Zloveshchai︠a︡ lesopilka

Tridt︠s︡atʹ tri neschastʹi︠a︡

by Lemony Snicket

No cover — Lemony Snicket: Zloveshchai︠a︡ lesopilka (Russian language, 2005, Izd-vo "Azbuka-klassika")

215 pages

Russian language

Published July 23, 2005 by Izd-vo "Azbuka-klassika".

ISBN:: 978-5-352-00547-7

View on OpenLibrary

(44 reviews)

Accidents, evil plots, and general misfortune abound when, in their continuing search for a home, the Beaudelaire orphans are sent to live and work in a sinister lumber mill.

29 editions

ssweeny reviewed The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 4) by Lemony Snicket (Series of Unfortunate Events (4))

The Miserable Mill

4 stars

Still enjoying reading these with the kiddo.

I thought it was interesting that Count Olaf is barely in this one, and the misery and cruelty mostly come from the situation and the setting, as well as their caretaker, "Sir".

Still, a fun read full of dark humor and a bit more absurdity this time. Already starting on the next one.

Books That Burn reviewed A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

Review of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on 'Storygraph'

2 stars

THE MISERABLE MILL turns up the cruelty and adds a new flavor of transphobia. Like many transphobic depictions, it manages this without a single (known) queer person in sight.

In addition to briefly continuing the transphobic and fatphobic descriptions of one of Count Olaf’s henchpeople, it uses a transphobic fearmongering trope of a man dressing as a woman in order to get illicit access to children (the man, of course, is Count Olaf in yet another disguise). It also adds derogatory language for little people as a bad joke about the three children not being as tall as adults, then it doubles down by continuing to use this term throughout the book for no reason other than cruelty.

This doesn’t specifically wrap up anything left hanging from the previous book, but it does reference prior events and the ongoing threat of Count Olaf’s schemes. The storyline is new, in a new setting with new cruelties. It doesn’t specifically leave anything for later, other then that Olaf gets away again and the Baudelaires are still orphans in need of a guardian. The narrator is consistent, slowly dropping hints about his own tortured past. This would mostly make sense if someone picked this up and didn’t know about the other books, or even if they only read the first book and skipped to this one.

The characterization of the kids is slowly developing, with them having to do things that one of the others is normally the one to handle. It's nice to see them growing as characters, even if just a little in the short time the book covers. The plot is fine, it incorporates a workers’ rights narrative into the ongoing child abuse saga. Unfortunately it also features malicious crossdressing, as I mentioned earlier. I liked some bits of the sawmill storyline, but am sour on the book overall.