Review #6 - A Series of Unfortunate Events

"He or she who hesitates is lost." - A Series of Unfortunate Events, #XI - The Grim Grotto

This series (referred to as ASOUE from now on), not unlike the very circumstances that reflect our own life in 2020, reflects the extremely sad life of the Baudelaire children, after the demise of their parents. Hence, I probably should not have picked up such a depressing read in a quarantine month. Kidding. It's not as depressing as I have made it sound so far.

"A daring life of impulsive passion leads only to tragedy." - A Series of Unfortunate Events, #X - The Slippery Slope

ASOUE is not your typical children's fiction, as it has been classified by Goodreads. In fact, it deals with a lot of adult concepts - treachery, death, nobody's character being black or white, etc. - just like Harry Potter had. I will not go to equate the depth of storyline and characters to the same as that of Harry Potter, it isn't that mature of a plot, and neither is the gravitas or background of all the characters as widely researched, which Lemony Snicket kept saying would require 13 more volumes if he did write about those stories, but nonetheless it is one of those chronicles that in my opinion should not be missed, as an adult or as a child.

"Fate is like a strange unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like." - A Series of Unfortunate Events, #X - The Slippery Slope

Yes, this series had two attempts at the silver screen. One in the form of a movie, and the second as the Netflix series original. After reading the books, I can guarantee you that the movie did not even come close to doing justice to the series, given it tried to mix at least three books in a mash, so don't go down that path. The series on the other hand, did pictorial justice to the first two books (not even kidding, Count Olaf and the Baudelaire children were very well represented) but kind of lost the plot line with trying to make the adults seem a bit more goodie goodie, and showing more of adults guiding the Baudelaires through their difficulties when such was not the case in the books. In fact, I quite enjoyed the sense of vulnerability and helplessness that the kids had in the books, which made sense to the characters as well, as they had to fight in the big bad world themselves.

Kudos to the creators of the Netflix Original to have the guts to deviate from the story line of the books and manage to create their own story, but I will still hold to my guns after reading yet another series/book that has been brought to life on a screen that the books are always a better bet than the movies.

"Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree what they are made of, where they come from, or how often they should appear." - A Series of Unfortunate Events, #IX - The Carnivorous Carnival

P.S - For anyone who has read this series, or is planning to, should keep in mind the brilliant use of each poetic device in the whole series, starting from the alliteration in the titles, similes and metaphors for dire situations (mostly, some are miracles and respites too), and almost all the other 13 literary devices that are known to the English language. So, if you as a parent want to improve your kid's language, or just want to improve it for yourself, I'd suggest this as a really good start.