Okay, I thought did a book about Bad Things That Happen to a few young children Could not Possibly Be Good. It could not Possibly Be Interesting. And it DEFINITELY would not be enjoyable. Boy am I an idiot. The Baudelaire children are a trio of orphans who lose Their parents early in the book, and end up being shifted to the miserly accomodations of Their Uncle Olaf, a thoroughly despicable character who comes after Saruman and the White Witch for hate ability. He wants Their money, Which They are not allowed to have yet, and treats them horribly. The characters, except the Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, have very little character development but somehow end up being fully believable and playing on your emotions Precisely how the writer Intended. The writing style is nothing to write home about, yet Manages to be witty and descriptive - I could see the events being Practically talked about, and the characters as well. In a word, this book has the quality of being a wondrous story without overdoing the detail and things like that. Does it have a happy ending? You can find the answer at the very first page. This is a dark story, dark but excellent. If your children want a happily-ever-after story, I would advise not having them read this - it will only depress them. But if your children are not disturbed by a more realistic story, then theywill love this.
