Reviews

Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket

steffany9's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

2.5

zach_medina's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

mehsi's review

5.0

I received this book from Netgalley/publisher in exchange of an honest review.

This is going to be short review, one only to come on Goodreads as it will be very short. This was a wonderful bewildering, surprising, mysterious, fantastical, what is happening right now because what are we doing now, 1001% Lemony Snicket book. It is a stream of conscious and I can honestly (truly) tell you that it took me 3 days because it was so confuddling and so much. I just had to take breaks while reading. This is by no means a bad thing. My head is just a bit overloaded at the moment and cannot take a lot. Normally I wouldn't have liked a stream of conscious kind of book, but with Lemony Snicket it worked out. It felt like coming home. It felt like he was talking to me. Explaining things, words and other things. Being philosophical. Of course, the book is also about poison and all the yummy food Snicket had for breakfast. Be prepared for a ride of your life (meaning that you better strap up) I had tons of fun reading this book. I will definitely be adding it to my Lemony Snicket collection (which here means my Unfortunate Event books (various editions) and all the other books Mr. Snicket has penned down).
This book may not be for everyone, but it is definitely a book for all the fans of Lemony Snicket.

bstayslay's review

4.0

What a strange and wonderful little book. I couldn’t tell you what this book is about but it was charming and full of characteristic Lemony Snicket isms. As a child who loved A Series of Unfortunate Events, I think this book was a treat. 

andrealynn's review

mysterious reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

“ 3. It is a mystery. 4. It is a book of philosophy. 5. It is about bewilderment. 6. It will be called Poison for Breakfast. 7. Remember to include the element of surprise. 8. Remember to leave out certain things. 9. 
10. Yes, nobody knows the other rule.”

_cecilie_'s review

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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

4.5

 This little book of ramblings is very hard to classify indeed. It's hard to say what kind of literature it is or what genre or what it is about or who it is for. Well, at least the last question I can answer quite easily because apparently it was for me. And another thing I'm confident about is that every author should include intertextual and other media references in their notes! Imagine you are reading in a park and you find yourself next to someone whom you have seen a few times before, so you're not acquaintances by any means but they are familiar enough for you to say 'no, please sit', when they ask if the seat next to you on the bench is taken already. Then they start talking and even though you might be irritated at first because remember, you were reading before they came along, but that irritation gives way to first incredulous then sincere amusement because that stranger - he's something! A bit wacky, very witty, undoubtfully entertaining and rambling on, sometimes interrupting himself or leaving pauses for you to maybe say something yourself but you're too interested to see where his monologue is going so you let him continue. Answer: It's meandering, going nowhere in particular at all. And having read this little thought-experiment: This is what this book is. If you meet it at the right time, you'll be charmed, entertained, elated. If not, well - just politely tell it you have somewhere else to be and excuse yourself and try some other day. 

elektrifried's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

jkstonge's review

3.0

I enjoyed this book! Lemony Snicket's writing is whimsical and fun. However, I feel like I would've felt more of a sense of nostalgia had I read the Series of Unfortunate Events books as a kid. Short and sweet. 

lindseyannd's review

3.0

A silly read to pass the time.

mattyb2851's review

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

4.5

This was a very bewildering reflection on what it means to experience the world. It contains the lighthearted musings of a man who finds himself thinking, as one does, about what it means to know something. Do we know anything? No, and that’s okay, because we manage without. It’s wistful and nostalgic, funny and melancholy, lighthearted and inward. It is a perfect book for those who don’t know what they want, but can go with the flow. Life, if nothing else, is bewildering, and maybe we should celebrate that more.