The Beginning of Unfortunate Events

The Bad Beginning by Daniel Handler

Daniel Handler must have determined that if children were buying Goosebumps in mass numbers, that they'd be ready to read some kid Goth. So he launched what has become an immensely popular series with both children and adults: The Series of Unfortunate Events.

It certainly takes either a very gutsy or very humble writer to say that his beginning is bad. Yet, Daniel Handler, using the pseudonym Lemony Snicket, boldly labels the debut novel in the series, The Bad Beginning.

It's a bet that paid off, for while the beginning was bad for the characters, it wasn't for the readers. Instead, shining through the author's self-proclaimed gloom is a humorous story told by a witty, though dolorous, narrator.

This Gothic tale is one of three orphans, the Beaudelaire orphans: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. Violet is 14 and an inventor of some note. Klaus, 12, is very well-read and remembers everything he's read. Sunny is an infant who has two large, sharp front teeth and likes to bite things. In the opening scene, they are spending the day at the beach on a gloomy day when their family lawyer, Mr. Poe approaches them and informs them that their house has burned down and their parents are dead.

The lawyer takes them in until he is able to find a guardian for them. He determines the "nearest relation" geographically and places them with Count Olaf, a one-eyebrowed actor with a tattoo on his ankle. He quickly turns out to be a cruel guardian who is interested only in obtaining their fortune. When he learns he can't get his hands on it until they are of age, he comes up with several other nefarious plots to open up the vaults.

To stymie him and protect themselves, Violet must invent things, Klaus must conduct research, and Sunny must bite things. Only by all of them working together and using their various skills are they able to get out of the jam that they're in.

The tale is told by a narrator who is constantly warning the readers that they should go elsewhere because the tale is simply too depressing to read. He also takes the time to define words that might be unusual or out of the usual reading level of his targeted audience. It's always "which here means.." and sometimes his definitions fly rather wild of the dictionary's and instead provide the correct contextual definition.

The Bad Beginning sets up many elements that will return in future books. We learn that Count Olaf and his acting troupe are very good at disguises and have quite the practice at acting out roles. We learn that the hapless Mr. Poe isn't much help to the orphans nor do most of the adults give the children any sort of credibility. The children are orphans not just because their parents are dead, but because no one else believes them or gives them any real aid. The neighbor Justice Strauss comes close, but when she's really needed, she doesn't come through. So with the orphans on their own, Handler sets up a battle between greed and ingenuity.

Daniel Handler tells a tale that is filled with surprising twists and even some temporary escapes. The Bad Beginning is a wonderful launch to a series that grows more enjoyable, quirky, and complex as the series grows.

In December, 2004, Brad Silberling directed A Series of Unfortunate Events which combined the first three books into a single movie starring Jim Carrey as Count Olaf, Jude Law as Lemony Snicket's voice, Liam Aiken as Klaus Beaudelaire and Emily Browning as Violet Beaudelaire. It also featured appearances from such stars as Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, and Cedric the Entertainer. A set of identical twin toddlers who were already performing on General Hospital were secured for the role of Sunny-Kara and Shelby Hoffman.

--B. Redman