How Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' Was Anything but Unfortunate for Me

Picture It: Toronto, 2002 or 2003 (The early 2000s are all jumbled together).

Back in the day, the Lemony Snicket book series, #ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents was one of my absolute favorite things to read. During my elementary school years (roughly Grades 2–5), we had a Book Club where we would spend our lunches with a delightful older woman who rocked some badass old lady glasses named Mrs. Slack. She would bring in some tuna in a container, lather that shit generously on her whole wheat crackers and gobble those tuna crackers down as she read to us the first novel of the series to — I suppose the third or fourth one was where we left off and I went to middle school (Grades 6–8).

I distinctly remember that fish smell emanating from her mouth as she dramatically read the pages of the novel and I loved every single second of it.

When the film adaptation was announced and eventually came to theaters in 2004, I asked my mom if she would go with me to watch it because I was extremely keen to see how well the book would translate on screen. I was 10 years old and giddy with excitement as we sat in our seats in an incredibly crowded theater.

As the trailers finished and the lights died down, the opening credits began for The Littlest Elf. Were we in the wrong theater? Does my mom think I punk’d her and she’ll have to watch a stupid, happy elf prance around for an hour and a half? Confusion set in for about 50 seconds until the scene came to a dramatic halt and I heard Jude Law‘s deliciously velvety-smooth voice say:

“I’m sorry to say that this is not the movie you will be watching.”

An enthusiastic smile came across my face as I watched with delight the unfortunate events proceed with fantastic child acting and Jim Carrey absolutely owning the role of Count Olaf.

See the brilliant opening sequence to the film below:

Reading About The Baudelaires Prove That Children Are Able To Handle Unfortunate Themes

Throughout Lemony Snicket's spectacular book series, he consistently warns the reader how the events that are about to unfold are incredibly unpleasant. He places his faith in the reader to continue at the hope that maybe something pleasant will happen to the Baudelaires or, if you'd like to continue torturing yourself, continue reading even though the prospect of inevitable doom is near. Regardless the reason, a young person has that choice to continue reading and expand their cultural range beyond the Teletubbies.

There are some rather effed up things that occur in the series, however Snicket words it in a way that is not overly graphic or too intense for a younger audience to handle. Shitty things happen in real life, we are all bound to experience at least one (or 100) shitty things during our entire existence. Reading about the experiences of the Baudelaires made me feel connected to these characters because they are not perfect individuals who have rainbows surrounding them at all times. They are flawed, scared and incredibly intelligent children who must work together in the face of tremendous adversity.

I adore anything A Series Of Unfortunate Events, from the fantastic 2004 adaptation to the recently enjoyable Netflix series. The series taught me to persevere regardless of any obstacles I face. Reading about and watching how Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire handle their own respective obstacles entertained me when I was younger and continues to do so in my old, early 20s days.

So thanks, Mrs. Slack. I owe you a tuna sandwich, if we ever cross paths once more.

Thank you for reading! Big shout-out to the beauties here at Creators.co for allowing those like myself to spill their heart out discussing their favorite fictional worlds.

Make sure to check out the hashtag #LifeChanger for other stories on how creative works have made personal impacts!

(This is also my 100th post so woo hoo!)