Lemony Snicket releases "Thirteen Observations on Occupy Wall Street"
Who knew Lemony Snicket took an interest in current events?
The mysterious author of the "Series of Unfortunate Events" series added his name to the list of authors who support the Occupy Wall Street movement and posted a list on the Occupy Writers website titled “Thirteen Observations made by Lemony Snicket while watching Occupy Wall Street from a Discreet Distance.”
The observations made by Snicket (the pen name of author Daniel Handler, who identifies himself as Snicket’s “representative” – but don’t tell your kids) range from the humorous to the poignant. “There may not be a reason to share your cake,” states one item on the list of observations. “It is, after all, yours. You probably baked it yourself, in an oven of your own construction with ingredients you harvested yourself. It may be possible to keep your entire cake while explaining to any nearby hungry people just how reasonable you are.”
Another sends a fairly pointed message to Wall Street executives and staffers.
“Historically, a story about people inside impressive buildings ignoring or even taunting people standing outside shouting at them turns out to be a story with an unhappy ending,” Snicket writes.
The website Occupy Writers contains other original work by several authors, including writer D.A. Powell, who submitted a poem titled “The Great Unrest.”
Snicket’s 13-book series, aimed at pre-teen readers, was published between 1999 and 2006 and became popular with children and adults alike for its cultural references and wordplay. The series followed the three Baudelaire children and the disasters they encountered after their parents died in a fire. Snicket himself, who served as the narrator for the series, was also a character in the series and dropped enigmatic hints throughout the books as to how he was involved in the story.
After the series ended, the author published other children’s books that included “The Composer Is Dead,” “13 Words,” and a holiday tale titled “The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming.” Handler has stated Snicket will publish new books set in the world of the "Series of Unfortunate Events."
The author writes that he is frequently on the run eluding the law and avoiding crowds, and a full picture of him is never published in his books.
Molly Driscoll is a Monitor contributor.
