| A Series Of Unfortunate Events |
Article Index for A |
Website Links For Series |
Information AboutA Series Of Unfortunate Events |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS | |
| absurdist fiction | |
| british book awards | |
| childrens novels | |
| media franchises | |
| lemony snicket | |
| series of childrens books | |
| steampunk | |
|
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a '' and the upcoming '' The Beatrice Letters ''. The first book in the series, '' The Bad Beginning '', was published in 1999 by HarperCollins Children's Books. A film version, '' Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events '', based on the first three books, was released on December 17 , 2004 . THE STORY General plot The series follows the life of Violet Baudelaire , and her siblings, Klaus Baudelaire and Sunny Baudelaire , after the sudden deaths of their parents in a fire at their family home. In '' The Bad Beginning '', they are sent to live with their supposed third cousin, four times removed (or their fourth cousin three times removed), Count Olaf , a most unpleasant, Evil man. In the following books, Olaf often disguises himself to get nearer to the orphans in hope of stealing their fortune. The orphans routinely try to get help from their parent's financial advisor Mr. Poe , but Poe is often oblivious to Olaf and the danger he represents. He originally assumes that Olaf is a very generous man for watching the Baudelaires, but eventually realizes that Olaf is a villain, and the horrors that are around him. The series took a drastic turn after Book 7, with the kids not really having any guardian in most of the books (except for Captain Widdershins in the Grim Grotto) and Count Olaf not using disguises anymore. The Baudelaires find out about a secret organization, V.F.D. , which Count Olaf is involved with. Gradually, they find out more and more about V.F.D. and what a large part it has played (or is playing) in their lives. Themes Much is made of the unhappy nature of the story. The book's back-cover Blurb s warn the reader of the dreadful things described within each volume and respectfully suggest reading something else instead. Each volume begins with a dedication to the memory of Lemony Snicket's beloved Beatrice (e.g.. from ''The Bad Beginning'': "To Beatrice - darling, dearest, dead."). An example of Lemony Snicket's writing follows: : ''Like this book, the dictionary shows you that the word "nervous" means "worried about something" - you might feel nervous, for instance, if you were served prune ice cream for dessert, because you would be worried that it would taste awful - whereas the word "anxious" means "troubled by disturbing suspense," which you might feel if you were served a live alligator for dessert, because you would be troubled by the disturbing suspense about whether you would eat your dessert or it would eat you. But unlike this book, the dictionary also discusses words that are far more pleasant to contemplate. The word "bubble" is in the dictionary, for instance, as is the word "peacock," the word "vacation," and the words "the" "author's" "execution" "has" "been" "cancelled," which make up a sentence that is always pleasant to hear. So if you were to read the dictionary, rather than this book, you could skip the parts about "nervous" and "anxious" and read about things that wouldn't keep you up all night long, weeping and tearing out your hair.'' :: - '' The Ersatz Elevator '' While the books are marketed primarily to children, they are also written with adult readers in mind; the series features many references likely to make sense only to adults. Many of the characters' names allude to other fictional works or real people with macabre connections. For instance, the Baudelaire orphans are named for Charles Baudelaire , and Sunny and Klaus take their first names from Claus and Sunny Von Bülow ; Uncle Monty warns the children never to let the Virginian Wolfsnake near a typewriter, referencing both Monty Python and Virginia Woolf ; the two triplets that the Baudelaire children befriend are named Isadora and Duncan after Isadora Duncan ; and Snicket's dead former lover Beatrice may be a reference to Beatrice Portinari .The names that Violet and Klaus take, Beverly and Elliot, when they are disguised as circus freaks, are the names of the twin gynecologist brothers that Jeremy Irons played in the movie "Dead Ringers." Poe's children, Edgar and Albert, refer to Edgar Allan Poe (the name Albert while possibly chosen so as to not make it too obvious, may also refer to Edgar Albert Guest who is also mentioned in book 11). Also relating to Edgar Allan Poe is the Nevermore Tree, which is the roosting place of the V.F.D. crows in '' The Vile Village ''. The word "Nevermore" is repeated throughout his poem, The Raven . Also, the character Esmé Squalor is most likely a reference to J. D. Salinger's novel, For Esmé With Love And Squalor . Interestly enough, Salinger's initials (J. S.) are a common set of initials throughout the series belonging to Jacques Snicket , Justice Strauss and Esmé's ex-husband Jerome Squalor . It should be noted that Salinger's first name is Jerome as well. The books are set somewhere with stylistic similarities to the both the 19th Century and the 1930s , though with contemporary, seemingly Anachronistic Technology and scientific knowledge. Although the books can be classed as ' Steampunk ', in that they involve young people struggling against great odds in an anachronistic setting, the addition, in later books, of the mysterious organization known as V.F.D. have begun to push the story into the new genre of ''post''-steampunk (in the same way that later additions to the Cyberpunk genre are now classed as Postcyberpunk ). The books can also be classified as Absurdist Fiction , due to their eccentric characters, quirky writing style and generally improbable storylines. Some might argue that these books could also be classified as Black Comedy , because of the mix of humorous and Macabre elements. At the end of each book, there is also a letter to Snicket's editor, instructing him on how to find the next book. General storyline Each of the Series Of Unfortunate Events picks up from the last, finding the three orphans in some new situation, typically not of their making. The locale of each book's critical events is identified in the book's title. The thirteen books have two distinct phases. After the first book sets the tone, the following five books follow its same basic structure:
The seventh (and exact middle of the thirteen) - The Vile Village - marks a critical transition for the Baudelaires. The book begins as the first six, with an entire village taking over as incompetent guardian to the three orphans. In the middle of the book, the tone shifts. After being framed from the murder of Jacques Snicket, apparently Lemony Snicket's brother, the orphans go on the run, and on the offensive, at times even pursuing Count Olaf rather than being pursued. Later books in the series have moved away from this formula; while V.F.D. and associated elements have become more and more important, the children have become more self-reliant, searching out information on their own rather than waiting for Olaf to find them. After the seventh book, the Baudelaires are now on the run after the Daily Punctilio publishes false information about the Baudelaires killing Count Olaf. Mr. Poe is no longer taking them to another guardian. All guardians from this point on are only technically guardians.
Unanswered questions
Other notes
DISTRIBUTION Books Audio books Most of the series of unabridged audio books are read by actor Tim Curry , though Books III-V are read by Handler as Lemony Snicket. All of the recordings include a loosely related song by The Gothic Archies , a novelty band featuring lyrics by Handler's Magnetic Fields band mate Stephin Merritt. Film A Film version, '' Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events '', based on the first three books, was released on December 17 , 2004 . It stars Jim Carrey as Count Olaf, Meryl Streep as Aunt Josephine, Billy Connolly as Uncle Monty, Emily Browning as Violet, Liam Aiken as Klaus, Kara & Shelby Hoffman as Sunny, and Jude Law as the voice of Lemony Snicket. The film tie-in editions of the novels feature a variation on the usual reverse-psychology blurb: the blurb takes the form of a message from Count Olaf, listing the good points of the story (such as "a dashing count") but suggesting that it would be much easier and less boring to watch the movie instead. Considering the success of the movie, the director and some of the lead actors hinted that they are keen on making a sequel, but no one has written a script as of yet. According to director Brad Silberling , the second movie would take its plot from the next few books. Also, Silberling is quite unhappy that the filming process took seven months instead of the seven weeks in which he claimed he could shoot the movie. Browning has said that any further films would have to be produced quickly, as the children do not age much throughout the book series. Other plot discrepancies, such as Klaus's glasses breaking in the Miserable Mill (he has glasses in the film, but rarely uses them) may also hinder the production of any sequel. The film takes place in and around Boston , Massachusetts . (The envelope at the end of the film is addressed to Boston, Mass.) SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|