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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was interesting and the best one yet
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Once more a fun read. I really liked that this installment had a different turn of events. I also quite liked the setting. However, I missed the kind characters a bit, like Mr. Monty. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.
adventurous
slow-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
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Troszkę mniej mi się podobała niż poprzednie dlatego 3.5 ale nadal świetnie się bawię
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read the first three books in the “Unfortunate Events” series in 2021 and despite feeling that the second was a step up from the first, became disillusioned by the time I read the third and that stymied me from reading on until now. I got the sense that the series was essentially running in place, hitting the same beats repeatedly with no obvious plan for growth or change. There were a few glimmers of hope I had for a larger world-building as the narrator Lemony Snicket made off the cuff comments suggesting a personal connection to the story of the Baudelaire children, but aside from this kernel of intrigue, there wasn’t a lot to keep spirits up. Lately I’ve been feeling like maybe it was worth giving the series another shot, though, and so while at the library recently I went ahead and picked up THE MISERABLE MILL to be my first book of 2023. I did find, however, that it isn’t qualitatively different than the previous entries in the series. You might expect that this sameness would result in a lower rating, but somehow it manages to be fine overall despite how rote it has quickly become.
Once again, the Baudelaires are shipped to a new place to live, this time with a brutish man who insists on being called only “Sir” and forces them to work in a lumber mill. Once again, Snicket as narrator warns the reader that this is going to be a depressing book and to turn back if you don’t want to read it (although there *was* something I appreciated here, which was that he began by indicating what the first sentence of the book would be, but stretches out the preface to that sentence so that the “first sentence” doesn’t begin until page 3… I feel like the joke could have been sustained even longer, if he’d tried). And once again, there’s the asides defining certain terms for the young reader in ways that are very specific to the situation and not generally applicable. Once again, Count Olaf tries to get at them wearing a flimsy disguise that only the adults are incapable of seeing through, and once again the children are ignored or marginalized as they sound the alarm about Olaf’s treachery.
The things that most appealed to me here were some of the asides by Snicket. For instance, he says a sign whose letters are made up of chewed up bubblegum is the most disgusting thing next to a sign he once saw which read “Beware” and was made of dead monkeys.
Once again, the Baudelaires are shipped to a new place to live, this time with a brutish man who insists on being called only “Sir” and forces them to work in a lumber mill. Once again, Snicket as narrator warns the reader that this is going to be a depressing book and to turn back if you don’t want to read it (although there *was* something I appreciated here, which was that he began by indicating what the first sentence of the book would be, but stretches out the preface to that sentence so that the “first sentence” doesn’t begin until page 3… I feel like the joke could have been sustained even longer, if he’d tried). And once again, there’s the asides defining certain terms for the young reader in ways that are very specific to the situation and not generally applicable. Once again, Count Olaf tries to get at them wearing a flimsy disguise that only the adults are incapable of seeing through, and once again the children are ignored or marginalized as they sound the alarm about Olaf’s treachery.
The things that most appealed to me here were some of the asides by Snicket. For instance, he says a sign whose letters are made up of chewed up bubblegum is the most disgusting thing next to a sign he once saw which read “Beware” and was made of dead monkeys.