The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket

The Miserable Mill
by Lemony Snicket
Published by Inc., Scholastic
Publication Date April 15th 2000
Source: Library
Genres: Young Adult
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Dear Reader,

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

I have slowly been reading A Series of Unfortunate Events in preparation for Netflix’s adaptation due out in 2017. The first three books were a little formulaic but I was hoping for something fresh in The Miserable Mill and did receive a little of that.

Unfortunately, we still had the naive adults who don’t see through Count Olaf’s disguises. I really wished their guardians would just open their eyes and act well, less stupid.

Violet, Klaus and Sunny are all Harriet the Spy and continue to develop as characters.  I enjoyed seeing their growth.

A Series of Unfortunate Events succeeds as a children’s series, but that is what it is a children’s series and unfortunately, these unfortunate events are not enough to entice this particular adult. In my opinion it felt limp and unimpressive for a more mature audience.