The three Baudelaire orphans have been set up with a new guardian, name unpronounceable, who sets them to work in his lumber mill. Yes, including the baby. And they get only gum for lunch. Count Olaf is in there somewhere, but he's barely needed to make this stop on the Baudelaire journey a terrible one.

I can't get a handle on these books—since the beginning I've struggled to understand if they're meant to be serious or not. I mean, clearly there's humor injected here and there, or at least parts that I can tell are supposed to be funny. But is the world the stories take place in meant to be remotely realistic? Is it modern or some time in the past? How does it make any kind of sense that the kids are put to work in a lumber mill? That the workers of this mill are given only gum for lunch and paid in coupons? The absurdity level is too high for me to find any humor in it, especially with the overall serious tone. If there were some kind of payoff, it might work better, but there really isn't.

One break in the formula in this book, which I did appreciate, is the way the older two kids had to fill the other one's role in order to escape Count Olaf's evil scheme. But I still feel like I'm just hanging in there for the series to get good, as some reviews still promise. Handler (the book author's real name) is not the best at the narration. He's soft-spoken for the kids' voices and normal narration, then gets loud for most everyone else. There is something to be said for hearing how a character's voice sounds to the actual creator of the character, though, and the unnamed caretaker's voice in this book is certainly unique. Now I've got 1 more book to listen to before I can get back to Tim Curry, which was my whole point in starting this series. ( )

I hope, for your sake, that you have not chosen to read this book because you are in the mood for a pleasant experience. If this is the case, I advise you to put this book down instantaneously, because of all the books describing the unhappy lives of the Baudelaire orphans, The Miserable Mill might be the unhappiest yet. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are sent to Paltryville to work in a lumber mill, and they find disaster and misfortune lurking behind every log. The pages of this book, I'm sorry to inform you, contain such unpleasantries as a giant pincher machine, a bad casserole, a man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, a hypnotist, a terrible accident resulting in injury, and coupons. I have promised to write down the entire history of these three poor children, but you haven't, so if you prefer stories that are more heartwarming, please feel free to make another selection.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Dopo La sinistra segheria, non so che altra sventura farà passare Lemony Snicket ai fratelli Baudelaire. Siamo appena al quarto libro della serie e i poveri fratelli Baudelaire sono già stati costretti a lavorare in una segheria nonostante la loro minore età (per non dire tutto quello che hanno già passato).

In questo episodio, l'autore si sofferma sull'importanza di non essere soli: è vero, gli orfani Baudelaire sono perseguitati da una non invidiabile dose di malasorte, ma sono ancora insieme e possono contare sulle loro doti e, soprattutto, sull'affetto reciproco.

Inoltre, Snicket pone l'attenzione del suo giovane pubblico sull'esistenza di inique condizioni di lavoro e di datori di lavoro che, oltre a sfruttare la manodopera, si approfittano anche delle scarse conoscenze dei diritti da parte dei propri lavoratori. E il fatto più degno di nota è che riesce a farlo senza strappare ai suoi lettori le mutande dalla noia. Bravo, Snicket! ( )

Los huérfanos Violet, Klaus y Sunny Baudelaire aún tienen que encontrar un guardián con el que puedan vivir y, después de los desastres que ocurrieron durante su último acuerdo de vivienda, ahora se dirigen a un aserradero en la ciudad de Paltryville, ubicada justo más allá del sombrío Bosque Finito Negro.

Probably my least favourite book in the series. I didn’t really like the setting or the general plot of this one. ( )