Rapid Reviews - A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1: The Bad Beginning

The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) by Lemony Snicket: I wasn't sure what to expect with this series. I'd read somewhere that it was just a Harry Potter knock-off, but the descriptions of it didn't support that. I finally gave in to the curiousity, and checked it out from the library. And I'm very glad I did.

First off, there is nothing even remotely Harry Potterish about this series, except maybe they both have a bit of Englishness to them and are both children's book series. Beyond that, nothing. This series is to Harry Potter like grapes are to watermelons.

The reading level is lower than many children's series, and I think younger readers could tackle it without much difficulty. But there are a lot of snide asides, breaking of the fourth wall, which make it a delight for adults to read too. It's a short read. I think I got through it in less than a full hour of reading, although I'm not certain of that. In any case, when I reserved more of the series from the library, I confidently reserved the next five, knowing I would have no trouble getting through them.

The writing style is witty, and the author has a lovely tendency to define words that might be difficult for young readers. The style makes the book a lot more funny than a story about three newly orphaned children going to live with a sinister relative ought to be. And it's the writing style that got me curious as to what happens in the rest of the books. So I'll be following this one with depressing glee, and if anyone tells you this series is just a poor man's Harry, don't believe them. It's something completely different, and oddly fun as well.