Customer Reviews

The Cumbersome Collection (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-11) [SHRINK WRAPPED]

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If you or your children haven't been introduced to Lemony Snicket's (pseud. taken by Daniel Handler while researching extremist groups) wonderful "Series of Unfortunate Events" books, here's a great chance to get the first ten (of 13 total) at an exceptional value. The story centers on the three Baudelaire orphans: fourteen-year-old Violet, who's a talented inventer; twelve-year-old Klaus, who's a voracious reader; and baby Sunny, who can chew through almost anything and speaks in snippets of dialogue that only her siblings can understand. Each book finds them in a dreadful new situation, thanks to the evil Count Olaf, who's only goal is to get his hands on the Baudelaire fortune. Each story is cleverly plotted, with narrow escapes and tons of misery for the poor siblings. But they stick together, even when things are bad, and kids will love the way they escape bad situations using their own talents. The books follow a definite pattern, with the children barely escaping the nefarious Olaf's schemes, only to find themselves in trouble again. This pattern wears a little thin by book 4, but Snicket introduces some new characters in book 5 (the Quagmire triplets) that help change the direction of the story. After that, each book becomes more and more addictive as the plot weaves, twists and thickens, with increasing amounts of mystery and suspense. Snicket's delightfully oddball dialogue is replete with literary references, bad puns, grim humor, and social commentary. Even baby Sunny's language follows this pattern; her little bits of dialogue are often plays on words or commentary; in book 10, there's a clever knock at the President (I voted for him, and I still laughed!) Snicket also takes shots at society types through Olaf's girlfriend Esme Squalor (first seen in book 6), who's always worried about how fashionable things are (clothes, attitudes, language, and so forth). The books are well-written, with good doses of dry, dark humor (think Monty Python, Charles Addams, or Roald Dahl). The entire series is clever and original on many levels, a joy to read for young and old, and is highly recommended.

This series of books by "Lemony Snicket" does not have the standard "happy ending" of most children's books. The 3 kids in the stories (newly orphaned) have miserable lives with one thing going wrong after another. To make matters worse, their "uncle" - bad guy Count Olaf - wants their money and is always after them. He and his evil minions are forever plaguing the lives of the Baudelaire children and cause constant mayhem.

Because of all this misery, I thought my 8-year-old son wouldn't like them - wrong! He absolutely loves them and is always begging me to read one more chapter! The writing is dry, but funny with loads of humor (much is directed to adults). The books contain many "large" or unusual words/expressions, but almost all are explained in the text (which can get annoying). I would say these books are good for kids from 7 - 14 (although use your judgement for the younger ones as the books do have evil bad guys, murder and lots of threats). As an adult reading the books to your kids, you might get a little frustrated as the stories are similar and the adults in the books are really dense - but these are for kids and they seem to love them!

The story is definitely moving along toward conclusion and we should have all the answers by book 13 (very appropriate!). Readers will enjoy the series more if they are able to read the books in order as they build on each other - so this collection will be perfect for those new to the series - and the price is super.

Kids are eating these books up, and so am I, even though I am a 26 year old mom of 2! Even for me, these books are fun and suspenseful. I love the look of the book itself and the artwork. The books are written by the mysterious Lemony Snicket, and he plunges you right into the make believe world of the Baudelaires and Count Olaf. I have yet to see anything in these books that a parent would find objectionable. The Baudelaire children are smart, helpful, and inventive, never whiny or disrespectful. I can't wait until my children are old enough to want to read these with me. These books are hardcovers, and very nice hardcovers at that, and the price on this set is really a great deal when you compare it to buying each one seperately, like I did. From cover to cover, these books will make you laugh.

The best way to evaluate these books is to read the first three paragraphs of the first book, "The Bad Beginning." If you don't laugh at loud, or at least chuckle, then these are not the books for you. The central theme of the Unfortunate Events series is absurdist tragedy in a world gone wrong. It is melodramatic satire in the best sense of the word, and most intelligent kids will delight in this.

I have to disagree with "A reader from LA, CA" who was upset with how the author signed a book for her three year old. First of all, these books are not meant for three year olds - these books are targeted for the 9 and up age group, and really, also for the many adults who love them. The stories center on the melodramatic tragedies befalling three siblings - the tragedies befalling tend to be very absurd, in the grand tradition of Rhoald Dahl (of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" fame) with the dark wit of Tim Burton. A three year old doesn't even know what an orphan is, and shouldn't be having these books read to him/her in the first place. A nine year old fan who had a book signed to him/her "To <namehere>, a future orphan" would find this incredibly funny, because they appreciate the wry sense of humor that the books and the author employ. I think the author terrorized the parent, who might want to read any book she's having signed first (I have to assume she didn't, because I can't imagine anyone who loves the books taking offense at such an inscription - I have a five year old son, and while I buy these books for myself, I look forward to reading them to him when he's 8 or 9, and I'd find such an inscription by Lemony Snicket to my son on a book hilariously funny).

The basic rule of thumb here is: Read the first three paragraphs of Book One. If you don't laugh, you will not like the series. Other clues: if you enjoy British humor such as Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, etc., you will probably enjoy this series.

I have read all of the Lemony Snicket "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books (with the exception of #10). I am hoping to recieve this box set for Christmas. These books are excellent for children, but have humor in them that only adults can appreciate. These books are good at introducing new vocabulary to the reader, although the vocabulary words are sometimes limited or questionable in their definitions given. All-in-all, these books are a great adventure for everyone. Being in the education field, I have found children fall in love with reading because of the lives of the Baudlaire orphans. I can't wait to see how it ends!

I've been following this series for a few years now, and find these books to be some of the most enjoyable I have ever read. They are a generally a quick read, and are endlessly amusing. They make great gifts, and are also perfect in almost any library.

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A Series Of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket, are the best books I've read and you should read them. They're suspenseful, exciting, and humorous all at the same time. Here is a brief summary of the books. The Baudelaire children's parents died in a fire. In each book the children are in a new place with a new guardian. This is because of their evil Uncle, Count Olaf, who always gets rid of their guardians. His goal is to kill the kids and take their fortune. There are three kids: Klaus, Violet and Sunny. Klaus is twelve, Violet is fourteen and Sunny is a baby. These orphans are forced to get away from Count Olaf in every book.

These books are also exciting, because you never know what will happen next. There are creepy murders in the books. For example in the second book, The Reptile Room, the orphans' guardian is injected with snake venom. This is only one of the murders in the series. Also the kids travel a lot, and you travel to a new setting in each book. My favorite setting is pale and foggy Lake Lachrymose from the third book, The Wide Window. Often the kids are in life-and-death situations. For instance in the tenth book, The Slippery Slope, the orphans nearly plunge to bloody deaths in a freak, freak trailer accident. Now isn't that exiciting? Well I think it is.

The books are also pretty funny because of the humorous situations and jokes. Like in the sixth book it was funny when Sunny climbs up the elevator shaft with her teeth. The author's pretty funny and helpful when he explains what a word means. It's sort of funny when it sounds like he's in the books too. I really recommend A Series Of Unfortunate Events to all readers.

I must admit that after reading book three, "The Wide Window", I felt inclined to not read any further in the series. Although I found the first three books full of suspense, humor, and juvenile heroism I was being left with the impression that the remaining books would simply manifest more unpleasant ways for an evil man to harass three orphans and stick to their lives like a tack in a tire. But I persevered (well, ok, my daughter wouldn't let me stop reading them to her!) and by book five, the "Austere Academy", the author finally began revealing the underlying themes that tie the books together. And from then on neither my daughter nor I could put the books down. The later books continue to have elements of humor, suspense, mystery, conspiracy, and, of course, more heroism from Klaus, Violet, and Sunny. I also like the way the author introduces new vocabulary words and takes the time to explain them to the young reader. Speaking of which, these books really work well for people of all ages.

In retrospect I'm glad to have bought the eleven-book set. Part of what makes this series so addictive for me lies in the fact that I want the orphans to reach a point where they "live happily ever after", but it seems that after each book they end up in even more danger than from the start, which of course makes reading that next book even more mandatory.

Don't believe a thing Lemony Snicket says - the only way these books of woe will have you crying is if you laugh really, really hard.

Lemony Snicket has a fresh, unique, and hilarious writing style. He speaks very plainly, explaining things along the way with his signature phrase, "a word which here means". Always he reminds his readers that they do not have to read these awful books that will only bring nights of wailing and weeping, although he has sworn to record them. Sometimes Snicket is deliciously non-sequitur - "...you would run much slower if you were dragging something behind you, like a knapsack or a sheriff". And each book is morbidly dedicated to a so far unknown woman named Beatrice. "Beatrice - Darling, dearest, dead."

Although the books are sold as children's books (or perhaps because of it), I would recommend these books to adults who are secure enough in their maturity to read them. Some of the humor might actually be hard for young children to understand unless they are great cynics already.

The basic plot of the story is this: three siblings - Violet, Claus, and Sunny Baudelaire - lose their parents in a fire. They are sent off to live with their "uncle", Count Olaf. Olaf is a horrible, detestable man who will do anything, however evil and dishonorable, to get his hands on the fortune that the Baudelaires will inherit as soon as Violet is of age. The Baudelaires find themselves in frustratingly hopeless and distressing situations, mostly because of the (oh, so aggravating!) thickheadedness of the adults around them. So using their special skills, Violet, Claus, and Sunny try and find solutions themselves - by inventing, researching, and biting things, respectively.

The plot seems very repetitive through the fourth book - the Baudelaires live with various guardians and end up in equally desperate situations with Olaf on their tail. But don't be discouraged! By the fifth book, a larger picture begins to show. A whole mystery opens up - the VFD. What caused the fire which in which the Baudelaires' parents perished? Why are do all their guardians have so much in common? I won't give anything away, but the mystery builds through the rest of the books. The reader picks up little clues and tries to piece things together. The final two books have not been written yet, so don't expect a complete answer soon.

There are eleven books, but they are relatively small and quick reads. When you get through them, read The Unauthorized Autobiography. Snicket himself is an obscure sort of character in his books - he hasn't participated in any action yet, but it seems that he may have to soon. The Authobiography gives loads of tantalizing information (or just more questions) about the VFD.

In summary, The Series of Unfortunate Events is a hilarious, well-written action-and-mystery story, and just as suitable for brave adults as for children.

I haven't personally had the opportunity to read these books, but my son's second grade teacher is reading the series aloud to his class. When I ask about his day and what was done, I get bombarded with details about the horrible Count Olaf, as I try to pry information about math or science out of him. If you're looking to turn your child on to reading, this series is definitely one to consider. My son enjoys them so much, he has asked on several occasions that we buy the whole set as a gift to his teacher, since she 'only has up to book six'.