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The Bad Beginning (Library Binding)

by Lemony Snicket (Author), Brett Helquist (Illustrator) "If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book ..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (685 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 18.35
Price: CDN$ 13.40 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Frequently Bought Together

The Bad Beginning + A Series of Unfortunate Events #2: The Reptile Room + Series Unfor Event #3 Wide Window Cd
Total List Price: CDN$ 69.30
Price For All Three: CDN$ 47.60

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  • This item: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

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  • A Series of Unfortunate Events #2: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

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  • Series Unfor Event #3 Wide Window Cd by Lemony Snicket

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

Make no mistake. The Bad Beginning begins badly for the three Baudelaire children, and then gets worse. Their misfortunes begin one gray day on Briny Beach when Mr. Poe tells them that their parents perished in a fire that destroyed their whole house. "It is useless for me to describe to you how terrible Violet, Klaus, and even Sunny felt in the time that followed," laments the personable (occasionally pedantic) narrator, who tells the story as if his readers are gathered around an armchair on pillows. But of course what follows is dreadful. The children thought it was bad when the well-meaning Poes bought them grotesque-colored clothing that itched. But when they are ushered to the dilapidated doorstep of the miserable, thin, unshaven, shiny-eyed, money-grubbing Count Olaf, they know that they--and their family fortune--are in real trouble. Still, they could never have anticipated how much trouble. While it's true that the events that unfold in Lemony Snicket's novels are bleak, and things never turn out as you'd hope, these delightful, funny, linguistically playful books are reminiscent of Roald Dahl (remember James and the Giant Peach and his horrid spinster aunts), Charles Dickens (the orphaned Pip in Great Expectations without the mysterious benefactor), and Edward Gorey (The Gashlycrumb Tinies). There is no question that young readers will want to read the continuing unlucky adventures of the Baudelaire children in The Reptile Room and The Wide Window. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


From Publishers Weekly

"If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book." So cautions Snicket, the exceedingly well-mannered narrator of these two witty mock-gothic novels featuring the misadventures of 14-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Klaus and infant Sunny Baudelaire. From the first, things look unfortunate indeed for the trio: a fire destroys their home, killing their parents along with it; the executor of their parents' estate, the obtuse Mr. Poe (with a son, Edgar), ignores whatever the children have to say; and their new guardian, Count Olaf, is determined to get his hands on the Baudelaire fortune. But by using their individual gifts (Violet's for inventing, Klaus's for reading and researching and baby Sunny's for biting) the three enterprising children thwart the Count's planAfor now. The author uses formal, Latinate language and intrusive commentary to hilarious effect, even for readers unfamiliar with the literary conventions he parodies. The peril in which he places the Baudelaires may be frightening (Count Olaf actually follows through on his threats of violence on several occasions), but the author paints the satire with such broad strokes that most readers will view it from a safe distance. Luckily for fans, the woes of the Baudelaires are far from over; readers eager for more misfortune can turn to The Reptile Room, for an even more suspenseful tale. Exquisitely detailed drawings of Gothic gargoyles and mischievous eyes echo the contents of this elegantly designed hardcover. Age 9-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

685 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (685 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, Aug 24 2007
This review is from: Series Of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning, A (Hardcover)
After already having seen the movie version of A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, I decided to invest in reading the books. Book one, THE BAD BEGINNING, only took me an hour to finish, and it was an enjoyable, if dark, read.

The Baudelaire children--Violet, Klaus, and Sunny--are left orphaned after a mysterious fire destroys their home and kills their parents. Taken into custody by Mr. Poe, the executor of their parents' estate, they learn that their parents' will states that they must be cared for by a relative. The closest relative, unbeknown to the children, is Count Olaf, an actor and the leader of a theatre troupe who lives in a dilapidated house on the other side of town.

Things, of course, only go from bad to worse after the children move into Count Olaf's home, which is strangely covered inside and out with drawings and representations of a strange looking eye. Count Olaf even has a tattoo of the same image on his ankle. As the Count hatches a scheme to gain control of the Baudelaire fortune, which the children are not privy to until Violet comes of age, the children are alternately scared of their new "parent" and determined to find a way out of their dreadful situation.

I enjoyed this walk on the dark side, and plan on reading Book two in the series later today. That said, however, I think it depends on your child and his or her maturity as to whether this would be a good read for them or not. Although the reading material is suitable for around eight years old and up, the book is dark-natured, and might scare some children. If they've already seen the movie, they might be prepared for its darkness; if the movie depiction scared them, then hold off on the book for awhile.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
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4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, Mar 6 2007
This review is from: Series Of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning, A (Hardcover)
After already having seen the movie version of A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, I decided to invest in reading the books. Book one, THE BAD BEGINNING, only took me an hour to finish, and it was an enjoyable, if dark, read.

The Baudelaire children--Violet, Klaus, and Sunny--are left orphaned after a mysterious fire destroys their home and kills their parents. Taken into custody by Mr. Poe, the executor of their parents' estate, they learn that their parents' will states that they must be cared for by a relative. The closest relative, unbeknown to the children, is Count Olaf, an actor and the leader of a theatre troupe who lives in a dilapidated house on the other side of town.

Things, of course, only go from bad to worse after the children move into Count Olaf's home, which is strangely covered inside and out with drawings and representations of a strange looking eye. Count Olaf even has a tattoo of the same image on his ankle. As the Count hatches a scheme to gain control of the Baudelaire fortune, which the children are not privy to until Violet comes of age, the children are alternately scared of their new "parent" and determined to find a way out of their dreadful situation.

I enjoyed this walk on the dark side, and plan on reading Book two in the series later today. That said, however, I think it depends on your child and his or her maturity as to whether this would be a good read for them or not. Although the reading material is suitable for around eight years old and up, the book is dark-natured, and might scare some children. If they've already seen the movie, they might be prepared for its darkness; if the movie depiction scared them, then hold off on the book for awhile.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars "Scream and Run Away.", Sep 17 2006
By bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Bad Beginning (Hardcover)
This is a review mainly of the unabridged recording of "The Bad Beginning" ISBN 0-8072-6178-5 read by Tim Curry, with an interview of Lemony Snicket by Leonard C. Marcus. And the song "Scream and Run Away preformed by the Gothic Archies. This is also a review of the hardback book ISBN 0-06-440766-7.

Initial listening of this book brought horror and disgust (which in this case means repugnance.) Determined to finish the story despite the author's constant warnings, I must say that I became enamored of his style.

There are several pluses to listening to the recording. The pace of the recording helps keep you going when you would have set the book aside. The absence of the book's illustrations by Bret Helquist allowed you to imagine a more sinister Count Olaf and a cuter, yet with a tad of tomboy, Violet. Now the significant plus is the unmistakable voice of Tim Curry of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Oscar" (1991 as Dr. Poole) fame. His interpretation of the voices gave just as much panache to the characters as Lemony's writing.

Not in the book, but as additions to the recording are two significant items that help with the understanding of the story, where it came from, and where it is going. First is an interview with the author. It covers many of the standard questions asked in an interview; the answers and the communication style is somewhat unique and a little over the top. Also there is a recording of a song that Mr. Snicket says is played by the Baudelaire memorial orchestra; I have since found that it was really preformed by the Gothic Archies, written by Gay and Loud.

I do not want to give away the plot however I can tell you that at one point they are forced to eat "boiled chicken, boiled, potatoes and 'blanched'- here means 'boiled'- string beans"


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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A parody of the Victorian penny dreadfuls
I read the first three Unfortunate Events books about 3 years ago and for some reason never got around to reading the rest of them. Read more
Published 12 months ago by N. Manning

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bad Beginning
In the Series of Unfortunate Events there are three regular children:

Violet, who loves to invent
Klaus, who loves to read
and Sunny who loves to bite... Read more
Published on Sep 10 2006 by Brian A.

5.0 out of 5 stars Dreadful!
This story is depressing and horrible. The poor Beaudelaire children go through such tragic events and meet such terrible people that I wept all the way through the book. Read more
Published on Jan 23 2005 by E.M.Paper

5.0 out of 5 stars A great beginning to an excellent series
the bad beginning is everything a person could want in a book.mystery,suspense,misery,humour and reverse psychology.this book is excellent! Read more
Published on Dec 21 2004 by Adri

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Original!
A very interesting, original story about all the bad things that happen to the 3 Baudelaire children. Read more
Published on Jul 18 2004 by Steph

2.0 out of 5 stars pointless
Maybe if I hadn't heard so many wonderful things about this book (as well as the entire line of follow-ups) I wouldn't be reviewing it so harshly. Read more
Published on Jul 16 2004 by Amanda Conwell

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bad Beginning
I thought that this book was one of the best books I have ever read. Lemony Snicket's writing style is interesting as when there is a complicated word he tells you what it means... Read more
Published on Jul 16 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bad Begining is a Good Beginning for a Great Series
The book was great and i am now on the third book of the series.
Published on Jul 13 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Not bad for a beginning
I just finished reading this book for the second time and am now almost halfway through the sequel. I usually ignore crazes and fads in literature (yes, I'm afraid this also... Read more
Published on Jul 12 2004 by D. COLLIER

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bad Beggining
This book, is very good. It is full of bad things, that happen to three kids Violet, Klaud, and Sunny. Read more
Published on Jul 11 2004

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