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The Bad Beginning, A Multi-Voice Recording
- A Series of Unfortunate Events #1
- Narrated by: Tim Curry, Full Cast
- Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Critic Reviews
Grammy Award Nominee, Best Spoken Word Album for Children, 2005
Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Children's Literature, 2001
"Tension-producing orchestral music, scene-setting sound effects, and most of all, Tim Curry's chocolate-voiced narration captivate the listener in this multicast production of the Lemony Snicket that started it all.... It's all good fun for listening children and their parents." (AudioFile)
Featured Article: 20 Best Family Audiobooks for All Ages
Sharing stories with your family can leave a lasting impression. As a parent, you probably remember the magic of having a book read aloud to you as a kid, and family audiobooks offer that same experience for your own children. Whether you’re looking to laugh together or learn something new, our list has some of the best family audiobooks, from best sellers to newcomer favorites. Be ready to relive some favorite stories and discover new ones to enjoy.
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What listeners say about The Bad Beginning, A Multi-Voice Recording
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Lindsey
- 06-05-05
Brilliantly miserable
I had looked at this series in print, but it had not held my attention as an adult. I was surprised to find I really enjoyed this production of the book- a very high quality, witty, well thought out performance. All the sound effects were excellent, and alterations in the text made sure that the warnings not to listen/read to such gloomy material came across freshly as jokes.
Aimed at children who are just developing a sense of irony, can be painlessly enjoyed by an adult in the same car.
41 people found this helpful
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- Catherine Storey
- 06-01-15
good, but
everything was great, except the sound effects often drowned out the reader. the effects were much louder than the story.
40 people found this helpful
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- Phillip Frangules
- 07-01-17
Tries to fix what wasn't broken
There are two versions of 'The Bad Beginning'. The first was done in its entirety by Tim Curry. The second, which is the only version available on Audible, retains Curry's narration but replaces the dialogue with different actors as well as adding sound effects throughout. This was a mistake.
Tim Curry was a perfect narrator in the original book. There are some audiobooks that benefit from full-cast recordings but this is not one of them. Much of Curry's charm is lost in the omission. I might have forgiven this if they had kept Curry's Count Olaf; his performance as the sinister villain is in my opinion the definitive take on the character (it's a shame he was never able to portray the Count in live-action). Unfortunately, not only was Olaf 'recast' but whoever replaced him was not nearly as good.
In addition I found the sound effects are unnecessary. If they had done it sparingly it might have been a nice addition but they are frequently used and become distracting. When I'm listening to an audiobook I don't need to hear a wailing baby in the background.
Unfortunately, as stated before, the original recording is not available to purchase on Audible but if you are able to seek it out you should definitely listen to it.
19 people found this helpful
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- BR mom
- 05-07-05
Wickedly funny -- not just kid stuff
I had toyed with the idea of picking up these books on occasion at various places. After I heard the interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air (on my 40th birthday no less), I had to give these a try. This not just kidstuff (although they are completely kid appropriate). These are so much FUN!!! My husband and I listen to them over and over and laugh our heads off. Misery loves company -- and I am hooked.
34 people found this helpful
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- Dan
- 05-19-11
Great start. Too bad about licensing..
I really loved this book. I decided to listen to it between bigger books as sort of a palette cleanser. Tim Curry is Lemony Snicket and a full cast reads the dialog. There are also nice sound effects and music so that it feels like a real radio play.
Unfortunately as I looked to get the other volumes, Audible has not licensed all of the Tim Curry/Full Cast versions of these books. It's disappointing to go from a full production complete with voice acting, sound effects and Tim Curry to Daniel Handler dryly reading his own novels.
So I will not be buying the rest of them until they can get all of the Tim Curry/Full Cast versions.
95 people found this helpful
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- Hallie Logan
- 06-12-15
All the Noise
wonderfully read, awesome writing, but the background noise was unnecessary, mildly irritating, and at times made the reading hard to hear. A great performance but is go with the normal audiobook version if I had to choose again.
20 people found this helpful
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- Diana - Audible
- 04-16-12
Books Will Save You
The Bad Beginning may be, as Lemony Snicket reveals, a miserable tale, but it is a joy to listen to. This full-cast production is of the highest caliber, filled with orchestral music and chilling sound effects. I loved Tim Curry (yes, Dr. Frank N. Furter) as the infamous villain Count Olaf, and was charmed by the witty Baudelaire siblings, who rely on books to help them avoid the Count's treachery.
37 people found this helpful
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- ArmyWife0609
- 03-02-19
quietest car ride I've had!
My son (9 years old) and I were about to have a long day in the car. I decided to try something different to keep him occupied. Neither of us had read the Series of Unfortunate Events books, and it sounded interesting, so I downloaded book 1 to my phone the night before our drive. I started it at the beginning of our drive, and we listened to the first half on the way there. We listened to the last half on the way home. The only sounds I heard from the back seat were laughs and short comments about what was just read. He didn't want to talk too much because he didn't want to miss a single word. The drive went by much faster than it normally would have because we were both entertained! The story was engaging, and the narration was excellent. My son was excited to get back in the car so that we could finish listening to the story. I will definitely be buying the next in the series.
7 people found this helpful
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- Angel
- 10-12-15
Too noisy.
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Not wasted, but I'd have preferred spending the time finding a different version.
What did you like best about this story?
The story itself. The characters are fantastical and unpredictable and delightful.
What three words best describe Tim Curry and Full Cast ’s performance?
Too much background.
Do you think The Bad Beginning, A Multi-Voice Recording needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
Yes! Just... maybe edited slightly differently.
Any additional comments?
I love these books and I mean - it's Tim Curry! But all the noise in the background was REALLY off-putting.
28 people found this helpful
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- Materfamilias
- 08-25-15
Do not like the sound effects
The sound effects are really distracting and annoying. Also, I am so far finding the story to really be just depressing and unenjoyable. Maybe I need to read the book for myself before finishing it on audible with my kids, but it's not what I was expecting and the sound effects make none of us want to keep listening.
17 people found this helpful
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- abeh
- 08-30-19
Too much background noise
I was so excited to see this series finally on audible as I had the CDs when I was younger. However there is so much background noise and the full cast ruins it. This was such an amazing and eerie audio series before, all the additions have just ruined it. Although, luckily it seems the rest of the books are the original recordings.
7 people found this helpful
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- Emma M.
- 08-03-19
Ruined by full cast.
Personally I think this has been ruined by the full cast audio! Should be an option to turn this off.
6 people found this helpful
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- Emily
- 01-23-20
The Original Audiobook was better
This isn't the original version of the audiobook with just Tim Curry. The music from Daniel Handler isn't at the start of the book and instead there is random music and sound effects theough the story, which is really off putting.
4 people found this helpful
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- John
- 10-29-05
brilliant
What a great tale, I could not stop listening all the while hoping that something pleasant was going to happen to the three orphans!! A must hear!!
3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 04-05-19
Excellent story
Love the Lemony Snicket books, however, the varying voiceovers made it difficult to listen too.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anjali Shegunshi
- 06-12-19
why is there so much background music?
the narration is good but the background music is too distracting. just puts you off
2 people found this helpful
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- Shaun Stewart
- 12-21-20
No what I hoped for
When I was younger I used to listen to the Tim curry narrated audiobook. He did all the voices and narration. This one features his narration but has others doing the voices so it’s a no from me.
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- Luciee93
- 08-17-20
I’d skip straight to book two - the noise ruins it
The full cast I wasn’t keen on but the background noise effects ruin this audio book..Persist if you need to because the whole collection isn’t like this, just started book 2 and it’s JUST Tim Curry and the story, not going to lie I couldn’t get through the whole book, the noise was just too annoying. Personally I would just read up what happens in this book 1 and skip to book 2 :)
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-31-20
Great
I was listening to the audiobook and I was also reading the book at the same time, and I realised that parts of the lines in the story where missing making it harder to follow. However I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook.
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- Louelladevil
- 12-31-19
Disappointing
I absolutely love this book and Tim Curry's voice is extremely relaxing to listen to however the background noises and voices from the old film ruined it for me! When I first looked at this audiobook and it said full cast I expected that it would be the cast from the Netflix Tv show as that was the picture on the front however it was not. The other series of Unfortunate events audiobooks are great so listen to them instead!