Wednesday, 8 October 2014

A series of unfortunate events- Not for the faint hearted

Up until now, I've reviewed only happy novels and movies that have a positive outlook. But this time, I've decided to write a review on an amazing novel, written by Daniel Handler a.k.a Lemony Snicket, which is not so positive. It starts with the Baudelaire family and the three siblings. Violet the eldest was fourteen and a budding inventor. Klaus, the middle child, was twelve and an avid reader who spent most of his time in his library. Sunny was the youngest and had a keen sense of biting things and could use her teeth for almost anything. Their series of unfortunate events began with a fire in their mansion that killed their parents. This takes place in the first chapter of the first novel, so you can expect things to be worse if you continue reading.

Now that they were orphans, they were sent to live with a distant relative, Count Olaf. Let's start by describing him. Cunning, deceitful, rude and zero sense of hygiene. Count Olaf was shaping to be a bad guardian right? Well, actually he was much worse than that. This was where the children's troubles actually began! The Baudelaire's were a very rich family. Violet, being the eldest would inherit her share of the savings when she turned eighteen. Count Olaf's only motive was to get that fortune in his hands by hook or crook. He was ready to do anything. Even marry Violet just to get her share of the fortune! But Violet being very smart, cheated Count Olaf and the three of them made a run for it.

In the following twelve novels, the author tells us how the Count disguised himself to get into the siblings lives and try to get that fortune. In this journey, murder, committing arson and many other crimes were taken up by Count Olaf as desperate measures to reach the money. The novel leaves you wanting to read more and find out the cause of the fire that killed the sibling's parents, what happens to the children in the end and does Count Olaf succeed in his ultimate goal.

The thirteen novels were combined and made into a movie "Lemony Snicket's- The series of Unfortunate Events" which was released in 2004. As a writer, I prefer reading the novel first and then seeing the movie because the novel gives you a better picture of the story. But as a reminder, this series may not be appreciated by all, especially those who crave for happily ever afters.



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