Dear reader, I am truly sorry to have to confess that reading the book you are holding in your hands will be exceptionally unpleasant. This book tells the sad story of three very unfortunate children.

They are the Baudelaire siblings, who, although charming and intelligent, their lives are filled with suffering and misfortune. From the very first page of the book, where the children are at the beach learning the tragic news, the calamities continue until the last.

One could say that these children attract misfortune like magnets. Already in the first book, the one you are holding, the three siblings are confronted with a greedy and repugnant man, with clothes that itch them, with a disastrous fire, with a scheme to lose their fortune, and with cold oatmeal for breakfast.

I have taken on the difficult task of recording these sad stories. However, you have the option to put the book down at this moment and read something else, more pleasant – if, of course, you prefer something like that.