/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.7128398]

Yo these books are depressing, I'm rereading the series and there's a lot of child abuse going on.

[Anonymous No.7128431]

The best childrens' literature always contains child abuse.

[Anonymous No.7128490]

>>7128431

lol seems like it. I wonder what the effects of kids reading a book about kids getting abused are when they live in abusive households themselves.

I read this when I was in elementary school, came out in 1999 and I barely remember it, I think I blocked it out kek

I'm at the part of The Bad Beginning where Klaus gets bitch slapped.

[Anonymous No.7128640]

I actually went to a goodwill and I spotted the first 12 books in hardcover for 99 cents. Shit was so cash that day.

[Anonymous No.7128971]

>>7128640

Damn that's a score for sure. I'm just getting them from the library because they're just (dark) kids books and I can read half the book in one sitting.

Just finished book one 10 minutes ago, I've read a lot of classics but these are more fun to read, now that I'm reading for fun instead of just to impress people. Well actually... they're kinda fun but the first book was pretty dreary and a bit on the mundane side. The shady Illuminati references were kinda cool, but I know it picks up later on so I'll stick with them.

[Anonymous No.7128998]

Aww, I haven't thought about these in ages! Remember being freaked out by the end, but in retrospect it's cool that it's not all safe and predictable like most kid's books.

[Anonymous No.7129042]

>>7128971
The children are related to the bad guy"

[Anonymous No.7129139]

testing

[Anonymous No.7129231]

These books reference Pynchon at one point, if I remember right.

[Anonymous No.7129251]

>>7128640
Meanwhile in Australia they try and charge $15 for used paperbacks of the Bartimaeus Trilogy in the Salvation Army charity shop.

[Anonymous No.7129401]

>>7128398
These books were so important to my development as a reader as a kid. My mom took me to see Mr. Snicket (Handler) and I think that might be the happiest moment of my childhood.

[Anonymous No.7129598]

But they're hilarious.

[Anonymous No.7129646]

>>7129598

I laughed a bit reading the first book, I'm gonna read the second tomorrow. The comedy definitely went over my head when I was a kid. Still was depressing though.

All I remember from The Reptile Room was cake and some dark imagery comparing slitting someone's throat to a knife going through butter and the blood running down the stairs. Pretty wicked tbh

[Anonymous No.7129652]

>>7129646
The name jokes, and the vocabulary jokes are the best, I think.

[Anonymous No.7129660]

>>7129652

Yeah the vocab jokes are fun and he's really good at pacing. The book is extremely concise.

There was only one name joke I picked up on which was the Edgar Allan Poe one in The Bad Beginning, or that's the only one I remember at least.

[Anonymous No.7129664]

>>7129660
There are a pair of triplets called Isadora and Duncan.

Also, my favourite joke in possibly the entire series is in the Reptile Room, describing the
"Virginia Woolfsnake, who should never be let near a typewriter" (not sure if exact quote)

[Anonymous No.7129669]

But which book is the best?

[Anonymous No.7129678]

>>7129251
Bartimaeus is a trilogy? That's probably the only edgy fantasy-comedy I've ever enjoyed. Terry Pratchett a shit.

[Anonymous No.7130362]

I never finished the series, but isn't the greater looming threat like a personified plot device?

Sounds neat.

[Anonymous No.7130397]

Hey do any of you guys have a digital copy of the Beatrice Letters and the other books that have something to do with the main series? I already have prequel series that talks about the life of Lemony as a kid in training with only the last book missing due to being unreleased so far.

[Anonymous No.7130579]

So, around where/when did these books take place?

[Anonymous No.7130812]

>>7130579

Well they mentioned modern technology in the first book - telephones and walkie talkies. It definitely has a Victorian/gothic vibe to it, though.

[Anonymous No.7130909]

>>7130579
The "advanced computer system" in the 5th book can just about pull up an image of Count Olaf. Also they send a telegraph in morse code in a general store that sells fibre optic cable. Think they're meant to be deliberately anachronistic.

[Anonymous No.7131699]

>>7129231
Ersatz Elevator references stamps being sold in Lot 49

[Anonymous No.7132343]

>“So, as Violet and Quigley rest for a few minutes more on a ledge halfway up the frozen waterfall, I will take this opportunity to give them a bit of privacy, by not writing down anything more of what happened between these two friends on that chilly afternoon."
>Reminder that Violet made out with and was likely felt up by Quigley

[Anonymous No.7132353]

>>7130579
The seties is basically like a platformer. You've got the Ice world and the Water world and the Lumbermill world etc...

[Anonymous No.7132560]

>>7132343
Funniest gif I've seen in a while

[Anonymous No.7132893]

>“The sea is nothing but a library of all the tears in history.”
I forgot how good the writing could be.

[Anonymous No.7132914]

>>7128398
Im doing the same
Shits dark yo

[Anonymous No.7133727]

http://www.quidditch.com/lemony%20snicket.htm

I'll just leave this here.

[Anonymous No.7133781]

SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS BOOK TIERS

>God tier

The Grim Grotto
The Vile Village
The Ersatz Elevator

>Great Tier

The Hostile Hospital
The Reptile Room
The Bad Beginning
The Carniverous Carnival
The Penultimate Peril

>Treading his wheels tier

The Wide Window
The Miserable Mill
The Austere Academy

>Ok but seriously though what the fuck was that ending tier

The End

[Anonymous No.7133787]

>>7128971
>half a book in a sitting
nigga I read that shit in a single sitting back in seventh grade
what the fuck are you doing

[Anonymous No.7133789]

>>7130579

Later than you think, but earlier then your first guess.

[Anonymous No.7133790]

>>7129669
Penultimate

[Anonymous No.7133821]

>>7133787

I had to take a fap break m8

[Anonymous No.7133843]

>>7129231
they make a bunch of literary references everywhere, series of unfortunate events are /lit/ as fuck for children

[Anonymous No.7133858]

>>7133781

>Hating the ending

Good, it deserves it

[Anonymous No.7134358]

I enjoyed the fuck out of these books. Especially The Austere Academy, The Ersatz Elevator and The End.

[Anonymous No.7134381]

>"I don't see how," Klaus said, his eyes looking worried behind his glasses. "There's only one copy of the catalog, and it's pretty complicated. Each of the items for the auction is called a lot, and the catalog lists each lot with a description and a guess at what the highest bid may be. I've read up to Lot #49, which is a valuable postage stamp."

[Anonymous No.7134403]

>>7128398
I remember reading one or two as a kid. But that's it. I can't recall what they're about.

If we take nostalgia out of the picture, are they still a fun and simple read? I'm looking to help my niece (11 or 12) start reading something other than Twilight. And I'd like to read it along with her. Make sure she's actually reading it and can discuss it. The school she's currently attending is pretty shit so she needs some help with her reading and composition. Maths, history and pretty much everything else are rather abysmal - but still above average for the school.

[Anonymous No.7134908]

>>7134403
Yes.

[Anonymous No.7135053]

The audiobooks are pretty good too

[Anonymous No.7135471]

>>7135053
thats because the narrator is so much fun

[Anonymous No.7135556]

>>7129678
>Terry Pratchett a shit
You shut your whore mouth

[Anonymous No.7136512]

Whose your favorite character?

[Anonymous No.7136537]

>>7136512
the two siblings obviously. I think there were some twins or something they met at that school that I thought were cool. its been ages

[Anonymous No.7136715]

>>7136537
Pretty sure they have gay sex at one point.

[Anonymous No.7136716]

>>7135471
I went through the series on audiobook as they came out. Tim Curry is 10/10

[Anonymous No.7136738]

>>7136716
Too bad about the stroke.

[Anonymous No.7136750]

>>7136715
What makes you say that?

[Anonymous No.7137688]

>>7136716
fuck the books that daniel handler reads

[Anonymous No.7137715]

what kind of books were teens reading in like the 80s or 60s?

[Anonymous No.7138538]

>>7137715
Tolkien

[Anonymous No.7138578]

>>7129251
>shopping at the salvos
>ever

[Anonymous No.7138704]

>still no Carmelita Spats rule 34
fucking cakesniffers

[Anonymous No.7138714]

>>7136537
>>7136715
If you mean Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, Duncan is a boy while Isadora is a girl

[Anonymous No.7138742]

>>7138714
>implying they can't have gay sex anyway

[Anonymous No.7138771]

>>7138742
Duncan and Isadora are actually triplets. The third sibling, Quigley is a boy who is Violet's second love interest.

[Anonymous No.7139107]

>>7130579
Around the same time as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Archer

[Anonymous No.7139119]

>>7133781
Where's Slippery Slope?

[Anonymous No.7139164]

>>7139119
That was the first thing I noticed as well.

[Anonymous No.7139204]

I stopped liking the series very much around the tenth book or so, and I remember that I hated the ending. But a couple years back I went and reread the first book, and damn. I feel like it had the darkest tone, or the books just got progressively more ridiculous later on.

All those little suggestions that Olaf actually wanted to fuck Violet.

[Anonymous No.7139256]

>>7139204
Also all those literary references, subtle or otherwise
>"The Virginia Woolfsnake, who should never be let near a typewriter"

[Anonymous No.7139563]

>"The sad truth is the truth is sad."
God, that last book.

[Anonymous No.7140854]

Bump

[Anonymous No.7141367]

>>7139204
The books got banned by several Christian schools because of this sole reason.

[Anonymous No.7141596]

>>7133787
>7th grade

I read those in 1 sitting in 5th grade

[Anonymous No.7141612]

>>7141367
lol modern protestants.

Young girls make the best wives

[Anonymous No.7141629]

Read them all until the last two because they weren't out at the time and then I kind of outgrew them. Were they any good? was it a happy ending?

[Anonymous No.7141636]

wasn't their last name Baudelaire? The themes did seem to allude to the poet

[Anonymous No.7141969]

>>7141629
It says time and time again since the first book that there wont be a happy ending. It was interesting
>>7141636
He's even referenced in the final book.

[Anonymous No.7142008]

>>7139119
>>7139164

Slippery slope goes in treading his wheels tier

[Anonymous No.7142059]

>>7139204

You remembered somewhat wrong; the books objectively got more serious towards the end, as well as more brutal. Aggressive and continual arson, bio-warfare, explicit cold blooded murder, lynch mobs, and the absolute destruction of anyone the Baudelaire's loved and trusted.

I think the reason it hit harder earlier on was because all the characters felt objectively innocent. Child abuse, the poisoning of Uncle Monty, and leaving the aunt to die were all very personal cruelties inflicted on people who very clearly didn't deserve it.

After book 4, the guardians and environment started becoming progressively more and more cruel, with the stakes becoming more and more abstract: First saving their own skin was the only goal, then trying to save their friend's skin, then trying to understand what the sides even were at all, while at the same time trying to prevent mass epidemic.

It's harder to comprehend and feel for a hospital lit on fire or for the abstract masses of society than it is a kid being preyed on by a creepy adult.

[Anonymous No.7142092]

>>7141969
>>7141629

Spoilers if you don't intend to read. They still read well, if you want to pick them up.

In the penultimate peril, the Baudelaires exit the submarine back at the Briny beach the second time. (which the Baudilaires are said to have visited three times. A taxi pulls up with Kit Snicket and they get in, to ride to a hotel where VFD will be meeting.

Literally every character from the previous books is at the hotel, which, given they're all linked to VFD or its enemies, isn't actually all that big an asspull, it's pretty funny how the character's interact.

Olaf successfully frames the Baudelaires for a murder of the hotel owner. Justice Strauss, taking charge, declares she will preside over their trial, which will take place at the hotel as is legal in the district.

Justice is blind, everyone is blindfolded at their trial, Olaf lights the entire place on fire, and forces the children he takes with him to invent a hang glider to attach to a boat on the rooftop, taking all four out to sea for the final book.

They're all stranded in their lifeboat together, reach an island, there are natives, a squabble about sedative properties in drinking water, magic, previous castaways who pretended to be magic and were their parents, the poisonous mushrooms are with them on the boat (I forget why), Olaf is harpooned by Ishmael, shattering the helmet and infecting the whole island, he dies shortly after Kit Snicket gives birth and dies in a touching death sequence, the children flee and survive because they know to seek out their parent's horseradish, and they raise the child, and ultimately, several years later, attempt to take the boat back to the mainland, with their ultimate whearabouts unknown.

We do know Violet goes to briny beach three times though, so attentive readers may take comfort in knowing at least Violet survives the journey home.

[Anonymous No.7142254]

>>7142059
>>7142092
Christ on a cracker, I'm gonna have to reread this immediately. No wonder I ate these books up as a kid in school. How the hell did I forget about the happenings in the later books?
I think I had a crush on Violet.

[Anonymous No.7142334]

I'm happy others enjoyed these as much as I did. Going to go through all my old books and reread them, it's been since grade 3 or 4.

[Anonymous No.7142347]

>>7129669
grim grotto or penultimate peril imo

[Anonymous No.7142630]

>>7142254

Yeah, summarizing reminds me that the books were pretty badass.

Mo' spoilers in my opinion


Just be aware that the ending is very polarizing. If you like character and narratively satisfying drama, it's absolute fucking tops.

If you wanted closure about VFD, the twins, what the ? was, and whatever other hanging plot threads there may have been, you're going to be left high and dry. One of the endings main themes is "You don't always get closure, sorry m8", which was a big turnoff to a lot of people in a series in no small part about the virtues of learning as a tool to ultimately know truth.

People who didn't like the ending I think thought it was lazy, in large part because it didn't wrap everything up in some kind of Harry Potter character parade in which every plot thread is forcefully resolved because we're at the ending and WE MUST HAVE SUPER CLOSURE.

I think it's an understated ending that perfectly fit the series and preserved the wonder after its completion, which is all I really wanted.

[Anonymous No.7143235]

>muh coconut cake!

[Anonymous No.7143301]

Surprised no one has brought up the Netflix thing.
I loved the narration in the series.

[Anonymous No.7144204]

Well shit, now I have to reread those.

[Anonymous No.7144330]

>>7128490
>I wonder what the effects of kids reading a book about kids getting abused are when they live in abusive households themselves.

They get indignant and start asking their teachers for trigger warnings

[Anonymous No.7144397]

>>7133781
Ersatz Elevator and Grim Grotto were always my favorites. Good list.

[Anonymous No.7144827]

I actually really like these books there very Brothers Grimm-ish, in the way that the characters don't have any happiness handed or given to them. They have to fight and take power for themselves, and not have Prince Charming come along and live happily ever after.

[Anonymous No.7145135]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t05G0983BcI
The books always made me think of this song.

[Anonymous No.7145244]

Anybody pick up All The Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket? It's supposed to tell the story of Lemony Snicket as a VFD trainee. New characters everywhere with a new villain as well as some old characters coming back as children (Kit Snicket, Capt. Withershins, mentions of Olaf etc.) Also provides more info on that ? monster from the Grim Grotto and The End.
Ellington Feint is mai waifu

[Anonymous No.7145272]

>>7141629
>>7142092
>>7142630
> so, we're really leaving?
fucking damn it I shed tears after that one line in the last book. Fucking feels all over the place with this ending god damn it made me feel all the shit.

[Anonymous No.7145301]

>>7139204
Yeah the last book that didn't jump the snake was the freak show one imo. after that they sort of lost their distinct tone and became some sprawling mess. they also blue balled the audience t'fuck with that vfd thing

[Anonymous No.7145316]

>>7128398
>I'm rereading the series and there's a lot of child abuse going on.
i had a good chuckle

[Anonymous No.7145321]

>The book contains a number of sarcastic plot devices that ridicule high school English classes, standardized testing, satanic panic and talk-show analysts.
this books sounds awesome as fuck. has anyone read it? is it worth reading? i think im going to pick it up.

[Anonymous No.7145407]

>>7141596
>>7133787
>>7133821
I read two in a half sitting while fapping
How do you post if you're that illiterate

[Anonymous No.7145862]

I liked the green one.

[Anonymous No.7145881]

I think he's one of the most charming novelists I've had the pleasure of reading. He's clever without being 2deep4u, consistently funny with excellent wordplay, and has a prose style that is very reassuring to read, as you know you are in the ahnds of someone who knows what they're doing

[Anonymous No.7146217]

>>7145881
This.

[Anonymous No.7146432]

>>7128398

The ending absolutely sucked the life out of me and completely ruined the series for me

[Anonymous No.7146447]

>>7146432
why? didn't they survive

[Anonymous No.7146472]

>>7146447
the entire story was built up for some sort of spectacular ending

but in the end
the VFD was just some absolute nonsense that had no real significance
and you found out nothing about olafs past
and olaf just died randomly in the stupidest way possible
and the children just float off all lah dee da and continue their fucking journey to nowhere

I would of much rather that the Baudelaire had just all fucking died
and then the build up might of meant something
and there might of actually been some emotion to that vapid ending

[Anonymous No.7146486]

>>7146472

I have a feeling he wanted to be like Pynchon with that VFD but forgot his audience was mostly kids. He probably didn't even want to kill off Olaf but wanted to appease them somehow

[Anonymous No.7146506]

>>7146486

I might just become a author just to rewrite the series of unfortunate events so I can undo my disappointment

or at least a deeply veiled ripoff

[Anonymous No.7146510]

>>7146506
well what would your perfect ending be?

[Anonymous No.7146528]

>>7146510
Not that guy but
>The world ends with the Medusoid Myceluim killing everybody. The Baudelaires encounter Capt. Withershins, his daughter, the Quagmire triplets, etc. and they survive the apocalypse by coming back to the island and live happily ever after.

[Anonymous No.7147345]

>You now realize that Violet wasn't wearing underwear from the later half of book 8 (Hostile Hospital) up until the start of book 11 (Grim Grotto)

[Anonymous No.7147417]

>>7147345
This is lewd.

I had read through 12 and kind of forgot about it as I grew older, never having read the final book.

[Anonymous No.7147525]

>>7146528

First thing you want is possibly canon. All the villagers in the boat leaving the island are infected and are likely to ultimately either reach land or wash up on a shore, at which point you're liable to get your mushroom pandemic.

Everything else seems pretty hackneyed and doesn't seem realistic in such a grim series. The great unknown getting them is in a way much more interesting, correct in context, and horrific than a reunion ending.

Plus, it's one of the ideas from the book that stuck with me most because it's starkly not understood: very few books are content to have a mystery they leave a mystery, I think it takes balls just to have this amorphous presence following the characters for 3 books and resist lifting the curtain because it's that much scarier.

[Anonymous No.7147532]

>>7146506
>a author

How about no.

[Anonymous No.7147742]

>>7146528
I would of completely changed the setting of the end book to something far more aesthetic and added some sort of major plot twist in the form of maybe Olaf having to save the Baudelaires (partially out of greed of course but with other forces involved too) and getting killed in the process
also maybe Claus could lose a ear and violet could lose an eye or something
and maybe they could get a bit more dynamic and open to some major personality flaws through the process

the very very end could be something where either they continue on the journey but while knowing their situation fact far more fucked up than they might of previously thought

or they do something immensely uncharacter of them as a result of their newly blossoming dynamic personalities through struggle with themselves and each other and bring down the forces against them all at once in a truly unfortunate way

[Anonymous No.7147759]

So what was VFD?

What happened to the twins who flew off in a balloon?

[Anonymous No.7147808]

>>7144330
Hardly. Those kids are too busy surviving to care.

[Anonymous No.7148291]

>>7147742
>would of
You realize The End is supposed to be The Tempest, right?

[Anonymous No.7148305]

>>7128398
I read all of these books when I was 7. All I remember is that most of the adults in the book are incompetent or evil and it's depressing.

[Anonymous No.7148700]

>>7147345
>>7132343
My first literary crush

[Anonymous No.7148736]

>>7147345
why not?

[Anonymous No.7148742]

>>7148736
Not him but I'm guessing something to do with her being in a hospital gown

[Anonymous No.7149401]

>>7128398
yfw if Olaf ever got to marry Violet, he could of fucked her up as he pleased. The fact that Olaf was a sick bastard furthur proves my theory.

[Anonymous No.7149438]

>>7148742
she wore a hospital gown for 3 books? Its been like 12 years since I read it

[Anonymous No.7149444]

It pissed me off that they didn't like the smell of lavender. I love that shit

[Anonymous No.7149451]

>>7149438
Well, she changed into regular clothes, but didn't have her underwear from when she wore the gown? I don't know, man. We should reread it.

[Anonymous No.7149457]

This book got me to read Baudelaire at 13

[Anonymous No.7149919]

>>7149457
And what did you think of it then?

[Anonymous No.7150282]

>>7148736
>>7148742
>>7149438
>>7149451
Violet wore a hospital gown for half a book. In the next book, Violet and Klaus had to pretend to be a two headed freak by covering their bodies with a really big coat. Taking off said coat to change the clothes they wore within posed too much of a risk since they were almost always with company that fully believed they were a two headed freak. There was also no real source of new clothes due to their freak status (nobody gave a shit or thought that it would be insensitive or some shit). At the end of this book, including the start of the next one, Violet had access to various costumes for a short time. But given their circumstance at the time, Violet most likely only got a change of clothes. Only by the next book would Violet have access to underwear via Capt. Widdershins daughter, Fiona.

[Anonymous No.7150345]

>>7150282
Thank you.

[Anonymous No.7150437]

>>7128398
These books were great. I especially liked the humor. I remember this part in book 2 where count Olaf says "get in the damn jeep" and then snicket launches into this huge digression about how swearing is wrong. I was on my ass laughing as a kid over that shit.

[Anonymous No.7150983]

I've never read this series, would it be childish of me to read them all as an adult?

[Anonymous No.7151029]

>>7150983
Short answer? Yes
Long answer? Who the fuck cares what you read you're a damn adult, who cares if other people perceive you as childish.

[Anonymous No.7151030]

>>7150983

Should others live their lives according to your opinion of them? Is it a fair or reasonable imposition to hold that kind of power over others?

If not, why the fuck are you giving that power to other people over you?

Read it if you're interested, and don't let people give you shit for it, same as one should for any "embarrassing" book.

If you can't not give a fuck, just don't read it in public, read it in the comfort of your own home.

[Anonymous No.7151912]

>>7150983
You'll like it

[Anonymous No.7152163]

I never read these but they must be alright considering the positive responses in this thread and this board's general attitude towards YA Lit

[Anonymous No.7152216]

>>7143301
Wait what Netflix thing?

[Anonymous No.7152261]

>>7152216
Netflix is having it's own series based on the books, supposed to come out in November or something.
I honestly liked the movie that came out forever ago, with Jim Carry in it.

[Anonymous No.7152416]

>>7152261
Jim Carrey was near perfect for the role of Count Olaf. All he needed to do was to be more serious and all around scarier.

[Anonymous No.7152822]

What were the saddest parts of the books for you?

[Anonymous No.7152949]

what does /lit/ think about the conflict between olaf and the baudelaires? "olaf" means ancestor, which one could interpret as the dismissed, patriarchal ancien regime—overtly cruel, but now ineffectual.

charles baudelaire was a rumored satanist, and but so wrote this poem lauding satan which seems to mirror the plight of the baudelaire children well:
http://fleursdumal.org/poem/191

thoughts? with regard to this, what is the question mark, the "great unknown"? are both "immoral"?

[Anonymous No.7153154]

>>7152949
The Great Unknown is actually a big ass monster that makes an appearance in one of the 'All the Wrong Questions' books by Lemony Snicket. This new series is actually pretty good.

[Anonymous No.7153160]

>>7152822
this
>>7145272

[Anonymous No.7153198]

>>7133727
whoever designed that website's color scheme doesn't deserve to have eyeballs

[Anonymous No.7155619]

Bump

[Anonymous No.7156416]

>>7153154
How does it compare to ASOUE?

[Anonymous No.7157187]

Thank you for the nostalgia, /lit/.