A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill

This is definitely my least favorite of my reread so far. I'm not exactly sure what it is about this one, but it just didn't work for me. The story didn't hook me and I found my mind drifting from the story a few times. Everything's just kind of boring and nothing new gets added to the overall story except, maybe, the smoking man.

Plus, the evil plan just seemed kind of obvious.

Reader reviewed by Blacstar

This book in the Series of Unfortunate Events was really UNFORTUNATE! It is the worst book of the whole series. Lemony Snicket does a poor job of getting the readers and keeping them. This story tells of when the orphans go to a mill to work and it is miserable just, like this book. But, there are some parts that are good for example the ending of the book is good. But, I do not recommend this book to anyone because in my opinion it is not very good.

Reader reviewed by chris

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill   is not a book I would recomend. However, the series is very good if you like horror and comedy. I do recommend the series just not The Miserable Mill. I found The Miserable Mill to be quite boring.

Reader reviewed by Allire

In this fourth A Series of Unfortunate Events book, the Baudelaire children are sent to live at a 'miserable mill', where the boss would take care of them. Once they arrive, the owner/boss of the mill makes them work. He promises to try to keep Count Olaf away, if they promise to work. However, as the title of the series suggests, unfortunate events are yet to come.


This book is one of the most interesting books in the series. It involves hypnotism and yet another disguise used by Count Olaf. I liked this book because Count Olaf tried to get the children in a different way then the previous ways. Before he tried to get them through their current, at the time, guardian, and this time he tries to lure them by using Klaus and hypnotism. I also really like this book, and the entire series for that matter, because each story and event is completely different from the next. It's not like the same thing happens in each and every book. The plot and theme stays the same, but while using different situations and locations. I really liked this book for those previously mentioned reasons.

Reader reviewed by Nicki

Mr. Poe sends the children to Paltryville to work in a lumber mill. They continue to find misfortune following them on every corner. Count Olaf is thankfully not at the mill; however he is lurking at the eye doctors, dressed as a woman secretary. Someone could ask why would become a problem. Well, Klaus wears glasses, and has to wear them in the lumber mill to work there. In addition the eye doctor herself is a friend of Count Olaf. The eye doctor is actually a hypnotist and hypnotizes Klaus first because his glasses broke in the mill, and Violet and Sunny had to stay at the mill to work. The mills are very ironically named Lucky Smells Lumber Mill, which is a flat out lie. The place had damp smell when the windows open for quite sometime, however the windows never were open because there werent any windows at all. Cement walls and floors surrounded them; bunk beds filled the room, windows drawn on the cement walls. For super they got lumps of beef casserole, and chewing gum for lunch, same old same every day. Wanting to wake up to the smell of pancakes and bacon, the children woke up with a bang of pots to find Foreman Flacutono in front of them at the Lumbermill. The owner of the mill smokes and know matter what they never see his face. There probably only one person they feel at all happy to see is Phil an optimistic employee of Lucky Smells Lumber Mill. Foreman Flacutono is yet another friend of their Count Olaf.

Reader reviewed by Hinge_Pin

Looking from a grimy train window the Baudiluare orphans are riding to their next home. If that is what you can call where they were going. The fact that Count Olaf was pretending to be a woman was a little freaky to me, but the whole hypnotism thing also didn't impress me that much.
Thanks for the way it was written. The way that the orphans were convicted, and accused was thrilling. The hot air balloon that they escaped on to get away from Count Olaf's clutches on more time was the best idea the Mr. Snicket has had in the who series!

Reader reviewed by preet

i love all series of unfortunate events
and my favourite a author is lemony snicket
he writes the most amassing books I have ever read. All the series of unfortunate events books are great They always entertain me.
I always read them at night which helps me go to sleep. The books are very mysterious so it makes me suspicious.
I really like the books.

Reader reviewed by Carter

After reading all of his 12(so far) books, I can say that this one is definately in the top ten but you can keep it at that. He's a great author with great books and he wrote this so that teens like us could have some book that we actually wanted to read. The Miserable Mill derserves for you to read it and then head on to Number Five!

Reader reviewed by x_fashion4eva

I feel the same way about this as I did the wide window. I just want 2 hurt Count Olaf and his assistants and save those poor children out of their misery.The whole plot was ok though but i think this one was just 2 fake. I guess you'll just have 2 read it and c 4 yourself!

Reader reviewed by Veronika

Well, as I said about the Wide Window, it is a really funny serie...but this one nearly killed me.
I was about to have a heart attack. Poor children !
I can't stand it anymore !
Poor Sunny working as a secretary, Poor Klaus, Poor Violet, Poor Phil...damned chewing-gum diet.

No, thank you, that's enough for me !
Veronika