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cloveofgarlic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
ainsley_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
THE BAD BEGINNING is the start of Count Olaf's attempts to get the fortune of the Baudelaire children, newly the Baudelaire Orphans, with the deaths of their parents as the book begins. When Count Olaf finds out that merely being the childrens' guardian is not enough to obtain their fortune, he attempts to marry Violet in an elaborate ruse.
It's very up front about terrible things happening to the children, so much so that part of the framing is that the narrator (who is also kind of a character in the series) actively attempts to dissuade the reader from continuing at several points. That part of the framing holds up rather well, generally.
One of the villains is a large non-speaking person of indeterminate gender… and that’s pretty much it as the story’s justification for monstrosity. They’re socially marginalized and in the proximity of Count Olaf, therefore they’re creepy. While being in Olaf’s troupe is indeed sufficient grounds to be deemed terrible, this person is described in dehumanizing language by the narrator. Even the hook-handed man has specific dialogue where his actions are monstrous separate from his physical abnormality, but the non-gendered person is treated as though their mere existence is monstrous. Because the various troupe members are referred to by physical descriptions rather than names, there is a repeated emphasis on their strange appearances, which just reinforces the issue. I don't consider them to be queer representation because they don't provide any statement of their identity, it's just that the narration states that the Baudelaire children read their gender as ambiguous, which (in this context where ambiguous equals creepy) is judgmental and meaningless.
I know why this series gripped me as a kid, but I don't recommend this book now because of the way it equates physical difference with bad intentions, lumping in choices (like wearing all-white makeup) with physical characteristics (like baldness or being fat). It could have just been that the children are frightened by adults in the company of an adult who has declared his intentions to do them harm, but the way dehumanizing language is used makes it feel like the narrator shares in moral condemnation of the way certain characters look.
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Transphobia, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death
etherealyoungster's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, and Torture
writtenbydnicole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, and Confinement
rory_john14's review against another edition
- 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
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
ohkmurr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief
toshita's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Grief
Minor: Death