Day Twelve - The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Hey everyone! I began a new series today and it was so good that I read the first two books. The series is actually called A Series Of Unfortunate Events and the first book is called The Bad Beginning. Here's the (shortened) blurb:

Dear Reader, I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in you hands is extremely unpleasant.It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever,the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune. 

My Review:

The Bad Beginning is the first of thirteen books in Lemony Snicket's series named A Series of Unfortunate Events and it's certainly a cracking start. The books are far shorter than I am used to reading and are quite clearly geared towards pre-teens with the style of writing, but I still enjoyed it. 

Sometimes, I found the narrative in the book a little difficult to get on with. The chapters can be quite repetitive, we are constantly reminded about how the children are orphans and the fire for example, and Snicket has a habit of using long words and then explaining what they mean. I personally find this irritating, perhaps because I already know what those words mean, but I can understand how it can challenge a child's vocabulary etc. 

However the book certainly has it's merits, more than plenty of them in fact. I love how intricate Olaf's dastardly plans are, the adorable babbling of Sunny Baudelaire, Violet and Klaus' cleverness, even the narrator's tone of humour edging into the text. This book is outstanding and it had me gripped into my seat with each twist and turn.

Finally, as always, I'd love to hear all your opinions. Have you read this book? If so, what do you think? Do you have any suggestions for other good books? Don't be a stranger!