We were lucky enough to have Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket come to Washington College and talk to us. Let me start by saying he was nothing like I expected him to be. He was extremely funny, and welcoming and he even researched the latest Kent County news so that he knew what was going on in the little town of Chestertown. I did not think it was possible for anyone to connect recent Kent County events to Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, but I was wrong and if anyone could do it, Daniel Handler would be the one. His humor and comedy transcended from his entire talk and he was extremely open to questions from the audience.
I expected him to talk about his books and the process of writing his books. But yet again I was mistaken. Sure, he talked about his books, but he also taked about his life and why and how he came up with such ideas. He explained how Lemony Snicket came to be and why he created and wrote about possibily the most unfortunate and unlucky children known to mankind.
Going into this talk, I had never read any of his books and I had seen the movie only once. I gained so much respect for Mr. Handler through that talk and I definitely want to read his books, even if they are written for much younger children. I think we all have something to learn from chilldren’s books, even if they are indeed written for children.
I think that Handler’s work appeals to us so much because we can all find ourselves in at least one of his characters, if not more than one. Me, for example, I see parts of myself in each of the orphans. I am glad to say that I am not as unfortunate as them, but I connect with their personalities and their morals. The orphans go through hard times and so do children in real life and we can all draw strength from the orphans. If they can get through the Series of Unfortunate Events, then we can get through any obstacles, trivial or not, that come in our paths.
