Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography

Amazon.com
Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography is bizarre, abstruse ("a word which here means 'cryptic'"), and truly entertaining. Would you expect anything less from the mystery man behind A Series of Unfortunate Events (The Bad Beginning, The Ersatz Elevator, etc.)? Virtually every detail of the volume has Snicket's indelible mark, from the book jacket (reversible to help readers disguise this "extremely dangerous" and "objectionable" autobiography) to the copyright page text to the intentionally blurry and bewildering black-and-white photographs appearing throughout. An apparently false obituary for Lemony Snicket sets the stage for what turns into a series of mind-boggling bundles of coded information passed from hand to hand, gleaned from newspapers blowing through streets, pages from a journal addressed to "Dear Dairy," blueprints of ships, minutes from secret meetings, and a lot of edited and disputed commentary. The question is, do we finally discover the meaning of VFD? You know you're not going to get a straight answer. But any fan of Snicket will have a lot of fun trying. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
A certain maniacal glee went into the creation of this archly humorous volume. Beginning with the suggestion on the front flap of the dust jacket to disguise its dangerous contents (Make use of this book's reversible jacket immediately), readers will know they're in possession of something deliciously left of normal. The jacket reverses to display a hilarious parody of Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events covers, entitled The Pony Party! and featuring The Luckiest Kids in the World! by Loney M. Setnick. Meanwhile, the contents lead readers on a merry goose chase. The 13 (naturally) chapters burst with red herrings, non sequiturs, mysterious letters, diary entries and so on not to mention fading black-and-white photographs with captions such as Total strangers and W?H?O? The narrative makes for a most satisfying tease, larded with such Snicketisms as For various reasons, portions of this chapter have been changed or made up entirely, including this sentence. It would seem that Snicket's obituary from the highly unreliable Daily Punctilio (which is reproduced in the book) is premature, and that there will indeed be more installments about the Baudelaires, though nothing is certain in the end and readers are left nearly as in the dark about Snicket as they were at the start. Of course, this is all part of the fun, guaranteed to make the author's fans itch to get their hands on a copy of this devious romp masquerading as an autobiography. Ages 10-up. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8 Beneath a simple, seductive Tyvek cover resembling manila and plain brown paper, snippets of Snicket's life appear in 13 chapters of notes, letters, newspaper clippings, songs, photos, telegrams, screenplay excerpts, steamship tickets, and meeting minutes. Daniel Handler prefaces the material. It is not stated who compiled this information, although there is a speculative tale of how it reached the publisher. Snicket begins with a letter about the inaccurate report of his death published in The Daily Punctilio and comments on a folk song detailing his abduction at a young age by the V.F.D. It is noted that all members of this organization were snatched at an early age, chronicled with black-and-white photographs. Subsequent documents from and about characters in "A Series of Unfortunate Events," such as Poe, Olaf, Esme, and others, may or may not reveal their connection to V.F.D., which is used as an acronym for many different organizations, events, and things. Allusion is made to a solid connection between the Snickets and Baudelaires; clearly they are in imminent danger and in need of the many disguise suggestions provided. The book's high-gloss pages have the look of a scrapbook with many gray pages reminiscent of early photocopies. References are made to Kafka, Fitzgerald, and children's authors. There is a circuitously cross-referenced index. Snicket fans will clamor for this intriguing parody of an autobiography/mystery. -Laura Scott, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. Part of the fun of the droll Series of Unfortunate Events books is narrator Lemony Snicket's practice of making cryptic remarks about his knowledge of and involvement in the Baudelaire orphans' shadowy background story. These mysterious events are unlikely to be explained before the thirteenth book, the projected end of the series. In the meantime, readers fixated on this puzzle will be happy to pore over this "unauthorized autobiography," an eclectic scrapbook of documents such as letters, newspaper articles, and transcripts of meetings and conversations, illustrated with vintage, black-and-white snapshots. Despite bits of humor that extend from the clever title to the reversible book jacket, from the copyright statement to the index, the book comes across as a rather formless vehicle for clues and red herrings. Without the customary characters and plot to keep the momentum going, some readers will bog down before finishing the book. Only for devoted Snicket fans . . . but, of course, libraries are full of devoted Snicket fans. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description

Millions of readers of the New York Times best-selling A Series of Unfortunate Events have been asking the same questions: Who is Lemony Snicket? Why has his face never been captured on film? Why is he so obsessed with three unlucky orphans and a woman named Beatrice? Why is he sought after by authorities, feared by associates, avoided by friends?

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Fans of elusive author Lemony Snicket know he's an addictive combination of Roald Dahl and Edgar Allan Poe. Now, in a wonderfully entertaining and "extremely dangerous" book called Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, we get a peek inside the secret files of this mysterious man, a character whose identity and motives for telling the Baudelaire orphans' tales are just as cryptic as we'd imagined.

Beginning with the book's title, we know we're in for blissful secrecy. Readers are shown pieces of Daily Punctilio newspaper articles, diary notes, letters, movie scripts containing underground codes, meeting transcripts, telegrams, sheet music, photos, and more. They're all quite private and linked to Snicket -- except we're told that everything we read may or may not be true. Put simply, it all surrounds Snicket himself, the Baudelaire children, and Snicket's link to an underground organization called V.F.D., dedicated to recruiting new members and disguising their identities "in order to make sure the world remains, as we say, quiet." Throughout the "autobiography," we learn that any character could be a V.F.D. member in disguise (or even an enemy trying to foil V.F.D. objectives), and we're challenged to piece the story together ourselves.

In true Snicket form, the author's ambiguity is the name of the game. It's a brilliantly planned puzzle. Readers are lured into trying to figure out the true meaning of V.F.D. and why Snicket needs to tell the orphans' story, but do we ever really find out? That's what makes the book so appealing (or appalling). Truthfully, the author is probably off somewhere in disguise, keeping more files of his secret papers or corresponding with organization members. It's wonderful, though, when you're having this much fun. (Matt Warner)

ANNOTATION

Lemony Snicket grew up near the sea and currently lives beneath it. To his horror and dismay, he has no wife or children, only enemies, associates, and the occasional loyal manservant. His trial has been delayed, so he is free to continue researching and recording the tragic tales of the Baudelaire orphans.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Millions of readers of the New York Times best-selling A Series of Unfortunate Events have been asking the same questions: Who is Lemony Snicket? Why has his face never been captured on film? Why is he so obsessed with three unlucky orphans and a woman named Beatrice? Why is he sought after by authorities, feared by associates, avoided by friends?

Finally, here is the definitive — and only — book for anyone interested in learning more about the alarmingly elusive author. All available documentation of Snicket's shocking past has been gathered, sorted, annotated, and is now available to the general public. Here is a collection of what can only be called "evidence" writings, photographs, mysterious diagrams, and even several disorienting maps, accompanied by captions, an introduction, and extensive index. Together, these pieces will shed light on a life that until now has been shrouded in darkness and will finally answer the question on everyone's mind: What do we really know about Lemony Snicket?

About the Author

Lemony Snicket was born before you were, and is likely to die before you as well. His family has roots in a part of the country which is now underwater, and his childhood was spent in the relative splendor of the Snicket Villa which has since become a factory, a fortress and a pharmacy and is now, alas, someone else's villa.

To the untrained eye, Mr. Snicket's hometown would not appear to be filled with secrets. Untrained eyes have been wrong before. The aftermath of the scandal was swift, brutal and inaccurately reported in the periodicals of the day. It is true, however, that Mr. Snicket was stripped of severalawards by the reigning authorities, including Honorable Mention, the Grey Ribbon and First Runner Up. The High Council reached a convenient if questionable verdict and Mr. Snicket found himself in exile.

Though his formal training was chiefly in rhetorical analysis, he has spent the last several eras researching the travails of the Baudelaire orphans. This project, being published serially by HarperCollins, takes him to the scenes of numerous crimes, often during the off-season. Eternally pursued and insatiably inquisitive, a hermit and a nomad, Mr. Snicket wishes you nothing but the best.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

"A certain maniacal glee went into the creation of this archly humorous volume," said PW. "The contents lead readers on a merry goose chase. The 13 (naturally) chapters burst with red herrings, non sequiturs, mysterious letters, diary entries-not to mention fading b&w photographs with captions such as `Total strangers' and `W?H?O?' " Ages 10-up. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Janet Crane Barley

The official cover of this unauthorized autobiography is brown wrapping paper sealed with brown wrapping tape. The reader is warned that the book is extremely dangerous and told to make use of the book's reversible jacket full of sweetness, light and an erstwhile story about "The Pony Party." Even the official copyright notice is not what one expects￯﾿ﾽ"No part of this book may be used, reproduced, destroyed, tampered with, or eaten without permission except in the case of brief, possibly coded quotations embodied in critical articles, reviews and subpoenas." With all of its surprising twists and turns, this book feels like a roller coaster ride and leaves the reader a bit breathless and wanting more at the end. An index is included for those serious Snicket students. So many references are made to Mr. Snicket's earlier books that this is probably best read in conjunction with the adventures of the Baudelaire orphans. 2002, HarperCollins Children's Books/HarperCollins,

School Library Journal