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Post by Dante on Nov 2, 2014 4:10:02 GMT -5
I think the way TMM handled guardianship did seem rather sudden, though. Instead of a new relative who cares for them, the Baudelaires are sent to a cruel businessman who shoves them in the workhouse - I think it could've used a little bit more build-up. I also think th at, given that that was essentially the premise, that the Baudelaires are shoved into the workhouse by an awful corrupt businessman, that it wasn't written as colourfullly as it could be. To me Handler doesn't quite squeeze the same sort of absurdity out of the setting as he's otherwise very good at from TWW onwards.
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Nov 2, 2014 7:07:17 GMT -5
Evidently, however, there's something that makes it less popular than the others -- I wonder vaguely if it might be the change in guardianship; it's the first book in which the Baudelaires aren't taken into their guardian's proper home and treated as adopted children (bar Count Olaf's treatment, obviously), but are instead put to work and made to live with the other workers. Not that this makes the book any worse, but perhaps it just struck a wrong chord with some people, at this point in the series at least. Perhaps the lack of a proper guardian figure -- even Charles, nice though he is, doesn't really fill the role -- felt too abrupt a change for some people so early on in the series. But then again, TAA goes on to put the Baudelaires with another antagonistic guardian - Nero - and there's certainly no proper guardian figure there, as Isadora and Duncan definitely don't count. I like TMM, so I don't know why it seems to be the least favourite for a lot of people (other than the hypnotism, which apparently some people just didn't like), but I'd think most people would like Sir as a character (well, he returned in TPP at least, so Handler must have liked him). And since Charles and Hector as very similar characters, we can see what Charles would have been like as a proper guardian from TVV. Yes, all true -- but what I meant was perhaps for some people it just felt too early in the series for such an abrupt change? With the later books, perhaps it felt more normal because the Baudelaires' situation only worsened, but maybe here it was just too soon for some people to feel comfortable with? As I say, I 'm really just clutching at straws; like you, I don't know why it seems to be many people's least favourite ... I think the way TMM handled guardianship did seem rather sudden, though. Instead of a new relative who cares for them, the Baudelaires are sent to a cruel businessman who shoves them in the workhouse - I think it could've used a little bit more build-up. I also think th at, given that that was essentially the premise, that the Baudelaires are shoved into the workhouse by an awful corrupt businessman, that it wasn't written as colourfullly as it could be. To me Handler doesn't quite squeeze the same sort of absurdity out of the setting as he's otherwise very good at from TWW onwards. I don't know then -- I like the change of pace in TMM too, but maybe some people don't? Like you suggested, perhaps there wasn't enough build-up for some people? To be honest, though, I think there was just the right amount of build-up -- the dismal train journey taking them to an unknown person (rather reminiscent of refugees in WW2 taking the train to the country, not knowing anything about the people who would be looking after them), and then the abrupt arrival and farewell from Mr Poe, which allowed Sir to mistreat the Baudelaires right from the start, with no adult outside the mill to intervene (though Mr Poe would probably not have been any use). I think the absurdity was well done, too. Handler certainly captures the very grim feeling of the town, very abandoned and grimy. It feels almost like a ghost town, or at least a town which is on the brink of becoming a ghost town. The little details like the stacks of newspapers, the gum on Lucky Smells Lumbermill's door, the shoe dangling from the post office flagpole, the fact that none of the shops have windows, and of course, the eye-shaped building -- all these details create a very vivd, almost tangible feeling of the town, I think. And it carries on through the book; when the Baudelaires get sore and dirty from their work, with bits of wood chips in their hair, etc. it feels vry real and I always end up feeling like I've been experiencing work in the mill along with them, getting just as sore and dusty. |
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Post by Dante on Nov 2, 2014 12:21:15 GMT -5
If it works for you, then that's fine. It doesn't quite for me, though. I'll just leave it at this: I think I would have liked TMM a lot more if it had been written later.
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Nov 3, 2014 7:32:55 GMT -5
Fair enough, I can definitely see where you're coming from.  |
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Post by Edwin on Nov 6, 2014 12:05:02 GMT -5
I don't particularly like TVV but I do like THH.
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VicePresidentOfOrphanAffairs
Reptile Researcher
Tried typing "letmein" to the VFD, how sweet would it have been if that was the password?
Posts: 35 
Likes: 10
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Post by VicePresidentOfOrphanAffairs on May 8, 2015 12:45:10 GMT -5
My 2 favorites are TEE and THH, my least favorite one is TAA mainly due to Handler being the narrator of the audio book, his voices were painful on my ears, so I haven't listened to that book on audio since, and it just kind of instilled a dislike for the book in me. It doesn't really make sense but that's the way it is. TEE was the first audio book me and my mom listened to together (before we got all of them and did a proper listen-through) and its the one I've listened to the most since the first time. THH reminds me of having a car picnic at the park with my mom on a perfect spring day, and her letting me drive around after lunch It's really easy to tell that why I like or dislike some books is because they're associated with happy memories I had while listening to them  |
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E.F.
Reptile Researcher
Destructively Literary
Posts: 26
Likes: 14
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Post by E.F. on May 8, 2015 14:22:25 GMT -5
I find that really interesting that you didn't like Handler's voices, I loved them. But maybe I'm just biased in favor of his narration because he was the one who wrote it; I always enjoy hearing an author's interpretation of his/her own work. I would have to say that TAA is tied with TPP for my favorite. As for least favorite (or 13th place), it would probably be TWW. I can't pinpoint any particular reason why, I just never found it as interesting as the others.
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VicePresidentOfOrphanAffairs
Reptile Researcher
Tried typing "letmein" to the VFD, how sweet would it have been if that was the password?
Posts: 35
Likes: 10
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Post by VicePresidentOfOrphanAffairs on May 8, 2015 14:48:42 GMT -5
His voices were always too "sharp" for me, if you've ever had that experience; it felt like my ears were being stabbed by noises, and I did try to listen to it one other time, trying to open my mind to it, but everytime it got to "get out of my way, cakesniffers!" I would have to turn it off. Maybe its just something wrong with my ears :-\
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E.F.
Reptile Researcher
Destructively Literary
Posts: 26
Likes: 14
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Post by E.F. on May 8, 2015 19:30:40 GMT -5
I can see that, his voice is very sharp.
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Post by Esmé's meme is meh on Jun 20, 2015 18:22:17 GMT -5
"The Penultimate Peril" is definitely my favorite <3 I also liked "The Austere Academy" because I think there's when the books go from "great" to "amazing".
My least favorite is "The Miserable Mill". I think there were a lot of weird/not so great stuff in that book, considering the ones before.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2015 15:07:45 GMT -5
TMM is my favourite, then TEE. I like TMM because it is the one I have the most fond memories of reading, and I like TEE because it is awesome.
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Post by Emerald Snicket on Nov 1, 2015 20:23:45 GMT -5
I am tied between TPP and TE. There are too many aspects to summarise, so I'll just say that I love the mystery in TPP and the background story and just the general feel of TE, as vague and as brief as it sounds.
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Post by J-Bird on Nov 2, 2015 21:32:26 GMT -5
I'm a sucker for grand plots, so when the ground gives out and the children plummet into the depths of VFD, I'm all in. TGG,TPP, and TE are definitely my favorites. TMM, I would say, is my least favorite. It's all a little bit odd, like people have said. Wouldn't a cane sword cut teeth?
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Post by colette on Jun 24, 2018 6:37:24 GMT -5
TCC is and has always been my favorite books. I am a huge fan of carnival freaks trio. TEE is my second favorite and TSS or TPP is my third I guess.
TVV is my least favorite I guess.
TMM is relatively high in my list.
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Post by Glittery666 on Dec 29, 2021 11:20:42 GMT -5
My fave is THH, closely followed by TEE. TE was kind of a let-down for me, and TSS was kind of boring. I thought TMM was boring when I first read it but it's
grown on me and, while it's not one of my favourites, I consider it kind of underrated. TWW is kind of underrated as well.
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