About the Author

Lemony Snicket is often despondent, mostly about his published research, which includes A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Composer Is Dead.

Due to the world-wide web of conspiracy which surrounds him, Mr. Snicket often communicates with the general public through his representative, Daniel Handler. Mr. Handler has had a relatively uneventful life, and is the author of three books for adults, The Basic Eight, Watch Your Mouth, and Adverbs, none of which are anywhere near as dreadful as Mr. Snicket's.

Reviews

Gr 5-8-This amusing fourth entry in Lemony Snicket's wildly popular series (HarperCollins, 2000) offers clever wordplay and intelligent self-referential humor, but suffers from a rather uneven narrator-the author himself. Lacking the melodramatic flair of the series' other sometime narrator Tim Curry, who reads Snicket's mock-Victorian, Edward Goreyesque adventures with demented glee, Snicket sounds more like a dour college student when relaying the unfortunate saga of the Baudelaire children. At times though, Snicket's gentle, understated approach actually enhances the story's more bizarre elements, and he excels at playing the bombastic adult authority figures. The Baudelaire siblings are on their way to the terrible town called Paltryville where they are forced to work in the extremely dangerous Lucky Smells Sawmill owned by a chain smoking tyrant. Many unpleasant events and accidents follow, and of course Count Olaf pops up (in disguise) hatching evil plans. As narrator, Snicket keeps the story moving in a brisk fashion-the tale is never dull. Although the Baudelaire children sound interchangeable, Snicket breaks into a hilarious Officer Friendly type voice when playing the adults. When portraying the narrator character, however, Snicket sounds like he cares about these children; he reads the tale with empathy and concern. Alas, the Lemony Snicket legend that the author has created in print is of a mysterious madman, a sad discredited recluse who dedicates himself to researching the Baudelaire children's history. As a narrator, Snicket sounds too sane, and this clashes with the fabricated narrator's weird mystique. The (uncredited) music by indie rocker Stephen Merritt adds a ghoulish sense of gloom. Libraries serving Snicket obsessed patrons will want this on their shelves, flaws and all.-Brian E. Wilson, Evanston Public Library, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.