Reviews tagging 'Incest'

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

6 reviews

wuthrinheights's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was obsessed with this series as a kid. I've lost count of how many times I've watched the movie, and for many years, I've been collecting the books. I just realised my collection is complete by now so I started reading it from the first book. 

It has been too long since I read this, so I forgot a lot of details, but the one thing I remember (and loved) about Lemony Snicket is how great his voice is. His writing is incredibly unique and unforgettable. It's eloquent, whimsical, humorous, and informative. I love how he would teach idioms or phrases, or explain what certain words would mean in between telling this tragic tale of the Baudelaire orphans.

The Bad Beginning was an incredible start to this fantastic series. It is (as per his warnings in every chance he could sneak in) terribly miserable and frustrating. From losing their parents at a young age to getting adopted by this unknown relative who abused them, to having adult friends who were of no help at all, it makes me want to weep for these three beautiful, smart, kind children. I know it's a series of unfortunate events, but my God. It truly is unfortunate. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Addiction, Death of parent, Incest, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Torture, Sexual harassment, Violence, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, and Slavery

annoyedhumanoid's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

i feel weird critiquing when i know i'm no longer the target audience (🥲) but there are literally five plot points it’s so short. i don't think i fully realized, as a fourth grader, the gravity and emotional trauma of the Baudelaire's situation… like

the slap to the face and all the other adults laugh

?!? pit in my stomach. also, this is not an attempt to "cancel" the book, but what must it be like to read this as a child going through abuse only to have Mr. Snicket tell you twenty times "it doesn't get better for these kids". i guess that’s its form of a trigger warning?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Grief, and Death

Minor: Incest, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Pedophilia

maeverose's review against another edition

2.25

I like the writing style but dislike that this book falls so heavily on the ‘certain physical traits make you bad or scary’ trope. It’s ableist, fatphobic and transphobic. Also pretty misogynistic at times. I wanted to read these books because the movie was a childhood favorite of mine and I liked the little bit of the netflix show that I watched, but I didn’t like this first book as much as I’d hoped I would. I own the next two so I’ll at least read those.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Ableism, Transphobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia

Minor: Blood

moonbin's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, and Incest

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was a great book! Am I 18 and reading it because I watched the tv series on Netflix and felt like I missed out on a part of my childhood? Yes. Did reading this book fix all the childhood trauma I’ve had? No. 

It was still a great read and I would recommend it. I read it in 1 day which is actually very uncommon for me. Even as a slow reader this is a quick read and keeps your focus and keeps you entertained. 

To those of you who like to listen to music or sounds while you read, I suggest listening to the band Cosmo Sheldrake. Their music really encompassed what was happening in the book and it was like the books very own personal soundtrack. Except the song “Come Along” that belongs to a different book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Confinement and Pedophilia

Minor: Incest

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Incest

Minor: Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Sexism