Lemony Snicket's fun set of books is not the 'newest Harry Potter' or 'Tolkien-esque' fad, as the one-star reviewer seems to think (especially since a fad is something adopted by a very wide audience and I know many folks who have no clue about these books). It is an amusingly satirical series, with a plot that grows more complex as each new book arrives. I adore them. And when a new one comes out, I rush to the library, check it out, and devour it within an hour, only afterwards taking my time to pause over the intricate silliness of the plots. If you want something comparable to Harry Potter, don't touch these books, because you'll only be disappointed. But if you appriciate a fine bit of satirical joking, read it as soon as possible.

This series is certainly a page-turner--follow three very unlucky children, as unfortunate event after unfortunate event happens to them, beginning with their parents' death in the very first chapter. Read page after page of evil, unhappiness, and yet still think of it, ironicly, not as depressing or sad, but just not happy. Buy the whole series so you don't have to go back to the bookstore every other day!

I am 32 years old and have an intense love of books. While Christmas shopping for a niece I was very intrigued by the Unfortunate Events books. Not knowing anything about the books or my niece's sense of humor, I decided to buy a set of the first 3 books for myself.

I quickly read the first book and really enjoyed it. I agree with the comments of the other positive reviewers on this site. To those who hated the books or ran crying from them - you were warned!

The books are fun and interactive because the author will often stop the story to talk to the reader, define a word or even beg you to stop reading before something worse happens to the three children.

These books are not harmful in any way and are definately written tongue-in-cheek to be taken lightheartedly. I would be careful who I gave them to, because some children are not as creative or have not developed the type of sense of humor/odd interests that would appreciate the books. The "horrible" things are not that horrible, but then who would really want to read a whole series of books that were as truely horrible as the author warns us. It is a little bit of a relief to find the stories are not as sad as I had originally imaged. These books are great for anyone looking for something different or is tired of the predictable happy ending type stories. Have fun with them...

I read the book that took place at the lumber mill. I picked the book up because it was supposed to be funny. I don't find child maltreatment entertaining. If you are a reader interested in an adventure story about orphans I would highly recommend Homecoming by Cynthia Voight. It's wonderful.

The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket is a knock-your-socks off book. The book is about three children who have lost their parents and meet an evil villain named Count Olaf. The Baudelaires, the three children, move to the town of V.F.D. where they hope to escape Count Olaf, who is after their fortune. The Baudelaires hope to also find their friends, the Quagmires, who also were captured by Olaf because they have a fortune. V.F.D. is a town named after crows. I would recommend this book. It is a great read.

I bought a set of these books for a niece as a Christmas present. I had no idea she had read the previous books in the series. Upon opening the box, (within five minutes), she found herself a quite corner of the room and was already several pages into the book.

As an adult fan of youth literature I was intrigued by this book that claims if you are looking for a happy tale, don't read it. I thought the hook of the back cover description was brilliant and looked forward to reading the contents of the novel itself.

I admit that I was expecting a dark and dreary novel. The author gives us no illusions that it will be a happy tale. However, the nature of the dreariness is shocking. I did not expect for orphaned children to be struck by an adult, tortured and led blindly from one horrible situation to another.

I have no doubt these novels are popular with kids in the same sort of way that the "Garbage Pail Kids" appealed to an earlier generation. It's a fascination with the gross and beyond horrible that all kids share. In that way, the novel delivers very well, and I suspect the series will only grow in popularity amongst the "tween" set.

However, I would caution parents of younger children to read the book together, and explain that what happens to the children in the novel should *never* happen to children. The author pays some service to the diabolical nature of events, calling the tormentors dispicable, but I don't think a 9 year old will be able to read this novel without some resultant fear.

For other adults like myself who enjoy youth literature on occassion my advice is to skip this series. Not only was I cringeing at the actions in the plot, but the writing is distracting. The author is constantly giving definitions of words (in a clever way, I admit), but it makes the novel hard for an adult to read.

In a recent assignment, my son reviewed "The Bad Beginning":

The story of the Baudelaire orphans is a tragic one, telling the miserable tale of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny (the orphans), who lose their parents in a fire that destroys their home and all of their possessions and are then sent to live with the ominous Count Olaf. The Count plots to take control of the entire Baudelaire fortune, while treating the children very poorly, making them do all sorts of chores and providing them horrible living conditions.

The book had its ups and downs. For example, I thought the narrator's definitions and repeated warnings that the book was "very sad" were annoying, not funny (as I think the author intended). I didn't find "The Bad Beginning" that sad, probably because I'm a boy. Sure, it must have been pretty sad for the kids to learn that their parents had been charcoaled like hotdogs. But, to me, the book was intended to be read the same way you watch old silent movies (I saw some for the first time this summer ... neat stuff!): knowing it's funny because it's an exaggeration. I'm not putting the book down; don't get me wrong. I plan to read the rest of the series. One of its "ups," by the way, was that the orphans' ideas were really cool....

When I shared my opinion of the book with my mom, who is also reading the series, we discussed how the book is actually plot-driven, not character-driven ... meaning, the focus is on what happens to the Baudelaire orphans, not who the Baudelaire orphans are. When you're done reading, you don't "know" Violet, Klaus, and Sunny the way you know Harry, Ron, and Hermione (from the Harry Potter series, of course), for example.

Anyway, if you're looking for a quick, fun read, try this.

Lemony Snicket ( a dubious moniker if there ever was, and certainly not to be trusted) has set forth the task of developing one of the most enjoyable (and downright nasty) children's series of books, aptly entitled "A Series of Unfortunate Events". The events that befall the hapless Baudelaire trio (Violet, Klaus, and the infant Sunny) are shocking, disturbing, cruel, and very, very unfortunate. So why read, one may ask? Well, for one thing twisted accounts of devious circumstances are always enjoyable when viewed from a distance (ie. the pages of a fictitious book, fictitious meaning "not real") and while bad things happen, even worse things are averted through intelligence, cunning, and the urge to teethe. Besides, who could resist such dark fun? It is sad, it is funny, there is an overlying sense of menace throughout but one reads in the hopes that our loveable protagonistic trio will prevail. But will they...? A Series of Unfortunate Events is a great way to get kids who are reluctant to read to do just that, much easier than say leaving such a child bound and gagged in a bird cage dangling thirty some feet above unpleasantly hard ground until they come to their senses! By no means is this series just for kids, "kids" meaning the offspring of goats, or perhaps humans? If you like Edward Gorey you'll love this series. Just pray that Lemony Snicket doesn't realize how deranged he is and decides to take medication to alleviate his madness. I for one, enjoy it!

This book HAD to be great fun to write, because it was great fun to read. The book itself is actually physically heavy -- did they use lead ink? It's very confusing. It's funny, but not as funny as I expected, having read some of the Series of Unfortunate Events books. The old pictures are hilarious, though -- where did he ever find them? As I looked back through the book I realized that LEMONY SNICKET: THE UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY is a book you can read over and over to try to solve the "clues." Big on detail, short on understandable explanation. Even the index is in the hilarious circular dead-end style. The presentation is extremely clever: The book comes with three covers! The reversible dust jacket is a real hoot. The artwork of the entire book is very inventive. The book turns into a newspaper, a scrapbook, a transcript, etc. If you liked the series, do read this book. You'll be confused, fascinated, worried, perplexed, and amused.

Huh? This book makes no sense. Ah, never fear, it doesn't really matter. This book is incredibly funny whether you know what it's talking about or not.

Who is Lemony Snicket? Don't read this book if you really want to know. I have more questions about this hilariously funny author now then I did before (I think that's the point). The good news is that after reading this book I have a renewed interest in his popular book series "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

I have not read all the "Unfortunate" books, but I don't believe this made much difference, I only think I was maybe a bit more confused. I can't imagine understanding this book either way. This book did provide me with some good laughs. The reversible book jacket is my favorite (be sure to read it all, this is worth buying the book to see). I also enjoyed the section of the book where Mr. Snicket is musing on what to name a book about himself to pass the time ("Lemony Snicket: The Story of a Man Who Has Never Burned Anything Down" or "Lemony Snicket: The Story of a Man Who Has Never Burned Anything Down, Despite What You Might Have Heard"...plus many others just as funny).

If nothing else, be sure to try and look up the term V.F.D. in the back index. That was an amusing, if fruitless exercise.

If you haven't read Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books, particularly books five through eight (the most recent), you probably will not get as much out of this book and should start with those.

This "biography" explores the V.F.D. conspiracy story arc that becomes increasingly important in the later books, and seems to be aimed for slightly more sophisticated readers. There isn't really a narrative per se, but a collection of notes, letters, minutes, and found pictures, full of self-references, oblique references to characters and events from "A Series Of Unfortunate Events," and cryptic teasers. The index sets the tone-- if you try to look anything up, you'll be sent on a spiral of "see also"'s that are sometimes frustrating, sometimes illuminating (hinting at conspiracies and pseudonyms), but always amusing.

Readers new to Snicket may want to skim this, realizing that they won't get most of the jokes and allusions, then return to it after reading the books. It may not answer all your questions, but you'll appreciate the effort that went into assembling this puzzling in-joke.