Customer Reviews

Watch Your Mouth

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In case you haven't heard, Daniel Handler is the mastermind behind Lemony Snicket, author of the unlucky adventures of the three Baudelaire orphans. His success as Snicket seemed to have happened overnight, but he's been writing for a while it seems, with two adult novels (this one and The Basic Eight to his credit, both written before the Snicket books, I believe). In combination, it is quite clear that Handler is well on his way to becoming the 21st century Roald Dahl, who also wrote books for both adults and children that combined both whimsy and perversion.

And if you want perversion, you can't do much better than a comic novel about incest, which is what this book is. The structure of the book begins as an opera (it ties in to some community opera done by one of the characters), then mutates in Act III to be based on a 12-step program. Like Dahl in My Uncle Oswald, Handler isn't afraid of writing about sex, either. I was reading this on the airplane and I kept holding the book open at 90 degrees rather than the normal 180 just in case the fellow sitting next to me travelling with his young child might glance over and then alert the attendent to the pervert on the plane.

I'm not sure I liked this book, but I have to admit it was audacious, quite funny, and always unusual. The ending was disappointing as Handler went in for the more serious ending rather than really ending off as absurd as he began. All in all, this is an adult series of unfortunate events that is recommended for mature minds only.

The Basic Eight was a fun first novel, but Handler outdoes himself with this one. Strange, sexy, scary and incredibly smart, this is an unearthly take on desire and family issues. I predict his cult following will only grow with this very weird but absolutely hypnotizing novel.

When I discovered that Lemony Snicket was Daniel Handler I found this
book here. I saw the first few reviews and hoped this book was as unusual as it truly was. I was tired of reading what my book group read (sad women finding themselves and living happily ever after) - I wanted to be shocked and challenged and this book fit the bill! I loved it for being different, taking chances to write in a style of being an opera, to incorporate tough subjects for the pop culture (old Jewish mysiticim and incest). I know I need to read this book a second time to understand all the humor but I loved it for being "OUT" there where most readers won't go. Some parts reminded me of Bee Season and Feast of Love.

I picked this up because of the kid's books Handler writes under the name Lemony Snicket--strange, gothic dark comedies. But this book has them all beat. He's such a good stylist that he almost convinces you that his subject matter is normal--almost. This is a very scary, very sexy and VERY strange book, but it's one of the most rewarding reads I've had in a long time. You'll never look at your family the same way again!

I had no idea what to expect. As a fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events(which you should know by now is Daniel Handler's series under the pseudonym of Lemony Snicket), I was expecting something similar. As a gift to myself for my 17th birthday, I bought a copy off of Amazon. When it finally arrived, I began reading, appaled at the subject matter.

This book is very shocking in it's [...]descriptions of Joseph's encounters with Cyn, Mimi, Lauren, and Allyson. Therefore, discretion is advised when buying this book. Parents, this is an ADULT BOOK and is not suitable for children.

On that note, the book is from Joseph's perspective. He is a senior at Mathers University. His girlfriend, Cyn(short for Cynthia, but the short version is humorous dramatic irony), and him go to Pittsburgh(with an 'H'), Pennsylvania to spend the summer with Cyn's family, the Glasses. Ben Glass and Mimi Glass are Cyn's parents, and Stephen is her brother.

The book is split into two sections. The first section is very sexual and very sane. I chose 'sane' because the second half is when Joseph thinks that he is losing his mind and killing the Glasses.

I would give more details about the two, but it would ruin the book.

To me, I felt like it had a surprise ending. When Joseph thinks that he is a murderer and that he imagined incest within the Glass family, he accidentally stumbles upon an old "friend" who confirms his sanity.

Everywhere that Joseph goes, coincidence follows. He just HAPPENED to go to Pittsburg(without an 'H'-in California?) where Stephen Glass fled to, as well. He just HAPPENED to find Ben Glass doing a New Self seminar in a magazine after calling a disconnected line supposedly connected to Ben. He just HAPPENED to get a job at Vast, where a horror from his past arose.

The book is amazing. I can't wait to read The Basic Eight.
Highly recommended for mature readers.

"Watch Your Mouth" is an operatic comedy about incest! So if you like weird books, this is right up your alley. I almost found it too weird, too strange, too absurd though. But you know what, I kept reading it. It was disturbing, but not disturbing enough to make me want to give up.

I thought it was confusing with all of the opera tie-in's/references, but I'm not a big fan of opera. Also, the ending was weak and rather predictable.

Character development was good though - I have an idea of what each character is like in my head. Despite it being rather short, it's not exactly a fast read - Handler is a little too wordy for me at times.

Actually, I didn't really enjoy it at all, but I definitely won't forget it. And despite not really liking it, I'm somewhat tempted to read more by Handler just to see what else he can think of!

Since reading The Basic Eight almost five years ago, I have been in awe of Daniel Handler's wit, way with words, and knack at making me laugh even when his characters are in the bleakest of situations. Even I had some doubts about Watch Your Mouth, though, and how he could take the subject of incest (something I was wary to read about, for some reason)and work it into a novel that could compare with the wonders that were his other works (The Basic Eight, Adverbs, A Series of Unfortunate Events).

After finishing this novel, my only regret is that I didn't pick it up sooner. I found myself on the verge of laughing aloud at work -- probably not the greatest thing to happen, especially since, with a Handler novel, you can't explain exactly why you're laughing. Reading this book was like being part of a delicious inside joke. The ways in which the author manages to mention a previous phrase or event in such an unexpected way kept me grinning from ear to ear as I turned each page.

All in all, I loved this book. The only thing that I found ever-so-slightly disappointing was the ending. The series of events seemed to dissolve into nothing...which, come to think of it, maybe have been the intent all along. I just would have liked a bit more closure, I suppose.

This was a very good book; I had already read all of the Lemony Snicket books and The Basic Eight prior to reading this, and I was not let down with Handler's amazing view on the world and his bravery to write about topics that some critics would call "sensitive" topics.
It is admirable of Handler that he can even muster the bravery to write such a graphic novel, but it is an amazing mix between Jewish Folklore, the opera, and a messed up person's life. It leaves you questioning the truth until the very end, and even after that.

This is a dark and elegant book, the only novel I can think of that's explicit and oblique at the same time. The plot is a pageturner that keeps its air of mystery straight up to the hilariously creepy finale. It's stupid that so many critics (both on this site and off) criticize the subject matter and the tone of the book without realizing that it's the narrator whose world view is skewed and unrelentingly sexual, not the author. I dare anyone to read this book and not find themselves thinking about it, still trying to unravel it, weeks later, unlike most praised novels which lead you to their own conclusion. For Calvino and Henry Green fans, and anyone who finds poetry in old monster movies.

if you've read any of handler's other books, you know what i mean when i say that at the turn of every page, the daniel handler grin smirks across my face. if you have not read any of handler's other books, you would not know what i mean when i say that and have probably already become bored with this review.

to throw you a proverbial bone, this man has mastered the sweet and sour of dark humor, and treats us once again with ridiculous characters in a real world, or real characters in a ridiculous world. if you can't stomach nonsense, or prefer books about happy people doing great things, ditch this book and burry this proverbial bone in your neighbor's proverbial backyard.

if this review were a fortune cookie, it would say: read the book (unless you are afraid of jewish voodoo, in which case, do not). your lucky numbers are 13, 7, 42, & 9.