The Miserable Mill

I regret to inform you that this book series was one of my favorites when I was younger. As I revisit these books as an adult, it's become clear that I can accredit this series to many of my longheld quirks, which here means a completely morbid sense of humor and attraction to meta-references. Regardless, it surprised me to re-discover how gory and cynical these books are at heart, and yet what could I expect from a series that labels itself so blatantly as “unfortunate events?” I should have more carefully listened to Lemony Snicket's warnings ...

In all truth, A Series of Unfortunate Events is a pretty genius series and that definitely includes “The Miserable Mill.” The mystery spun through each episode of the Baudelaire orphans' journey is engaging enough, but Lemony Snicket's irreverent and witty writing style elevate these books to classic status for me. It's also impressive that the books successfully explain higher-level vocabulary and literary devices in a subtle way that builds on top of that growing mystery rather than detracting from it. “The Miserable Mill” is also where (in my opinion) the book starts to deviate from the formula established in the first three installments by forcing the Baudelaires to take up each others' strengths rather than just relying on their own. It's dark, it's intriguing, it's ridiculous and you know what? I can't wait to continue to reacquaint myself with this series.