A Bad Beginning: Complete & Unabridged (Series of Unfortunate Events) |
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Lemony Snicket
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Pages: (Audio CD)
ISBN: 0007157088
Pub: Collins Audio
Pub date: 2002-10-21
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 108897
Reader Reviews:
"Scream and Run Away." (4/4 people found this helpful)
This is a review mainly of the unabridged recording of "The Bad Beginning" read by Tim Curry, with an interview of Lemony Snicket by Leonard C. Marcus. And the song "Scream and Run Away preformed by the Gothic Archies. This is also a review of the hardback book.
Initial listening of this book brought horror and disgust (which in this case means repugnance.) Determined to finish the story despite the author's constant warnings, I must say that I became enamored of his style.
There are several pluses to listening to the recording. The pace of the recording helps keep you going when you would have set the book aside. The absence of the book's illustrations by Bret Helquist allowed you to imagine a more sinister Count Olaf and a cuter, yet with a tad of tomboy, Violet. Now the significant plus is the unmistakable voice of Tim Curry of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Oscar" (1991 as Dr. Poole) fame. His interpretation of the voices gave just as much panache to the characters as Lemony's writing.
Not in the book, but as additions to the recording are two significant items that help with the understanding of the story, where it came from, and where it is going. First is an interview with the author. It covers many of the standard questions asked in an interview; the answers and the communication style is somewhat unique and a little over the top. Also there is a recording of a song that Mr. Snicket says is played by the Baudelaire memorial orchestra; I have since found that it was really preformed by the Gothic Archies, written by Gay and Loud.
I do not want to give away the plot however I can tell you that at one point they are forced to eat "boiled chicken, boiled, potatoes and 'blanched'- here means 'boiled'- string beans"
Dreadful, Just Dreadful (But I Loved It) (5/5 people found this helpful)
I suppose I should say, that technically, I am old enough to have grandchildren who might enjoy this book. Nevertheless, I loved it. There is a certain flamboyant flair to the writing, just right for these dreadful tales, and a fair amount of jokes that older readers will enjoy (such as naming two of the children Claus and Sunny).
I even read the next in the series, almost as good as the first. Then I made the mistake of getting the third on tape to listen to in the car. Although I am a Tim Curry fan from way back, I thought his reading was wrong for these stories. They need a deadpan, straighforward reading. Curry was over the top.
Read this book yourself, or find a kid to read it to, but skip the audio version.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Children’s Books -> Authors & Illustrators -> S -> Snicket, Lemony
Toys & Games -> Children’s Books -> Fiction -> Adventure
Toys & Games -> Children’s Books -> Authors & Illustrators -> S -> Snicket, Lemony