This weekend, I finally finished reading Parade's End, the tetralogy of novels by Ford Madox Ford that formed the basis of the excellent BBC miniseries I reviewed last month. A mammoth literary enterprise like that (906 pages of small font, to be exact) only serves to make one highly appreciative of simple children's books that pack in whimsy, humor, and literary entertainment in a few hundred widely-spaced pages littered with pictures. Which brings me to "Who Could That Be at This Hour?", the first novel in an upcoming tetralogy (what's with all the tetralogies?!) by Lemony Snicket.
Lemony Snicket (and yes, that's a nom de plume, no parent actually named their child that) is most famous for A Series of Unfortunate Events, a 13-book series that told the story of the three Baudelaire orphans who were being persecuted by their evil guardian, Count Olaf. The first three books were turned into a delightful movie starring Jim Carrey, but I guess it wasn't successful enough to warrant adaptations of the rest of the series. I started reading the books when six of them were out and continued to read them diligently until the very end. The series had a surprisingly intricate plot and I have often wanted to re-read the books back to back just so that I could get the full impact of the epic storyline that revealed so much about the Baudelaire's past and family history, as well as offering hints about Snicket's own dark past.
"Who Could That Be At This Hour?" is a story about Lemony Snicket himself, featuring his exploits as a thirteen-year old detective in some shadowy organization (shadowy organizations are a hallmark of any Snicket novel). The series is all about asking the wrong questions during an investigation (and in life in general) and this book is concerned with the alleged theft of a mysterious statue in an incredibly odd seaside town that is no longer by the sea. The town is populated by strange characters, Snicket's mentor is a remarkably incompetent woman who treats him terribly like most adults in the Snicket universe, and the novel posits many questions that baffle and delight the reader.
Snicket's narrative style is hilarious and charming. His books are incredibly witty, and although they are purported to be for young readers, they contain references and sly jokes that will tickle readers of any age. Sometimes I wonder how much children can really appreciate these novels, because if you just take them at face value, you are missing so much subtext. However, you should convince any children in your life to read these books when they are young so they can amass an impressive vocabulary, and then re-read them when they are older so that they can truly enjoy their weird and wonderful charm.
Children's novels contain some of the greatest stories in literature; the language is simple and the chapters are short, but the ideas can be just as fascinating as any novel for adults. So if you have been trying to get through a particularly lengthy tome like Anna Karenina, Great Expectations, or Parade's End, consider taking a break and delving into the bizarre world of Lemony Snicket.
Lemony Snicket (and yes, that's a nom de plume, no parent actually named their child that) is most famous for A Series of Unfortunate Events, a 13-book series that told the story of the three Baudelaire orphans who were being persecuted by their evil guardian, Count Olaf. The first three books were turned into a delightful movie starring Jim Carrey, but I guess it wasn't successful enough to warrant adaptations of the rest of the series. I started reading the books when six of them were out and continued to read them diligently until the very end. The series had a surprisingly intricate plot and I have often wanted to re-read the books back to back just so that I could get the full impact of the epic storyline that revealed so much about the Baudelaire's past and family history, as well as offering hints about Snicket's own dark past.
"Who Could That Be At This Hour?" is a story about Lemony Snicket himself, featuring his exploits as a thirteen-year old detective in some shadowy organization (shadowy organizations are a hallmark of any Snicket novel). The series is all about asking the wrong questions during an investigation (and in life in general) and this book is concerned with the alleged theft of a mysterious statue in an incredibly odd seaside town that is no longer by the sea. The town is populated by strange characters, Snicket's mentor is a remarkably incompetent woman who treats him terribly like most adults in the Snicket universe, and the novel posits many questions that baffle and delight the reader.
Snicket's narrative style is hilarious and charming. His books are incredibly witty, and although they are purported to be for young readers, they contain references and sly jokes that will tickle readers of any age. Sometimes I wonder how much children can really appreciate these novels, because if you just take them at face value, you are missing so much subtext. However, you should convince any children in your life to read these books when they are young so they can amass an impressive vocabulary, and then re-read them when they are older so that they can truly enjoy their weird and wonderful charm.
Children's novels contain some of the greatest stories in literature; the language is simple and the chapters are short, but the ideas can be just as fascinating as any novel for adults. So if you have been trying to get through a particularly lengthy tome like Anna Karenina, Great Expectations, or Parade's End, consider taking a break and delving into the bizarre world of Lemony Snicket.
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