I really enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events when I read them as a kid. If you haven't read them, I'm not entirely sure they'd be worth a revisit as an adult unless you have a child to read it with or particularly enjoy children's literature. There was a lot I liked about this series, and this meme got me thinking about how good they were so I'm going to list a few additional reasons this is a good series.
-Easy to read for about age 11+, but introduces a lot of higher reading level vocabulary in an easy to understand and learn way
-The Baudelaire orphans constantly take Ls, but always encourage and help each other using their unique skills and knowledge. There are many instances where even the infant's skills are shown to be not only useful, but necessary. It provides numerous examples of the orphans (and sometimes their comrades) pooling skills and knowledge to protect and provide for each other.
-As previously stated the orphans are fleeing from one shitty situation to another and dealing with adults that range from outright murderous to well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful or very limited in their ability to help. Unfortunate puts it very lightly to be honest. These kids work their way through it to the best of their ability but the frequency and severity of the situations they go through really are some :doomer: shit. However, they manage to not become dispirited, instead focusing their attention on forming the best plan possible with whatever is available to them. This also provides examples of how facing adversity together strengthens the bonds between the orphans and their comrades, as well as how those bonds are necessary for sustaining hope.
-Even though the story is often depressing, the writing isn't. It has a unique style and is very funny. The narrator and the orphans each show a bit of "pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will" in their own way.
If you read them, especially somewhat recently, what did you think about them?
I always found it interesting how much was left unexplained in the series. Of course you want to find out everything that's going on, and we're so used it to that it's frustrating when something proves to be out of your reach, but it only makes sense given not only the limited PoV of the kids, but also the themes of doing the best with what you have and persevering even when you have no clue what's going on.
I've always liked how even though it's impossible to get all the answers, an obsessive reading of the books and all the supplemental material will allow you to infer the likely answers to most of them. And I also like that the author is "fuck you, want to find out? Do your own research. I ain't confirming shit."
It was actually kind of disappointing how much the TV Series makes explicit, even if it does depart from book canon in places.
It was such a fun bundle of mysteries to sink your teeth into. I thought I was so clever figuring out that J.S. was
spoiler
Jerome Squalor
only to be half correct when that reveal came
it always bothered me so much as a kid that there was never any closure or explanation of the "Great Unknown," the giant question mark shaped thing in the sea in The Grim Grotto
Definitely had the question mark in mind. Looking back it's such an obvious allusion to making your own peace with the unknown but it went over my head as a kid ¯_༼ᴼل͜ᴼ༽_/¯
It's pretty clear if you read the prequel series that it's
spoiler
The Bombinating Beast