The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 4) - Hardcover

LEMONY SNICKET

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0749747021 ISBN 13: 9780749747022

Publisher: EGMONT BOOKS LTD, 2001

Synopsis

Dear Listener,

I hope, for your sake, that you have not chosen to listen to this recording because you are in the mood for a pleasant experience. If this is the case, I advise you to put down this audio instantaneously, because of all the audios describing the unhappy lives of the Baudelaire orphans, The Miserable Mill might be the unhappiest yet.

This recording, I′m sorry to inform you, contains such unpleasantries as a giant pincher machine, a bad casserole, a man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, a hypnotist, a terrible accident resulting in injury, and coupons.

I have promised to record the entire history of these three poor children, but you haven′t, so if you prefer stories that are more heartwarming, please feel free to make another selection.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Ages 8+

About this title

About the Author

Lemony Snicket had an unusual education which may or may not explain his ability to evade capture. He is the author of the 13 volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, several picture books including The Dark, and the books collectively titled All The Wrong Questions.

Lemony Snicket had an unusual education which may or may not explain his ability to evade capture. He is the author of the 13 volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, several picture books including The Dark, and the books collectively titled All The Wrong Questions.

From the Back Cover

I hope, for your sake, that you have not chosen to read this book because you are in the mood for a pleasant experience. If this is the case, I advise you to put this book down instantaneously, because of all the books describing the unhappy lives of the Baudelaire orphans, The Miserable Mill might be the unhappiest yet. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are sent to Paltryville to work in a lumber mill, and they find disaster and misfortune lurking behind every log. The pages of this book, I′m sorry to inform you, contain such unpleasantries as a giant pincher machine, a bad casserole, a man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, a hypnotist, a terrible accident resulting in injury, and coupons. I have promised to write down the entire history of these three poor children, but you haven′t, so if you prefer stories that are more heartwarming, please feel free to make another selection.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Ages 10+

Reviews

Gr 4-7-In the fourth (HarperCollins, 2000) delightfully doleful tale of the Baudelaire orphans and their wicked antagonist, Count Olaf, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are sent to live with the owner of the Lucky Smells Sawmill and discover that they are to labor in the mill under the most inhuman of conditions. Not only are they given only five minutes for lunch, but lunch is just a piece of gum! Pay consists of coupons ("buy two get one free") the workers can't use. When Klaus's eyeglasses are broken, he is sent to an eye doctor whose receptionist proves to be Count Olaf in disguise. Soon the children realize that Count Olaf and the eye doctor are scheming to get the children's fortune. All the elements of silent movie serials are here: cliff hanging chapter endings, villainous adults, and even a climactic scene in which the one person who has tried to help the orphans is tied to a log and pushed toward a buzzing saw. Fortunately, at the last moment the eye doctor falls into the blade instead. Of course, the orphans escape Olaf''s clutches once again, but he eludes capture and we know it will not be long before the orphans will fall victim to his schemes again. The reader is purported to be Lemony Snicket, and he uses just the right dismal tone to relate these wretched happenings. This audiobook is sure to fly off the shelf in libraries where the Snicket series is popular (is there any library where it is not?), and most school and public librarians will want to add it to their collections.

Louise L. Sherman, formerly Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Reviewed with Lemony Snicket's The Vile Village.

Gr. 3-6. The Ersatz Elevator , "Book the Sixth," in A Series of Unfortunate Events, opens with the hapless Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, climbing up very dark stairs to the penthouse, the home of their new guardians, Mr and Mrs. Squalor. Genial Mr. Squalor seems genuinely delighted to have the children. Mrs. Squalor is a different matter: her life is ruled by "what's in" (aqueous martinis, pinstripe suits, and orphans) and "what's out" (alcoholic martinis, light, and elevators). Mr. Squalor's life is ruled by Mrs. Squalor. Children will enjoy the humorous barbs aimed at Mrs. Squalor and her ilk. The plot thickens with the reappearance of the nefarious Count Olaf, first in disguise to do his dastardly deeds and then unmasked to sneer at the Baudelaires. "Book the Seventh," The Vile Village , pokes wicked fun at the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" and at aphorisms in general: "The quoting of an aphorism, like the angry barking or a dog or the smell of overcooked broccoli, rarely indicates that something helpful is about to happen." Sure enough, the Baudelaires are soon adopted by an entire town whose inhabitants look upon the orphans as free labor. The Baudelaires struggle to solve the riddling messages that could lead them to rescue the Quagmire triplets, while trying to avoid being burned at the stake. Series fans will enjoy the quick pace, entertaining authorial asides, and over-the-top characterizations, and Brett Helquist's droll pencil drawings will add to their reading pleasure. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

For the Baudelaire orphans life means escaping from Count Olav, whose quest is to become the beneficiary of the Baudelaire fortune. In this fourth adventure, Snicket's characters find themselves working "midgets" at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, with Count Olav nowhere in sight. Snicket's tale lends itself to being read aloud, and what better person to do this than the author! His commentary on word meaning and life experiences becomes informative asides. His treatment of the array of zany characters is humorous and full of appealing voices. He champions Violet, Klaus, and Sonny, whose individual strengths and devotion to each other are detailed in the adventure and underscored through Snicket's tender narration. Whatever the odds, the power of family triumphs. A.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: EGMONT BOOKS LTD
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0749747021
• ISBN 13: 9780749747022
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208