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Post by Hermedy on Oct 14, 2003 9:43:55 GMT -5
"As a bookseller, I've noticed kids are devouring the books of this series. Itching to see what the all the fuss is about, I picked up the first two. I'd heard the books were dark, but funny, and good for developing children's vocabulary, and, seeing the positive critical reviews, I'd recommend them to my customers. After having read the first two, I no longer recommend them.
The three Baudelaire children are orphaned after their parents perish in a fire. They are sent to live with a distant relative, Count Olaf, a diabolical miser who does little more than abuse the children and come up with ways to get his greedy hands on their inheritance. Olaf constantly threatens the children. He locks the infant girl in a birdcage and hangs it from his home's tower, hits the middle child, grazes a knife on the eldest girl's knee under the table during dinner, actually murders someone in the second book, and it goes on and on.
Yes, the books help develop vocabulary by using "big words" and phrases and explaining them. Yes, the Baudelaire children are sweet, resilient, and courageous. But I do not think that is enough to redeem these dark stories. All the adults are either wicked and cruel or completely obvlivious. What exactly is the moral of "The Bad Beginning"? That life [stinks] and there's nothing you can do about it and this theme continues in the second book, "The Reptile Room."
I've noticed that a lot of adults enjoy the series and give it positive reviews, and that's why I gave the book three stars - because, on some level, I did enjoy the books somewhat for its subtleties, irony, and dark humor. However, the series is not intended for adults. It's written for and marketed towards children between 9 and 12 years of age. I'm not saying that kids' books should have a happy ending. There are hundreds of wonderful children's books out there that are dark and/or sad (i.e. Old Yeller, Charlotte's Web, Number the Stars), but there's usually a lesson, a moral, something redeeming in there. I failed to find any of these things in either of the first two books of this series.
What's most unfortunate about this "Series of Unfortunate Events" is how many kids are reading it and how many parents are mistaking it for good childrens literature."
Discuss...
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Post by cwm3 on Oct 14, 2003 11:14:27 GMT -5
Of course, the people at www.cool-reads.co.uk only gave it TWO stars, but they only read the first and this person only read the first TWO. That might do with a trilogy, but not with a thirteen-book series like ASOUE. |
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Doorman
Catastrophic Captain
Doormen are Nice!
Posts: 50
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Post by Doorman on Oct 14, 2003 13:37:46 GMT -5
Gosh, adults dont get it! The books are funny! It's not like it's something that will scar us forever if a girl is put in a birdcage, thats funny! Also, it's not like were gonna be mentally hurt if we see a person die in every book. The characters are funny when they're oblivious. It makes it seem like they have no idea whatsoever about whats happening! They can't say they are horrible after 2 books. There are 10 books and there will be 13. They cannot judge a series on 2 books. It just doesn't happen.
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Post by sunsun on Oct 14, 2003 15:52:58 GMT -5
Even though I am a child, I don't think they should be children's books. The sarcasm, irony, and humor is to "sophisticated" for most children my age, who have never even heard of Leo Tolstoy or Tatyana Tolstoya, rarely read, and watch far too much T.V. a day. In my opinion, i think it should be for all ages, because there are always some people for each age that can appreciate it.
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Post by Efogoto at work on Oct 14, 2003 18:20:58 GMT -5
"there's usually a lesson, a moral, something redeeming in there. I failed to find any of these things in either of the first two books of this series."
The world can be a dangerous place.
Life isn't fair.
Villains are not always caught and punished.
Sometimes you have to get yourself out of trouble.
Aren't these valid lessons?
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GustavSebald
Catastrophic Captain
Ring those bells!
Posts: 61
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Post by GustavSebald on Oct 14, 2003 18:28:22 GMT -5
Very true. And it's not like the books are LIMITED to just being read by kids, it's a reccomendation.
But seriously, old children's fairy tales were worse than this. Americans watered them down to make them less "offensive." The series takes a humorous look at tragedy, and DH goes out of his way to make it as uplifting as possible while dragging us down into the pit of despair. It's a winning combination. Kids can see worse things than that by flipping to UPN at 8:00 on Wednesdays (Enterprise) and watch an alien get their breath sucked away in the air lock while Captain Archer prods him for information. Seriously, this is hardly scarring material, and I'm more "prudish" than most of the other kids my age. It's just adults being overprotective of what their kids read.
And the thing about the vocabulary? Dead on. Except...some of the definitions are a little...circumstancial. Heh.
-GS
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Post by Pester, Rumormonger on Oct 14, 2003 22:31:27 GMT -5
She seems to be among the adults who won't understand that kids books don't have to be treacle. A kid is not going to be traumatized by seeing a cruel/mean/oblivious adult. It just looks like life. One of the reasons that these books are so popular is that it doesn't tell the white-hats-always-win lie, and even the youngest ones will begin to suspect that truth. I don't think that finding out about it is going to hurt anyone.
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Post by Kobolos on Oct 15, 2003 7:39:19 GMT -5
And let us not forget...Mr. Snicket advises that it IS best we don't read any of the books...can't say that they weren't warned.
Gustav made a perfect point about dark stories:
In Hans Christian Anderson's version of the Little Mermaid, the mermaid, scorned because of her difference, commits suicide at the end
You also may learn that even the Grimm's fairy tales and the Hans Christian Anderson tales are different from their original sources. The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson collected oral folk tales and added Christian symbolism and a heavy dose of new moral lessons which may have been completely different in early, oral versions of the stories.
some of the various versions of Snow White that appear have her wicked stepmother as really her mother. The part at the end of the Grimm's fairy tale, where the wicked witch dances in red hot iron shoes at Snow White's wedding, was an addition. Other versions of the story have Snow White living not with gnomes but with fairies, or robbers in the forest. And the way the Queen poisons Snow White varies, too. In some, she eats the poison apple, in some there is a magic comb dosed with poison. In one version, it is a dress with poison corset that causes Snow White to fall into her living death. In all of them, as soon as the poisoned culprit is removed, Snow White wakes up. None of the originals has Snow White waking from the kiss of a handsome prince. What most people know of thest tales is what Disney has retold...
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Sally
Reptile Researcher
"Aubergine!"
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Post by Sally on Oct 18, 2003 18:41:38 GMT -5
i agree with what a lot of people are saying. no, i do not think that these books are inappropriate for children. there are MANY valuable lessons in them, they are humorous, adn they are generally good works of literature. yes, there are frightening parts...there are parts when i wnat to slap mr. poe and tell him to go do something to himself in the corner (i wont say what though...heh.  ;D) as Efogoto at work wrote, these are very worthwhile lessons...and i'd much rather read about them and 'experiance' them (to some extent) through a book rather than being slapped with it in read life. -The world can be a dangerous place. -Life isn't fair. -Villains are not always caught and punished. -Sometimes you have to get yourself out of trouble. *-mummy and daddy wont always be there for you. these books have actually taught me a lot, they've given me a realistic yet humorous outlook on the life of a child...they are of course exaggerated. not too many of us have had our parents killed in a fire, and are being persued by a villian such as count olaf who will dress up in obvious disguises to get our fortunes...but a lot of us have been pushed around by adults, a lot of us have had adults who wont believe us, who think we are stupid, and who treat us like we're five years younger than we are...these books have tought me that i am not alone and that sure, life sucks, but you make fun of it anyway... |
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Post by Indistinguishable Blob on Oct 30, 2003 7:14:35 GMT -5
I thought the moral was something like, Being good won't necessarily get you rewarded. But you be good anyway, because it's the right thing to do.
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Post by Frozen Peas, ie: LaurenEL5000 on Oct 30, 2003 7:19:52 GMT -5
Gosh, adults dont get it! The books are funny! It's not like it's something that will scar us forever if a girl is put in a birdcage, thats funny! Also, it's not like were gonna be mentally hurt if we see a person die in every book. The characters are funny when they're oblivious. It makes it seem like they have no idea whatsoever about whats happening! They can't say they are horrible after 2 books. There are 10 books and there will be 13. They cannot judge a series on 2 books. It just doesn't happen. I agree! |
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Post by Frozen Peas, ie: LaurenEL5000 on Oct 30, 2003 7:26:13 GMT -5
This 'bookseller' is obviously another 'child-lover' who smothers kids in metaphorical cotton wool. This is a BOOk for goodness sakes! It's not gong to mentally scar us for life! You can't protect teenagers, kids, ect. forever. for all HE/SHE knows, the kids could get knocked down but a drink-driver crossing the road (it's happened enough).
There's a lot more to protect people against, then a book. Reading a book like that inproves your vocab and proves that nothing's certain, you never know what's round the courner, and that even though there is plenty of good in most people, you'll always meet those who, however hard you look, have no kindness or good in them. There are vicious, selfish, greedy people out there, that you can' t always trust. These are important messages.
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Post by Fife on Nov 1, 2003 16:45:00 GMT -5
and as for the morals, it's not just 'good guys don't always win' 'life sucks'. snicket always puts a good moral at the end as well like 'the baudelaires knew they had each other and that was enough'. he usually has a good moral at the end of his books as well.
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Post by DetectiveDupin on Nov 1, 2003 16:49:38 GMT -5
Yeah. I think thats persons crazy.
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Post by Green on Nov 1, 2003 17:56:37 GMT -5
I wonder what morals this critic likes childerens storys to have...
-There will always be someone to help you.
-All you have to do is obay your elders and eat your veggys and you'll come out on top!
-The world may have kinks and bumps but all will be all right in the end!
-Murder? Whats that? People always die in thier sleep of old age.
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;D)
