy to Jim Carrey, I think the 2004 film A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS is one of the most underrated movies in recent memory. For whatever reason, it’s considered a failure, but I think that reputation will flip-flop with the passing of time.
It’s based on the first three of a 13-book kid-lit series by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) which started in 1999. I’m late to the game, but HarperCollins is now reissuing them in lower-priced paperbacks with bonus supplements – and more on those in a minute – so there’s never a better time to get on board, whatever your age, beginning with A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS NO. 1: THE BAD BEGINNING.
With nifty illustrations by Brett Helquist, this slim novel introduces us to the Baudelaire children – crafty Violet, intelligent Klaus, biting Sunny – who learn in the opening pages that their parents have died in a house fire. In accordance with their folks’ will, they’re sent to live with the nearest relative: the wart-faced would-be theatrical actor Count Olaf, who turns them into his slaves, slaps them and, with an eye on their eventual inherited fortune, plots to marry the underage Violet. (In other words, it became the first and end sections of the feature film.)
Death, abuse, child brides – this is not the kind of stuff I remember ordering from the Troll Book Club! UNFORTUNATE EVENTS is true to its title, and the only reason it gets away with it is because of Snicket, our omniscient narrator with a real biting wit. He has a way with words that is darkly humorous, rendering the rougher elements as playfully innocent.
As much as I think younger readers lapped this stuff up, I suspect these EVENTS were enjoyed even more by their parents. I don’t care if it is shelved in the kids’ section; it’s thoroughly engaging and amusing, and can be digested in less time it takes to watch the film.
Plus, the new supplements at the end are a treat unto themselves, and should push you over into purchase mode if you’re on the fence. Under a section header of “The Cornucopian Cavalcade” – and you can download a sampler here – we get some fake ads, a serial story by Stephen Leacock called “Q. A Psychic Pstory of the Psupernatural,” a serial comic by Michael Kupperman about a Baudelaire-esque brother-and-sister adventurers known as “The Spoily Brats,” a wry advice column titled “What Shall I Do, Lemony Snicket?” and a “fascinating entertainment” how-to called “The Paper Magician.”
Kupperman’s comic is so inventive and funny that I want to read it all right now. According to the copyright page, Leacock’s story and “The Paper Magician” are reprints from the 1910s, but I don’t buy it for a second – I think that’s more Snicket trickery. And I like it. –Rod Lott
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For some reason, I only read the first book in this series. I loved it, so it’s about time I read the others. Your review has definitely encouraged me.