- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd; 1st ed edition (1 Dec 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0749747021
- ISBN-13: 978-0749747022
- Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 13 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
55,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #26 in Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators > S > Snicket, Lemony
A Series of Unfortunate Events #4
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'A return to the dark pages sad orphan tales result in happy book sales' New York Post
Fourth in the Series of Unfortunate Events aimed at children aged eight and over, this yarn is once again based around the incredibly wealthy, incredibly unlucky Baudelaire children. Violet, Klaus and Sunny have long since been orphaned, and are on the run from their cruel uncle Count Olaf, a revolting man with one eyebrow and an unquenchable desire to get his hands on the family fortune. Trading on the misery and misadventure that relentlessly trails the children wherever they go, the story follows them to Paltryville, a town so awful that, if it were listed in a guide book, there would only be one helpful hint about what to do when you get there - leave! Unfortunately they can't, because it's home to the Lucky Smells Lumbermill and their new guardian, and things just go from bad to worse. The disaster-prone siblings are put to work in the grim environs of the mill, with a foreman who's a monster, a stick of gum for lunch, and the constant threat of a visit from Uncle Olaf - who also happens to be a master of disguise - and his nasty crew of miscreants. The author's rather knowing, chummy style grates on occasion, especially with the frequent interpretations of Sunny's baby talk, and the omnipresent first-person narrative often comes across as more of a hindrance than a help. Nevertheless, the large audience at which it's aimed will be delighted as one unsavoury incident follows another and the orphans never get a break, and there's enough misery to ensure they'll hungrily devour this addition to what has become an exceedingly popular series. (Kirkus UK)
Fourth in the Series of Unfortunate Events aimed at children aged eight and over, this yarn is once again based around the incredibly wealthy, incredibly unlucky Baudelaire children. Violet, Klaus and Sunny have long since been orphaned, and are on the run from their cruel uncle Count Olaf, a revolting man with one eyebrow and an unquenchable desire to get his hands on the family fortune. Trading on the misery and misadventure that relentlessly trails the children wherever they go, the story follows them to Paltryville, a town so awful that, if it were listed in a guide book, there would only be one helpful hint about what to do when you get there - leave! Unfortunately they can't, because it's home to the Lucky Smells Lumbermill and their new guardian, and things just go from bad to worse. The disaster-prone siblings are put to work in the grim environs of the mill, with a foreman who's a monster, a stick of gum for lunch, and the constant threat of a visit from Uncle Olaf - who also happens to be a master of disguise - and his nasty crew of miscreants. The author's rather knowing, chummy style grates on occasion, especially with the frequent interpretations of Sunny's baby talk, and the omnipresent first-person narrative often comes across as more of a hindrance than a help. Nevertheless, the large audience at which it's aimed will be delighted as one unsavoury incident follows another and the orphans never get a break, and there's enough misery to ensure they'll hungrily devour this addition to what has become an exceedingly popular series. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
Mr Poe delivers the three Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus and little Sunny, to their new guardian, the owner of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill in Paltryville. But far from living in the mill, they rapidly discover they will be working there and even worse, there is a book in the library by a Dr Orwell, sinisterly shaped like Count Olaf's eye tattoo. Each morning Foreman Flacutono wakes the workers by banging metal pots together and directs them through a day of arduous logscraping, with only chewing gum for lunch and damp casserole for dinner. Their guardian, a terrifying man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, known only as 'Sir', proposes unsatisfactorily that if they work in his mill, he'll 'try' to keep Count Olaf away. Klaus trips over Foreman Flacutono's strategically placed foot and his glasses get broken. He returns from the village eye doctor, none other than Dr Orwell, strangely changed. Violet believes Klaus has been hypnotised, and when they discover Dr Orwell's receptionist, Shirley, is really Count Olaf dressed horribly, her worst fears are confirmed. Dr Orwell herself becomes the victim of the nasty accident at the lumbermill she, Foreman Flacutono and Shirley have arranged. Sir decides to pack the children off to their next dismal adventure at The Austere Academy.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lose yourself in an enjoyable experience, Rosie aged 10,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 4) (Hardcover)
A fantastic book to read. For 9 and overs because there are quite difficult words in it. I liked the bit when Count Olaf dressed up as a woman, because it was funny. There was alot of surprising events which kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to find out more. Someone who enjoys adventures would enjoy this book because the three children have to work in a lumber mill and have lots of adventures doing so. The three children only eat gum for their lunch and at dinner they have a bad casserole. This book is the funniest one in the series yet, it is also exciting, dark, with other surprises on the way.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More of the miserable, mesmerizing same!!,
By
This review is from: A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill (Hardcover)
Although Snikett takes a different direction in book 5, this 4th book in the series of Unfortunate Events is just as inventive and surprising and probably my favourite up to this point, with the exception of book 1. To me this definitely didn't feel like a repeat of previous books, on the contrary- I found the content both refreshing and at the same time familiar enough for me as a fan to feel at home.In some ways this is similar to previous books i.e. a clueless guardian, a disguised Count Olaf and a series of unfortunate events that the siblings must overcome using their inventiveness, knowledge and sharp tooth, respectively. So all we've come to expect, really. But there are also several new elements that keep the reader both gripped by the story and constantly guessing, as to what will happen next. In the 'Miserable Mill' the continued story of the Baudelaire's that was waning in book 3 feels renewed and invigorated by new characters and unusual events. Count Olaf, although still present in all his horrid glory, takes a back seat to some very despicable new characters who attempt to thwart Violet, Klaus and Sunny in their perfectly reasonable pursuit of a calm and contented childhood. The Boss character for example is captivating- he may only have one facial expression, but he just makes a fantastically menacing character for the reader to love to hate. With this book I felt more than ever before that the author was gradually upping the anti, putting the siblings in greater and greater danger and so providing the reader with greater thrills. Also with this book, you'll be screaming at the pages more than ever before for the Baudelaire orphans to resort to more extreme measures to battle the fiends they face, even though you know if they did they would very probably find themselves in an even more unfortunate position. So all that we can really do is wait and continue to hope that very soon they may be a little bit better off. Unlikely I know, but we can still hope.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review the Fourth,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 4) (Hardcover)
This is the fourth book of the series and sees the Baudelaire Orphans dropped off to their newest guardian, the mysterious 'Sir' of Lucky Smell Lumbermill.The story starts with the ominous - which here means the Baudelaire Orphans were reminded of Count Olaf - eye shaped building. The children meet a variety of people from the optimistic Phil - optimistic means someone who is irritatingly bright and cheerful even when normal people would be crying in a corner - to the horrible Foreman Flacutono - horrible here means wakes people up with the banging of two pots rather then with the clanging of the alarm clock, rooster or fire alarm. It is a shame that the nice people the children meet never have any influence, like Charles. Look out for Count Olaf who enters the stage in his best disguise yet! All in all (a phase here which means I've said enough and tried not to give anything away) this is a good, easy read story. I would like to add a caution to my review for younger reader: there are squeamish bits in the book - squeamish here means the death of a character and the squashing of another.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
