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    Series of Unfortunate Events #4: The Miserable Mill
    Series of Unfortunate Events #4: The Miserable Mill
    Series of Unfortunate Events #4: The Miserable Mill
    Audiobook2 hours

    Series of Unfortunate Events #4: The Miserable Mill

    Written by Lemony Snicket

    Narrated by Lemony Snicket

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL 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

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 21, 2004
    ISBN9780060793449
    Series of Unfortunate Events #4: The Miserable Mill
    Author

    Lemony Snicket

    Lemony Snicket had an unusual education, which may or may not explain his ability to evade capture. He is the author of the 13 volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, several picture books including The Dark, and the books collectively titled All The Wrong Questions.

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    Reviews for Series of Unfortunate Events #4

    3.5/5

    2,249 ratings64 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 5/5
      Amazing! Does not disappoint. I wish I could give out a copy of these books to every children out there.
    • 3/5
      The story is amazing. The constant volume fluctuations in the reader's voice make it hard to listen to.
    • 5/5
      perfect for kids moving into pre-teen years. a read along for class time in higher elementary
    • 1/5
      The sound balance is off. All the lines for one of the characters was recorded 2-3 times louder than the rest of the book
    • 4/5
      Brilliant production of an undeniable classic (for one should look upon the series as no less).
    • 4/5
      I've read the first three boks in this series twice but never got around to reading more. Now that Neil Patrick Harris has the TV series of these books going I wanted to read this one so I could watch the first season. This is a typical book in the series followinng the same formula which the author actually makes fun of in the narrative. It was a little differentthough in that Count Olaff wasn't really in it much, coming in near the end. His overshadowing prescence loomed throughout though and knowing that NHP is playing him in the TV series I couldn't help but picture him in the role. A quick read and as always, a fun read.
    • 4/5
      This time the children find themselves placed, not with familial guardians, but put to hard labor in a dangerous lumber mill. Over-worked, hungry and alone, the Baudelaires must find a way to escape before things take a turn for the worse.
    • 3/5
      This one it's kinda boating but the end is good
    • 2/5
      The narration was almost impossible to listen to for even three hours.
    • 3/5
      [Minorish spoiler warning, I promise it won't bother you too much.]This was not my favorite. I'm not sure if it's because the series is getting too formulaic, but I just was not feeling this book. Of course I find his rhetoric still endlessly charming, but the characters are getting a bit ridiculous in their quirks and defects. And an infant winning a sword fight with her teeth? I dunno about all that, my disbelief is being suspended by a frayed rope at this point.
    • 4/5
      This audiobook has significant variations in volume throughout. This makes listening difficult when you have to constantly adjust the sound. Otherwise, the book is good and my kids are really enjoying this series.
    • 1/5
      The guys in the Mill shout a lot and they can make you jump every time you hear them. I can't say volume is well-balanced, so that I got rid of turning the volume up and down constantly, at one point I just gave up listening. If you don't change the volume continuously it is either too low to hear or too high to keep your ears unbled.
    • 3/5
      While I appreciated that the author found a new and interesting way to introduce this book, I found it much slower paced until the very end. The final payoff was good, but I prefer some of the previous volumes in the series.
    • 4/5
      It is getting better than the previous one. Their adventure way more excited.
    • 3/5
      The Baudelaire orphans end up at the Lucky Lumber Mill, where not only are they fed no breakfast, and only a stick of gum for lunch, and not only are they forced to work at the mill all day, but Klaus keeps breaking his glasses and getting hypnotized! This book follows the same formula as all the rest, but I do adore Snicket's asides. He's the uber-Poe, and I love him so.
    • 3/5
      The fourth installment, The Miserable Mill, sees the Baudelaire's heading to Paltryville (what a name!) to be placed with...some random guy? It never actually explains how they're related to this one...or what his name is...or what his face looks like (it makes total sense that cigar smoke would cover his face, duh). But he owns Lucky Smells Lumbermill and Mr Poe thinks this guy is fine - so much so he doesn't even bother getting off the train with them. Yes, responsible adulting right there. Luckily for them boss dude who is probably not even related to them is willing to treat them like family. So he puts them to work at the Lumbermill under the authority of Foreman Flacutono. And Count Olaf doesn't seem to be anywhere. Not even in the big creepy house that's shaped like an eye. Unfortunately, Foreman Flacutono is one of Count Olaf's cronies and it's not long before the latest plan to gain the Baudelaire fortune is enacted. This time it involves hypnosis and is targeted specifically at Klaus. Foreman Flacutono trips Klaus and he breaks his glasses. Klaus is taken to see Dr. Georgina Orwell - the town optometrist who hypnotises and sends him back to cause trouble at the Lumbermill. All in the hopes that boss dude will decide the children are too much trouble and agree to let the nice optometrist secretary, Shirley, (Count Olaf in disguise) adopt them. Perfectly reasonable. Couldn't have thought of a better plan myself. I honestly don't know if I'm more impressed that their plan almost works or that they came up with it and thought it might work in the first place. Like always, the kids save themselves. Which is good because no one else was going to. And also like usual, they get removed from their guardian. Which was still good because he was terrible. And they live to see another day so I guess they're lucky. Being alive had never seemed lucky before, but as the children considered their terrible time in Sir’s care, they were amazed at how many lucky things had actually happened to them. “It was lucky,†Violet admitted quietly, “that Klaus invented something so quickly, even though he’s not an inventor.†“It was lucky,†Klaus admitted quietly, “that Violet figured out how to end my hypnosis, even though she’s not a researcher.†“Croif,†Sunny admitted quietly, which meant something like “It was lucky that I could defend us from Dr. Orwell’s sword, if I do say so myself.â€Snicket, Lemony. A Series of Unfortunate Events Collection: Books 4-6 (A Series of Unfortunate Events Boxset Book 2) (p. 80). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. Or are still terribly unfortunate but discovering they're closet optimists. 3 stars.
    • 5/5
      The most depressing one yet.
    • 4/5
      Lumber mill, hypnosis hi jinx, sword vs tooth fights, and chewing gum.... These poor kids! I can't stop reading
    • 3/5
      This was an improvement over the previous book, but I was let down. I was hoping for some mystery that started connecting these books and thought I was about to get it in this book, but just seems like it was the same old Count Olaf shenanigans. This book also felt more rushed than the previous volumes, which by this I mean the other stories felt a little more thought out and well-executed. This felt like "Snicket" through darts at a dart board to see what would happen this time to the children. The first quarter of this book had promised, but it went down hill from there for me. I am starting to womder if these books are not served justice by me reading them in such a manner that when I finished one I am going unto the next. I may need to put a book or two between them soon. That being said I am continuing with the series, but for me these books are starting to become a little unfortunate.
    • 4/5
      After terrible experiences trying to live with relatives. the Baudelaire children are sent off to work at a mill. Predictably, this is truly terrible and things only go from bad to worse when Count Olaf manages to worm his way back into their lives again.This book is another excellent addition to the quirky series. It is necessary to read the other books first, but fans of the previous three titles will enjoy this one as well.  
    • 4/5
      This one was not as entertaining as the preceeding books in the series, but it was still cute.
    • 4/5
      The Baudelaire children are off to stay with yet another guardian, this time in Paltryville, a dingy little town whose main function is to house the Lucky Smells Lumbermill. The owner of the mill also happens to be their new guardian, the cold and unsympathetic Sir. Sir promises to provide the children protection from their nemesis, Count Olaf, while under his care. However, he also requires that they work in the mill as the condition of their stay with him. His partner, Charles, is actually a nice man who feels sorry for the poor juggled-about children, but is unfortunately too weak to stand up to Sir and demand that they receive the kind of care children deserve. At least he shows them the library, and books are always a haven for Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. Of course, even this grim and difficult way of life is too much happiness for the children to keep for long. They quickly notice a building in town that looks suspiciously like the eye tattooed on Olaf's ankle. When the mill's foreman intentionally trips Klaus, causing him to break his glasses, the children discover that the ominous looking building is an optometrist's office, and it is there that Klaus has to go to get his glasses repaired. When he returns, Klaus is not acting like himself, and even causes an accident to befall one of the nice mill workers. Klaus confesses to his sisters that he doesn't remember anything from the time he went to the doctor's office until after the accident. So when the foreman trips Klaus again, once more breaking his glasses, the girls decide to accompany their brother on his visit to the eye doctor.The Baudelaires quickly begin putting the pieces together after they arrive at the office and realize that the receptionist is actually Count Olaf in another of his terrible disguises. The girls also realize that the optometrist, Dr. Orwell, has been hypnotizing Klaus, resulting in his strange behaviors and lost memory. The battle with Olaf is on again. By this stage in the story, the children realize that they are probably on their own in figuring out what Olaf's scheme for stealing their money is this time, and how they can reveal Olaf - who none of the adults believe is an imposter despite his absurdly unbelievable costume as a female receptionist - to the authorities. Fortunately, the three of them are up to the task, far more so than the adults that are supposed to be providing their protection. In this gloomy world that Snicket has created, the adults continue to be cruel, incompetent, completely out of touch with reality, or some combination of all three.
    • 4/5
      Book #4. Again, I watched snippets of this episode but glad to have read the book and understood the parts I've missed. Funny this time around with Olaf (not giving it away) and how we could not see Sir's face throughout the book. As usual, the orphans escape the clutches of Olaf and goes onto the next disaster in the next book. I'm really enjoying the series.
    • 4/5
      It is mind-boggling how adults in these series are utterly oblivious to everything going on around them which makes the children feel helpless at times. It is like being able to see in a realm ruled by blind people but that’s what makes the whole thing a tad more interesting.
    • 4/5
      I highly recommend this series.
    • 4/5
      If you are looking for a happy, pleasant book, put this one right down and I advise against reading this review, as the three Baudelaire orphans' lives certainly do not lead to a happy ending, or anything at all happy.

      The orphans are taken to the Lucky-Smells Lumber Mill to work there, and when they see a huge, eye-shaped building that resembles evil Count Olaf's tattoo and Olaf himself, they get very worried. Charles, a nice man, cannot help them, but can only try to persuade people to take them away from the Lumber Mill. Of course, this does not work, and so when Klaus (the middle Baudelaire orphan) breaks his glasses, he has to go to the eye-shaped building. He comes back in a very sleepy way, and thinks he saw Count Olaf...

      This book is very good, and I recommend this terrifying series to everyone who loves reading brilliant, but horrifying, books.
    • 3/5
      Last one for 2012! (A quick one sneaking in under the radar... much like Count Olaf keeps sneaking after the Baudelaire children).

      This one sees the children forced to work in an absurdly horrific sawmill. Their new guardian is the cruel and mysterious owner of the mill; his partner is almost kindly, but utterly ineffectual.
      When the evil count Olaf (in disguise, yet again) teams up with a hypnotist/optometrist, and giant saws are in evidence - well, things are bound to get messy.
    • 4/5
      While not my favorite book of the Series of Unfortunate Events, it's still very good. For the first time we are introduced to some very nice characters who aren't the orphans' guardian (and thus perhaps may survive the story). Phil and Charles are both very nice and very cool, though with their own quirks.This book is also cool because we get a real element of danger for the orphans. Klaus gets hypnotized, Sunny has a sword fight, Violet has to read a very very large and complicated book. It gets downright intense at the end.
    • 3/5
      Certainly the most different of the books so far, adopted by the owner of a lumber mill, the Baudelaires have to work in the mill and watch out for Count Olaf at the same time.

      I hope this spells a change in the series, as I said before, I want to see the kids set out on their own path, to discover the mysteries being kept from them and more.
    • 5/5
      I love Lemony Snicket - there is nothing else for me to say.