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The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Lemony Snicket
Creator: Brett Helquist
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $12.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $12.98 (100%)
New (179) Used (948) Collectible (66) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  1097 reviews
Sales Rank: 15849
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 162
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0064407667
EAN: 9780064407663
ASIN: 0064407667
Publication Date: September 30, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Also Available In:
| • | Hardcover - The Bad Beginning, Movie Tie-in Edition (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) | | • | Library Binding - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) | | • | Kindle Edition - Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning, A | | • | Paperback - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the First) | | • | Hardcover - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) | | • | Paperback - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) | | • | Hardcover - The Bad Beginning (Thorndike Young Adult) | | • | Audio CD - The Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events (Listening Library)) | | • | Audio CD - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) | | • | Audio Cassette - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) | | • | Audio Cassette - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) | | • | Hardcover - The Bad Beginning: Collectors' Edition (Series of Unfortunate Events) | | • | Hardcover - The Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events) | | • | Hardcover - The Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events) | | • | Hardcover - Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events (Sagebrush)) | | • | School & Library Binding - Mal Principio (Series Of Unfortunate Events) | | • | School & Library Binding - Un mal principio / The Bad Beginning (Una Serie De Catastroficas Desdichas) | | • | Library Binding - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) | | • | Library Binding - The Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events) | | • | Hardcover - Mal Principio / The Bad Beginning (Series Of Unfortunate Events) | | • | Audio Download - The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1 (Unabridged) | | • | Hardcover - The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
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
Product Description
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1092 more reviews...
A Fortunate start with sly humor December 2, 2008
Yes, these are kids books, but my wife and my son, both older and more mature than the target audience, have already read (that is to say devoured, in Mark's case, finishing the 13-book series in 1 week) and recommended the books, and the movie (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Widescreen Edition)) introducing the characters invites further curiosity about the books.
So, Book the First is a good start, with sly humor, the occasional wink at the camera, and enough (and bad enough but no more) unfortunate events to propel the story forward nicely.
Next up: The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 2)
 Lousy October 7, 2008
Absolutely enchanting. If grief and horror could ever be so practically and charmingly applied in the real world, it would probably be a better place. The writing style may off-set some, but it's quirky, odd, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an off-beat story with unexpectedly powerful heart.
The Creepy Children September 12, 2008
If you like unhappy endings with mischief, then Unfortunate Events is a good book for you. It is very exciting with lots of creepy stuff going on, from finding rats in your kitchen, and bugs in your bed.
-MB, student
Great Beginning September 7, 2008
It is sad to read some of the pathetic one star reviews here on Amazon. These adults seem to not understand the book at all. Which does not mean it is not a great crossover book to be enjoyed by adults and kids alike.
First of all the entire premise is delightfully original. You get hooked in knowing all the misfortune that haunts the Baudelaire children. Lemony Snicket tells you it is not something you want to read if you like sugary happy endings which makes me wonder why the idiots who gave it one star wouldn't heed this good advice.
Compared to the dull snoozefest that is Harry Potter, this is very much more entertaining, engaging and well written.
He has a way with words and with every book in the series using alliteration in the title and every one with 13 chapters to form the 13 books in the series, makes you more curious about it all. I especially enjoyed his way with explaining some words and phrases to the young reader - noteworthy being - difference between "literally" and "figuratively" and the word "standoffish".
Bad things indeed happen to these young ones and as in all children's book the adults don't seem to understand the evil plot until it is too late. All children's book from Enid Blyton to any book of today shows kids as the brave, enterprising, adventurous and witty ones. It is sad that some adults find this insulting but these protagonists are the "heroes" of the novel and if there is an adult hero in some novel, no one complains about the kids being portrayed as stupid.
The Bad Beginning starts with very bad news indeed. And the orphans now seek peace of mind in various ways. Children could learn humility, kindness, adventurousness, being polite and also grace & modesty in adversity. These kids are resourceful and stick together and know how to deal with negative and positive influences. There is a lot to learn here for kids and adults alike (especially the one-star rating adults).
The movie version is a very different story from the book but Jim Carey plays Count Olaf by the book.
You will enjoy this book and like me probably collect the entire series. I got all 13 on a Sale at USD 2 each at a local bookstore chain. All hardcover printed in Italy it is a bargain of a lifetime I pulled off.
The wonderful Baudelaire kids with the pretty inventor Violet and the thoughtful all reading Klaus and the cutest baby in literature - Sunny, make for wonderful light reading and I bought these 13 books yesterday and am already into book 2.
Buy the first one and give it a try. Unless you are one of those parents who thinks their kids will become Devil worshippers through something as lame as Harry Potter or are overprotective enough of your kids to bar them from going to a regular school, preferring home education under lock and key - unless you are that type of person - your kids will surely enjoy it very much.
An inspiring story. Better than Dicken's orphans but not as thrilling as Mark Twain's orphans.
 I wish there were fewer stars than one August 18, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
I am not a violent man. In my lifetime, I have never been in a fight. I've never seriously threatened anyone with violence, never made anyone feel afraid by my physical presence, never even really seriously considered doing violence to another person.
Having said that, the feelings this book evoked in me were... violent.
Not because Lemony Snicket has written a book where terribly unfortunate things happen to small children - I have no problems with that and in fact encourage it; it builds character. I want to do violence towards Lemony Snicket because he's a terrible writer who should never have been allowed to have his words put to paper. His pens should be broken, his notes burned, his hard drive wiped and, if possible, his writings should banned by an Act of Congress. The First Amendment can only go so far.
You may be wondering what has roused this level of bibliorage in me. By all accounts, this series is extremely popular, loved by many. On various book review websites, this book routinely gets at least four stars and high praise. It was even made into a movie starring Jim Carry, and if that's not the Seal of Public Approval then I don't know what is. It would seem that one of two things is true: Either I'm seriously overreacting to a tiny aspect of Snicket's (AKA Daniel Handler's) writing style or the rest of the world is full of blind ignoramuses who wouldn't know decent writing if they woke up in bed with it after a bender in Vegas.
As a reviewer, I, of course, choose to believe the latter.
Snicket has taken what should be an entertaining story, filled with untimely death, physical violence, extortion, deception, and pedophilic overtones, and corrupted it by treating its audience like a bunch of drooling idiots.
I am, of course, referring to his habit of defining "difficult" words within the text, with no regard for the flow of the story or the necessity of the definition. For example:
Page 2: "...occasionally their parents gave them permission to take a rickety trolley - the word 'rickety,' you probably know, here means 'unsteady' or 'likely to collapse' - alone to the seashore...."
Page 13: "...over a dull dinner of boiled chicken, boiled potatoes and blanched - the word 'blanched' here means 'boiled' - string beans."
Page 18: "'Please get out of bed and get dressed,' he said briskly. The word 'briskly' here means 'quickly, so as to get the Baudelaire children to leave the house.'"
Page 44: "...the kitchen grew cozy as the sauce simmered, a culinary term which means 'cooked over a low heat.'"
And so on.
There are a few occasions where a word is defined well, in context and occasionally in character, and I don't mind those. But the constant shoehorning in of definitions made me want to take a sharpened number two pencil and work it under Mr. Snicket's fingernails until he apologized sufficiently for being a hack.
I've gotten feedback from people who like this style, especially parents, who say that it saves them from having to put down the book and explain to the child what "blanched" means. Full disclosure: I am not a parent, nor am I likely to ever be one, but I think that teaching a child to figure things out for him or herself - or, god forbid, learn to use a dictionary - is part of what will make her or him grow up to be an inquisitive, intelligent adult. In my real job, teaching English as a foreign language, I find that my students are more likely to remember a word if I make them work for it, rather than if I just tell them what it means.
Let's face it - if this book is written for adults, then the author should treat his readers like adults. If the book is written for children, which this ostensibly is, then the author has to choose whether to talk up or down to them. In a book where the main characters' parents die before the first page and where the eldest daughter nearly becomes a child bride to her blood uncle, one would think the author has judged his audience mature enough to deal with these themes. If that's so, then overtly defining "difficult" words is an insult to his readers, and that is unacceptable to me.
I am reminded of a passage in Terry Pratchett's book, Wee Free Men, where the main character, a nine year old girl named Tiffany, asks an itinerant teacher about zoology:
"Zoology, eh? That's a big word, isn't it."
"No, actually it isn't," said Tiffany. "Patronizing is a big word. Zoology is really quite short."
I think Mr. Pratchett may have read Mr. Snicket's book as well.
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