4th out of 26 books
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Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography (A Series of Unfortunate Events)
by
Lemony Snicket
(Goodreads Author)
A Warning from the Publisher:
Many readers have questions about Lemony Snicket, author of the distressing serial concerning the trials of the charming but unlucky Baudelaire orphans, published under the collective title A Series of Unfortunate Events. Before purchasing, borrowing, or stealing this book, you should be aware that it contains the answers to some of those quest ...more
Many readers have questions about Lemony Snicket, author of the distressing serial concerning the trials of the charming but unlucky Baudelaire orphans, published under the collective title A Series of Unfortunate Events. Before purchasing, borrowing, or stealing this book, you should be aware that it contains the answers to some of those quest ...more
Paperback
,
218 pages
Published
May 6th 2003
by HarperTrophy
(first published January 1st 2002)
Reader Q&A
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
I'll use this one for a brief summary of my relationship with ASOUE. I fell in love with these books when I was 11 and kept reading them devotedly as they came out. When I was 13, this book was released, along side Book the 10th. The two of them together jumpstarted my love of the series to a new level. For the first time I joined an online forum and introduced myself to the world of the internet. I started a commonplace notebook, created theories, looked for clues, talked with other rabid fans,
...more
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Feb 11, 2008
Alena
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who has read any part of A Series of Unfortunate Events
Shelves:
young-adult
This book is the zenith of the entire Lemony Snicket collection. It is the piece of the puzzle that makes you sit up and say, "Good heavens, there
IS
a plot!"
When I read the first few Series of Unfortunate Events books, it was only to familiarize myself with what I was told from all sides was sure to be the next Harry Potter phenomenon. I wasn't terribly impressed with the first two or three volumes -- cute idea, I thought, but nothing that really grabbed me. A couple of years later, I needed so ...more
When I read the first few Series of Unfortunate Events books, it was only to familiarize myself with what I was told from all sides was sure to be the next Harry Potter phenomenon. I wasn't terribly impressed with the first two or three volumes -- cute idea, I thought, but nothing that really grabbed me. A couple of years later, I needed so ...more
"This book does not appear to be a forgery, which is not to say that the story is true - only that it is accurate. That this book comes from Mr. Snicket is unquestionable, which is not to say that some do not question it."
A hilarious, confusing, deliberately misleading "autobiography" of author/character Lemony Snicket. Very silly, and has a reversible cover so you can hide what you're reading and disguise it as The Pony Party , a story about the luckiest kids in the world.
This is not a volume of ...more
A hilarious, confusing, deliberately misleading "autobiography" of author/character Lemony Snicket. Very silly, and has a reversible cover so you can hide what you're reading and disguise it as The Pony Party , a story about the luckiest kids in the world.
This is not a volume of ...more
Mar 20, 2011
Lucia
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Lemony Snicket fans
The only reason I didn't like this book was simply because I didn't understand it. However someone bought it for me- along with Unfortunate Events books 1,2,6 & 7 (in that order!) so I decided to give it a go. I have to confess that I have never gotten into the Unfortunate Events series probably because even though I think he is a very unique writer & can be very funny, he can also be very fustrating. Now & then he wanders off on tangents, for example explaining why he had written a
...more
Okay, this book acknowledged most (but not all) of my questions, then systematically didn't answer them. Seriously. It was a bit interesting - a collection of fake articles, journal entries, letters, etc. - but had little relevance to the issues about which I was hoping to learn more. Also, at times, the writing crossed the line from "humorously silly" to "annoying and somewhat difficult to read." The entire book seemed to really lack a point, and certainly didn't even pretend to have a plot. Bu
...more
Summary:
This book is about the unknown life of a very mysterious and well kept man who need to keep secrets.
Passage: P.15 and 16
My aunt, who is either a woman named Julie Blattberg or a woman whose name I am pretending is Julie Blattberg, gave me a small key that unlocked a box that contained a key which in turn unlocked a box that contained a key which in turn unlocked another box that contained the information that makes up this book, and made me swear never to let it reach the public, even ...more
This book is about the unknown life of a very mysterious and well kept man who need to keep secrets.
Passage: P.15 and 16
My aunt, who is either a woman named Julie Blattberg or a woman whose name I am pretending is Julie Blattberg, gave me a small key that unlocked a box that contained a key which in turn unlocked a box that contained a key which in turn unlocked another box that contained the information that makes up this book, and made me swear never to let it reach the public, even ...more
This is one of the most oddball books ever written. It is primarily designed to confuse and confound...it's like House of Leaves crossed with Pale Fire and Monty Python. I found this book before I had even heard of the 'Unfortunate Events' series, so you can imagine how confused *I* was. It's not much in the way of literature, but it is fascinating as our long-suffering "author" gives scant details about his journeys, some enigmatic information--AND PHOTOS!-- of his history.Along with a fake cov
...more
This is a very interesting book. I'm a little amazed that the author (one Daniel Handler) is so able to construct a really odd and mysterious and bizarre world that still somehow works. He'll mention something on one page that seems completely random, and then two chapters later is able to tie it all in somehow! This book has a lot of nicely delivered tidbits regarding the Snickets, and, as far as is relevant, the Baudelaires and V.F.D., as well as many of the other characters that appear in A S
...more
Just a side note, I'm a big
obsessed
fan of the series. I've read each of the 13 books at least thrice over the past 6 years. I absolutely freaked out yesterday when I saw this book at Fullybooked Katipunan and I immediately bought it. Right now I'm halfway through reading Stardust but I absolutely could not help but pause with Stardust and just start reading this book this already. And since it's quite a light book to read, I finished it in roughly 2 hours or so.
Anywho.
Oh, how I've missed eve ...more
Anywho.
Oh, how I've missed eve ...more
I suppose I can't blame him.
Throughout his books, Lemony Snicket tries to persuade his readers to give up on The Series of Unfortunate Events, but I just didn't listen. They were too witty and amusing, so I read through the entire series only to find that when Snicket warned that there would not be a happy ending, what he really meant was that there wouldn't be a satisfying ending that answered the mysteries from the rest of the series.
So. Frustrating.
And then I discovered this book, whose tit ...more
Throughout his books, Lemony Snicket tries to persuade his readers to give up on The Series of Unfortunate Events, but I just didn't listen. They were too witty and amusing, so I read through the entire series only to find that when Snicket warned that there would not be a happy ending, what he really meant was that there wouldn't be a satisfying ending that answered the mysteries from the rest of the series.
So. Frustrating.
And then I discovered this book, whose tit ...more
GUYS LEMONY SNICKET IS NOT REAL!
Okay:) I did an autobiography project in 3rd garde and picked Lemmony Snicket cause I was reading the series at the time. So...I don't really remember this book...shh! Don't tell!
So, funny story, right? Everyone was checking out these autobiographies and I grabbed this one and the mean librarian stopped me (school library) and was like, "He's not real! You have to pick a real person! But it back! Blah blah snarky blah!" So I was angry and picked a stupid ice-skate ...more
Okay:) I did an autobiography project in 3rd garde and picked Lemmony Snicket cause I was reading the series at the time. So...I don't really remember this book...shh! Don't tell!
So, funny story, right? Everyone was checking out these autobiographies and I grabbed this one and the mean librarian stopped me (school library) and was like, "He's not real! You have to pick a real person! But it back! Blah blah snarky blah!" So I was angry and picked a stupid ice-skate ...more
As a break between the 11th and 12th books in The Series of Unfortunate Events series, here's a mostly incoherent and nonsequitor fake autobiography of the fake author of these books. It's full of clues for some of the big reveals later in the series, but mostly is an opportunity for the author to indulge his stylistic whims. It's full of people in period costumes, crossed out passages, codes, and quotes from J.D. Salinger and Roald Dahl. I do love that as the books go on, the life and identity
...more
I love this book. As a fan of ASOUE for over ten years now, it was a pleasure to revisit
The Unauthorised Autobiography
and find it just as maddeningly coded, light on real information and full of inanities as I remembered. I can appreciate why it wouldn't suit readers in search of actual
answers
, but given the lack-thereof in the series as a whole, TUA is a perfect accompaniment. It delves just far enough into the shrouded world of VFD to tantalise, without destroying the mysterious premise of
...more
Simply, ridiculous nonsense. This writing style is not for me and this was a waste of my time.
If I could give this book zero out of five, I would.
I thought that all my questions would be answered when I read this book. There was lots of mystery surrounding practically everything - from V.F.D. to the author himself. But when I read the book, instead of getting answers, I left with even more questions.
To me, the book was just a bunch of random papers stuffed together and bonded. For example, pages 140 and 141 had telegrams. When you flipped the page, a photograph appeared, captioned "Will ...more
I thought that all my questions would be answered when I read this book. There was lots of mystery surrounding practically everything - from V.F.D. to the author himself. But when I read the book, instead of getting answers, I left with even more questions.
To me, the book was just a bunch of random papers stuffed together and bonded. For example, pages 140 and 141 had telegrams. When you flipped the page, a photograph appeared, captioned "Will ...more
While this book does shed a little light on some of the mysteries of the Series (a few Aha! moments), some of it is just random and even repetitive.
The use of random old photographs to tell a story reminded me of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (which was written later and which can be found on my "abandoned" shelf). Here, at least there was an original story to somewhat match the photographs, but I prefer the illustrations of the series.
The use of random old photographs to tell a story reminded me of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (which was written later and which can be found on my "abandoned" shelf). Here, at least there was an original story to somewhat match the photographs, but I prefer the illustrations of the series.
As a Snicket fan, I've been dyin to read this book when it was released way back in mah college years. The ads said the book contains the hidden clues to lemony Snicket's identity leading to some spoilers for the last book of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Can you believe it...I bought a hard bound copy of the book at Booksale for only 66 Php? LOL. Amazing. But then, too late. I'm finished with the thirteen books. I just bought the book for the same of collection...and remembrance.
The Unauthoriz ...more
Can you believe it...I bought a hard bound copy of the book at Booksale for only 66 Php? LOL. Amazing. But then, too late. I'm finished with the thirteen books. I just bought the book for the same of collection...and remembrance.
The Unauthoriz ...more
It was kind of boring, and it wasn't really a bio about Lemony Snicket (A.K.A. Daniel Handler), it was just a few questions answered about a couple things. The chapters should have been what they originally were, not the hand written chapter headings.
I didn't like how there were parts where he wrote in his handwriting, because I couldn't read it very well, and some of his letters looked like other letters, etc.
Honestly it was really quite boring. It was like...IDK. Who was it talking about Lemon ...more
I didn't like how there were parts where he wrote in his handwriting, because I couldn't read it very well, and some of his letters looked like other letters, etc.
Honestly it was really quite boring. It was like...IDK. Who was it talking about Lemon ...more
This book was grea fun to read. Anyone who has read and enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events must read The Unauthorized Autobiografy.
It is writen in the same style as A Series of Unfortunate Events and is supposed to tell the reader about Lemony Snickets life, which it does in mr. Snickets own peculiar way of telling stories.
The only reason this book does not get a better rating is that parts of it is writen in hand. Handwriting can be very authentic to read, but unfortunately it was rather ...more
It is writen in the same style as A Series of Unfortunate Events and is supposed to tell the reader about Lemony Snickets life, which it does in mr. Snickets own peculiar way of telling stories.
The only reason this book does not get a better rating is that parts of it is writen in hand. Handwriting can be very authentic to read, but unfortunately it was rather ...more
Nov 01, 2010
Jill
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of Lemony who have read all the books!
I thought this was hilarious!!
This is a book that goes along with A Series of Unfortunate Events - kind of a little companion on the side book. It was exactly in the style of the others, still super super funny, and it did kind of give us some more information about the VFD and Lemony.
I loved all of the little notes and newspaper clippings. I also LOVED that there is a reversible cover - in order to hide that you are reading this dangerous book, of course. Sadly I was unable to actually reverse ...more
This is a book that goes along with A Series of Unfortunate Events - kind of a little companion on the side book. It was exactly in the style of the others, still super super funny, and it did kind of give us some more information about the VFD and Lemony.
I loved all of the little notes and newspaper clippings. I also LOVED that there is a reversible cover - in order to hide that you are reading this dangerous book, of course. Sadly I was unable to actually reverse ...more
This book is just plain fun. It’s full of photographs, letters, minutes, and scripts all teeming with tantalizing and mysterious information about V.F.D. I’m just going to quote from the Wikipedia page here: “The book helps clear up some loose ends from the series, but it also introduces many more mysteries, as well as elucidates details which readers might have missed in previous books. It also answers and raises many questions about the mysterious V.F.D. organization, a key player in A Series
...more
Though his eccentric style might not appeal to everyone, Lemony Snicket represents, in many ways, the writer I endeavor to become. The outlandish details of his secret-society infested world somehow weave together into a tapestry that forever leaves the reader wanting more. Perhaps he leans too heavily on the omission of vital information to keep drawing his audience ever inward in the sometimes maddening spiral of his fiction, but Snicket's devotion to his complex illusion is admirable, as is h
...more
An old favorite. When I was a kid I POURED over this, making my own annotations on loose-leaf notebook paper about my own theories and how I thought it all tied together. I even played the (brief) sheet music on the piano (which I imagine very few readers actually bothered to do) so I could hear the folk songs. I got more invested in this book than perhaps the rest of the series since the clues in the series were few and far between, while this book is nothing but clues and red herrings and ridd
...more
"For various reasons, portions of this chapter have been changed or made up entirely, including this sentence."
This is the self-referential, contradictory, absurd flavor of this entire book. Though not a book in the series proper, this book is purported to be written by Lemony Snicket (the author/character), but released in an unauthorized manner, containing information from the famous Snicket File about the Baudelaire orphans of A Series of Unfortunate Events . However, it contradicts itself oft ...more
This is the self-referential, contradictory, absurd flavor of this entire book. Though not a book in the series proper, this book is purported to be written by Lemony Snicket (the author/character), but released in an unauthorized manner, containing information from the famous Snicket File about the Baudelaire orphans of A Series of Unfortunate Events . However, it contradicts itself oft ...more
So I read this as part of the booktubeathon and I was actually very excited to see this in the shop and enjoy some more from the series. I did enjoy the funny little quirks like books, postcards and so on which all hinted at clues and messages from the original series. Some things were expanded upon and others were simply made more confusing, baffling and intriguing - we will never know the answers!?
I love Snicket's writing style as I think that the prose is highly amusing and entertainment just ...more
I love Snicket's writing style as I think that the prose is highly amusing and entertainment just ...more
Feb 03, 2009
East Bay J
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bios-and-memoirs
,
humor-satire
The unauthorized biography of Lemony Snickets is a fun, silly, nonsensical addition to the “true” tales of the Baudelaire orphans. Allusions are made to a connection between Snickets and the Baudelaires and a secret society. I wonder if I would have “gotten” more of this if I’d already read the whole series. Regardless, this is a great looking book that’s a fun if extremely quick read.
Tra ritagli di giornale, stralci di lettere e note varie, Lemony Snicket gioca ancora una volta con i suoi lettori, regalando un puzzle da comporre, ma sempre con diversi pezzi mancanti!
Se vi state ponendo domande del tipo "Ma cos'è il V.F.D.?" , "Ma perchè Olaf è così cattivo?" , e "Ma chi è Lemony Snicket??" , in questa autobiografica non autorizzata troverete tutte le risposte... ma ad altre domande! XD Ma chi sta attento sarà premiato con qualche informazione in più...
Libro consigliatissimo a t ...more
Se vi state ponendo domande del tipo "Ma cos'è il V.F.D.?" , "Ma perchè Olaf è così cattivo?" , e "Ma chi è Lemony Snicket??" , in questa autobiografica non autorizzata troverete tutte le risposte... ma ad altre domande! XD Ma chi sta attento sarà premiato con qualche informazione in più...
Libro consigliatissimo a t ...more
This book is scattered all over the place, which made it a little hard to comprehend. The chapters are all based on questions about Snicket's life, but I didn't feel like they were answered in the chapters. I did like the photos and letters, which made it more fun to read, but overall it wasn't as great as I hoped it would be.
This is a short, fun read--a clever little tie-in book to A Series for Unfortunate Events with pictures, letters, and other "evidence" related to the series. If you've already read the whole series, you won't learn anything major here or answer any of the big questions left from the series, but there are some interesting details. It recaptures some of the humorous tone that was lost as the later books got more serious. I'm guessing this would be a great addition for kids who are fans of the book
...more
even though he doesnt exist, (his real name is daniel handler for those who r interested) this man is a mystery to me. a SERIOUS mystery. this book didnt answer ANY of my questions but then again i dont think it was really supposed. to tell you the truth i am not really sure.
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Lemony Snicket had an unusual education and a perplexing youth and now endures a despondent adulthood. His previous published works include the thirteen volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Composer is Dead, and 13 Words. His new series is All The Wrong Questions.
For A Series of Unfortunate Events:
www.lemonysnicket.com
For All The Wrong Questions:
www.lemonysnicketlibrary.com
More about Lemony Snicket...
For A Series of Unfortunate Events:
www.lemonysnicket.com
For All The Wrong Questions:
www.lemonysnicketlibrary.com
“Desperate times call for desperate measures" is an aphorism which here means "sometimes you need to change your facial expression in order to create a workable disguise." The quoting of an aphorism, such as "It takes a village to raise a child," "No news is good news," and "Love conquers all," rarely indicates that something helpful is about to happen, which is why we provide our volunteers with a disguise kit in addition to helpful phrases of advice.”
—
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“You may want to keep a commonplace book which is a notebook where you can copy parts of books you think are in code, or take notes on a series of events you may have observed that are suspicious, unfortunate, or very dull. Keep your commonplace book in a safe place, such as underneath your bed, or at a nearby dairy.”
—
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