A Series of Unfortunate Events Box: The Complete Wreck (Books 1-13)

The idea for this series was truly original. It presents itself as a spoof on series for young children. Aren't there many series where the same children get into some kind of trouble over and over again; every time engaging in some kind of battle between good and evil?
Also the authors repeated warnings not to read any further, because there is more mayhem to come is a parody on the way children's writers foreshadow a crisis in their stories. Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) makes himself a character in the books, which is considered a big no no in any creative writing class. If you also consider the funny explanations of difficult words, and the research both Klaus and Lemony Snicket himself do throughout the narrative, this series is show more making fun of the process of writing and reading information.

All in all a good idea, but it goes too far. Especially the constant admonitions to stop reading become repetitive and annoying within the first two chapters of "A Bad Beginning". The subplot of Lemony Snicket, the loss of his beloved Beatrice, his research in everything connected with the Baudelaire children, and his siblings Jacques and Kit is at times distracting. It may also confuse children. The explanations of difficult words are sometimes so full of jokes, that a child might loose the thread of the story. In my experience as a school librarian, children are very direct and want to get on with the story. All the long and windy explanations can cause them to get bored, and put the book down. I have seen a number of children get so discouraged that they stopped reading the book, just as Snicket recommends.

I thought the characters were very stereotyped, and their actions repetitive and one sided. Sunny always bites, Violet always puts a ribbon in her hair when she thinks up an invention, Klaus is alwayss the Mr. Know- it- all, Esme always wants to be "in" and so on. The author also doesn't let his characters contemplate the psychological consequences of the disasters that befall them. What about children losing their parents in a fire (Baudelaires and Quagmires)? The whole thing starts feeling like a cruel joke!

One of the strengths of the series is the variety of settings, and the description that go along with it. I don't know of any other series where the protagonists end up in a boarding school as well as a submarine, a lumber mill as well as a secret mountain resort, at the home of a collector of reptiles as well as that of a second rate carnival. The settings become characters themselves.

I also like that the Baudelaire children are not saints. In their quest to stop Count Olaf and his cronies, the trio end up doing their own share of damage by setting fire to certain places, just like Count Olaf himself. That poses a philosophical question: where does good end and evil begin?



I wondered for a long time what the end of "The End" would be like. Would everybody die like in a Shakespeare tragedy, or would Count Olaf and his gang finally enter the Underworld? It was a great solution to say that the story began way before the first book began and that it will go on after the end of the last book. For the people who were disappointed by this ending, I recommend that you read Lemony Snicket: the unauthorized autobiography. Some of your unanswered question may get answered there, and of course it also evkes new questions.

I gave this series three stars because of its strengths balancing with its obvious shortcomings. show less

I'd bought this complete boxed set quite some years ago, using a substantial discount coupon during the Borders-B&N price wars and never got around to reading, though I did get a kick out of the movie. I finally decided to work my way through the whole thing during the week or two before Christmas and finally finished it up today.

Well, hmmpf. The first three books were enjoyable because of my memories of the movie tie-in, but only because of that. The rest of the books, up to nine or ten, were extremely boring and repetitious. I would have given this series at best a couple stars or maybe two-and-a-half, but after finishing it up and seeing how everything wrapped up and tied together in the very last few books, I'm giving it show more three-and-a-half.

I'm also giving it to a friend at church who teaches fifth grade because I know I'm NEVER going to re-read it!

I must say, too, that I question how much the targeted age group is going to understand a lot of the inside jokes, especially the ones based on names like Bulgakov, Haruki Murakami, the Quagmire triplets (Isadora, Duncan, and Quigley), and the like. The series starts to approach the level of metafiction, and this is probably beyond most or nearly all younger readers.

Still, if you can get through the first two-thirds to three-quarters of the series, the wrap-it-up volumes toward the end will prove satisfying. show less

Read aloud
This is by far my favorite book series ever. The series follows the Baudelaire children. Their parents are suspected to have been killed in a fire that destroyed their home and all of their possessions; they are then placed into the care of their apparent/assumed and distant cousin Count Olaf. Count Olaf hatches a plan to steal the Baudelaire children's very large inheritance. The kids uncover Count Olaf's plan and constantly outsmart him. Count Olaf continues to disguise himself and change his plan throughout each book, and the kids eventually win out. These books are great for a read aloud because they are all chapter books, and the vocabulary within each book could be a bit challenging for some students. There are some show more difficult themes and plot lines, as well, so a teacher could certainly help explain those during a read aloud. show less

This book is about three unlucky orphans, Violet, Klaus and the youngest Sunny in which their parents died in a terrible fire caused by a mystery which they have to solve themselves. Their closest relative isn't much help so they encounter the most cold-hearted, greedy villian. Count Olaf disguises himself into all sorts of people so he can get his hands on the Baudelaire fortune, which is the only thing that satisfies him.
Violet is the inventor,whenever they get caught in a sticky situation, she is the one who tries and use all the things around her to create something that can help them in some way.
Klaus is the bookworm. His interest is to read all different types of books and use all the knowledge he's got to express the ideas he has show more read.
Sunny is the tough bug. She has monster teeth which can bite onto almost anything, her strengh and power can pull through anything.
i think people who like reading really depressing and sorrowful books should read the series but if you're the type that likes more cheerful books, then i don't recommend this book.YEEEEEEEEAAAHhhhh!!!!=) show less

When I started reading this series of books, I was listing each one and planning to write a review for each book, I was really just trying to pad my book read numbers. I decided to do just one review, this series is one story, divided into 13 parts. Each book is pretty much the same, the Baudelaire orphans are put into a new home, Count Olaf shows up, in some disguise which fools everyone except the children, and despite the horrible things that happen, they prevail and escape from Count Olaf, only to lose whatever home they have gained and realize once again that the only thing they can rely on is each other since the adults in their life will fail them.

These books have been said to be repetitive, that is one viewpoint, however for me show more there were differences and along the way it seemed that the books were heading to an end, there was a story line of sorts, slowly revealed over the course of the 13 books.

These are for children, and although horrible things happen, the tone the book sets makes them not scary, in a sense they are kind of ridiculous. I enjoyed reading them. show less

When I started reading this series of books, I was listing each one and planning to write a review for each book, I was really just trying to pad my book read numbers. I decided to do just one review, this series is one story, divided into 13 parts. Each book is pretty much the same, the Baudelaire orphans are put into a new home, Count Olaf shows up, in some disguise which fools everyone except the children, and despite the horrible things that happen, they prevail and escape from Count Olaf, only to lose whatever home they have gained and realize once again that the only thing they can rely on is each other since the adults in their life will fail them.

These books have been said to be repetitive, that is one viewpoint, however for me show more there were differences and along the way it seemed that the books were heading to an end, there was a story line of sorts, slowly revealed over the course of the 13 books.

These are for children, and although horrible things happen, the tone the book sets makes them not scary, in a sense they are kind of ridiculous. I enjoyed reading them. show less

On the whole, I really enjoyed this series. It started off just seeming very silly, and by the end I felt that the series as a whole was more complex than I expected it to be. I really enjoyed the author's depictions of the three childreen growing up throughout the books. I also loved how he constnatly had readers guessing throughout the series. Plus, the alliteration in the titles is fun!