The Miserable Mill

“Enclosed you will find a map of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, including the dormitory where the three of you will be staying, free of charge. Please report to work the following morning along with the other employees. The owner of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill expects you to be both assiduous and diligent.”

The Miserable Mill, by Lemony Snicket, is the fourth book in the Series Of Unfortunate Events book series. This intriguing novel is about three young children, the Baudelaires, whose parents had died in a house-wide fire. In the first book, Violet, Sunny, and Klaus were sent to live with a their closest relative, Count Olaf, who is trying to access the Baudelaire family fortune. Throughout the series, the Baudelaires are transferred to different guardians, who attempt to protect them from Count Olaf. Olaf tries to murder each guardian that the Baudelaires stay with. In the fourth novel, Violet, Sunny, and Klaus are transferred to the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, where they are set to work right away. The children are introduced to Foreman Flacutono, who carries around pans (intended for banging to get people’s attention) and wears a surgical mask over his mouth. Everything pleasant, or as great is it could be when one is fed gum for lunch and a cold casserole for dinner, until one day, when Foreman Flacutono tripped Klaus, and broke Klaus’ glasses. Klaus was forced attend the eye doctor’s office, whose building looked suspiciously like the eye-shaped tattoo on Count Olaf’s ankle. When Klaus comes back from the eye doctor and is not able to remember anything, the Baudelaire children are once again put in danger. Now it is up to them to figure out why Klaus has lost his memory, and if Count Olaf has anything to do with this frightening experience.

Overall, I thought that this book was an excellent addition to the series, although there were some very predictable parts. This book, on its own, is very intriguing and interesting, but it is very similar to all of the other novels in the series. There is always a kind guardian or a nice person in the story, that makes the Baudelaires’ life less miserable, but Count Olaf comes in and tries to ruin everything. He does this by killing, or attempting to kill the tolerable guardian. Then the children jump in with their smarts, and save the day, but Count Olaf ends up escaping the police. T

hese books are a continuing story of the Baudelaire children, and even though they are in the same series, I believe that the author should try and change up the concept of the book. Although there were some minor setbacks in the novel, Lemony Snicket makes the books worth reading with suspense and uneasy humor. It really was a page turner, and I recommend this series to anyone who likes a silly mystery. In conclusion, this novel was an interesting read, although there was some repetition throughout the book and the entire series.

 

Genre: Mystery, Action

Author: Lemony Snicket