Poison for Breakfast

by Lemony Snicket

A new stand-alone adventure--appropriate for all ages--by Lemony Snicket, one of the twenty-first century's most beloved authors.

For more than twenty years, Lemony Snicket has led millions of young readers through a mysterious world of bewildering questions and unfortunate events. With this latest book--a love letter to readers young and old about the vagaries of real life--longtime fans and new readers alike will experience Snicket's distinctive voice in a new way.

This true story--as true as Lemony Snicket himself--begins with a puzzling note under his door: You had poison for breakfast. Following a winding trail of clues to solve the mystery of his own demise, Snicket takes us on a thought-provoking tour of his predilections: the proper way to prepare an egg, a perplexing idea called tzimtzum, the sublime pleasure of swimming in open water, and much else.

Poison for Breakfast is a classic-in-the-making that--in the great tradition of modern fables like The Little Prince and The Phantom Tollbooth--will delight readers of all ages.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Philosophy, Young Adult, Audiobook, Middle Grade, Humor

168 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 2021

About the author

Lemony Snicket had an unusual education and a perplexing youth and now endures a despondent adulthood. His previous published works include the thirteen volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Composer is Dead, and 13 Words. His new series is All The Wrong Questions.

For A Series of Unfortunate Events:
www.lemonysnicket.com

For All The Wrong Questions:
www.lemonysnicketlibrary.com

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like the following:
- secrecy
- words
- wordplay
- espionage
- problem-solving
- puzzles
- codes
- witticisms

You're in luck, because you are both a cool person and alive in the time that Lemony Snicket is publishing books.

This was not quite as good as A Series of Unfortunate Events, but a) nothing ever is and b) it came pretty close and c) I liked the ending quite a bit, which is not something people say very often about A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Bottom line: I love to read, and I love a book that reminds me I love to!

--------------
pre-review

lemony snicket books are chicken soup for the reading slump.

review to come / 4ish stars

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tbr review

NEW LEMONY SNICKET THIS IS NOT A DRILL

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written by a bibliophile that's for sure. The references are so nerdy and reader-world-like.

And I liked it!

"All good writing is like this. It's why a favorite book feels like an old friend and a new acquaintance at the same time, amd the reason a favorite author can be a familiar figure and a mysterious stranger all at once."

The perks of reading this book:

First, it's really short.

Second, the writing is fun to read. It's a remix of murder mystery, philosophy and almost a memoir about death.

Yes, it talks about deaths a lot.

A warning though. Do not pick up this book thinking the story with a fast-paced plot and shady, unlikely characters for a typical murder mystery.

This book is almost like you are in a mood for one to just listen to a book full of words playing there to calm your mind and not as something which will stir up your Sherlock tricks.

You will get to read some historical stories here from around thr world.

There are so many quotable lines about bookworms, life lessons and about life in general. I feel this part of the writing is the highlight of the book.

A weekend short read. And in the end you will end up singing the poison breakfast list.

(C) AUGUST 2021

[Jesse (JesseTheReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's nothing greater than Snicket's sass and sarcasm. It always makes for a solid good time. I didn't find myself caring so much for what was going on in the plot, but there were a lot of interesting discussions brought up surrounding death, philosophy, bewilderment.. just to name a few.

[aly ☆彡 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I was expecting this book to be but to be bewildered is definitely not the plan. Having Poison for Breakfast is the note Snicket came to encounter, which was an unfortunate event of his own as he finished his morning meal. And now, he had to discover where the poison is originated before his demise.

Despite what the plot implies, Poison for Breakfast isn't really about figuring out who poisoned Snicket. Instead, he employs the narrative to explore several larger concepts where he discusses his philosophical convictions, death, and all the literature's delights. There are deceptions, snares, and seemingly meaningless wanderings that I simply don't find myself to care about as the story goes. A harsh way to say, this is book is not for me, honestly. I found this little mystery to be enthralling and I started to enjoy the peculiarity until it turns into a talk of nothingness. I'm not really a philosophical person I admitted that, but it was still fun to learn them from others sometimes; just sadly, not this round.

I chose to read this in the hope I'll bypass it quickly during my reading slump but this book is not in a shape to be read quickly despite the short pages. Its discursive style can make it difficult to fully comprehend what is being conveyed unless you are a huge fan of such stories. I heard that if you've been into the Series of Unfortunate Events and are a fan of his work, this book is a must-read.

Be that as it may, not to say the book is bad. It truly depends on what you're expecting and looking for when you started this. Can't say it fulfills me or that it really caught my attention. Love some of the discernment though. Wish I had a different expectation.

[Carolyn Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lemony Snicket strikes again with another *bewildering* and brilliant book!

[Antje ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟
When you die you will have something in common with a vast majority of human population.

SUMMARY
The author has his usual breakfast. Then he finds a note. “You just had poison for breakfast” the note says. This is a true story about what the author did next.

THOUGHTS
YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD AUTHOR IS BACK!!!
I went into this (recommendation from my sister) thinking it’s going to be a little mystery, just like his A Series of Unfortunate Events, but boy was I wrong….
LEMONY SNICKET IS A GENIUS. I want to be friends with him so bad. I love how he uses this silly little story to express his thoughts on literature, life, death, and all that good stuff. This author has an immaculate writing style. The uniqueness of these short smart sentences, THE REPETITION he uses in such a BEWILDERING (pun intended, read the book to understand) way. If you’re an aspiring author (like myself lol) READ THIS. It’s only a little over 100 pages aka 3 hours of the audiobook (your room probably needs cleaning so you have no excuses), IT’LL CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON SO MANY THINGS (I say this all the time, I sound like a broken record).
🤭💗

[mairiachi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review before reading:
it's Lemony Snicket. When he comes out with a new book, it's immediately on my read list. End of story.

My review after reading:
If you feel like a book that's saturated with Lemony Snicket writing, this is the book for you. It's better than Series of Unfortunate Events imo, just because it's funnier, more philosophical, and more engaging. Of course, I was like 14 when I read ASOUE so I'd have to go back and reread to know for sure if this is "better".

And as always, nothing beats All The Wrong Questions, which is by far my favorite series of his and will always come out on top. On the other hand, this book makes you feel so intellectual and philosophical, which is something ATWQ doesn't do.

I appreciate that he added a list of all the books, songs, composers, poems, etc. that he references or alludes to. One of the greatest pleasures of reading Snicket books is finding treasures and recognizing different books in each one (both ASOUE and ATWQ do this), but it's also enjoyable to have a full list so I can find them quickly!

Lastly, I loved when he mentioned the story of the girl and the tiger in the cave right after he mentioned the old, poor guy who asks for a pear from the merchant, merchant says no, someone buys the pear for the poor guy who plants the seed and grows pears for everyone, and then the merchant notices all his pears are gone and gets mad that the guy stole them. Both of those stories appear in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon which was so cool! I thought maybe he'd read those books (which would have made me so excited lol) but it turns out they're from two other books. Understandable, because Grace Lin took Chinese folktales and wove them all together to create three cohesive stories that all connect (because she's a genius) so it didn't surprise me, I just got my hopes up lol

[The Belladonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

“This book is about bewilderment, a word which here means "the feeling of being bewildered," and "bewildered" is a word which here means "you don't have any idea what is happening," and "you" is a word which doesn't just mean you. It means everyone.”

Daniel Handler brings his signature wit, wordplay, and weirdness!

This read has a tiny sprinkle of mystery, but it is mostly a philosophical work. Snicket finds a note saying, "You had poison for breakfast", which sends him into an introspective spiral. He spends the day reflecting on life and his creative writing process. I love Handler's writing style, and I can certainly appreciate what he was going for here. But for me, the answer to the "mystery" was a bit of an eyeroll; he was a little too repetitive, and the meandering thoughts became so left-field, I think he left the park.

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC—an acronym which here means electronic advanced reader copy—in exchange for an honest review.

It's been years since I read anything by Lemony Snicket—a word which here means the real man behind the fictional persona Daniel Handler—and I was really worried I'd be let down since he's the second monumental author from my childhood I've revisited this month, but oh my god am I glad I read this. I can't say much plot wise (wouldn't want to ruin the surprise), but Snicket mentions how books feel like a conversation with an author and no more does that ever feel true than in his writing. He manages to turn a relatable messy stream of thought into such a cohesive, funny, and thought provoking story and I'm still in absolute awe of how he does it. There's something eternally comforting about reading something with a narrator just as openly messy as your own thoughts.

[Mahtab Safdari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Jakob who marked it as to-read, I found this brilliant book of bewilderment, but since Jakob was recommended it by someone else, I guess I have to thank them as well. The only problem is that I don't know that person, so I have no other choice but to thank Jakob twice!
Poison for Breakfast is a philosophical, whimsical novel written by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler). The story follows the narrator, who discovers a note claiming he was poisoned at breakfast.
"It won’t be necessary for you to remember what I had for breakfast, because I will keep mentioning it, but it was:
Tea
with honey,
a piece of toast
with cheese,
one sliced pear,
and an egg perfectly prepared,"

And thus the investigation begins.
We are taken on a leisurely journey to trace the origins of Snicket's meal. Along the way, we are treated to hilarious and deeply unsettling digressions on everything from supermarkets and libraries to ancient Greek philosophy.
"Here at So-and-so Market, the wall began, our primary concern is your happiness, and the phrase “primary concern” was a creepy way of saying that it is the thing the market or wall is thinking about most. Happiness, in my experience, is like a bowl of bananas, because if you pay too much attention, it gets gobbled away, but if you forget all about it, either a robber steals it or it ends up rotten mush. It can be tricky to keep one’s happiness intact, and the interference of a supermarket strikes me as only making things trickier. The sentences Our primary concern is that our food is not spoiled or Our primary concern is that the floors aren’t so slippery you will fall and break your leg or Our primary concern is that none of our bread has been poisoned, I thought, would be more welcoming. We’re here for you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the wall continued, and this struck me as alarming, because I didn’t want a supermarket thinking about me much more often than I thought about the supermarket. The supermarket should be thinking about the delivery schedules of its trucks full of turnips and noodles and duck, I thought, and whether the back door has been propped open to admit poisoners, instead of thinking about me, particularly late at night when I might be tucked into bed telling myself that of course there are no grocers peeking at me through the curtains."

A central theme is bewilderment, with Snicket asserting that none of us truly know anything, making writing an attempt to create truth and meaning in a confusing world.

"This book is about bewilderment, a word which here means “the feeling of being bewildered,” and “bewildered” is a word which here means “you don’t have any idea what is happening,” and “you” is a word which doesn’t just mean you. It means everyone. You have no idea what is happening, and nobody you know has any idea what is happening, and of course there are all the people you don’t know, which is most of the people in the world, and they don’t know what is happening either, and of course I don’t know what is happening or I wouldn’t have eaten poison for breakfast."

The novel directly confronts death by having Snicket repeatedly state, "she (or he or they) is dead now" after telling charming stories of people he once knew, emphasizing the inevitability of mortality.
The story is a philosophical treatise on life's big questions, urging readers to confront their lack of knowledge and find hope in continuing the journey.

"Philosophy has been called the pursuit of truth and wisdom, and “pursuit” is a word which refers to chasing after something, but of course you do not chase after truth and wisdom the way you chase after a tennis ball rolling down the driveway or an executive who has stolen your hat. The pursuit of truth and wisdom instead requires asking questions, and this part of the book asks one of the most famous and most difficult philosophical questions. ...You have likely heard the question yourself, although perhaps no one told you it was philosophical. The question is, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”"

Poison for Breakfast is not a book for those who enjoy having a point brought to them quickly and without fuss. It is for those who enjoy watching a person contemplate their demise while simultaneously explaining how eggs should be prepared. It is for those who find a certain comfort in the absurd.

"The first way eggs can be prepared, and the most popular, is scrambled. “Scrambled eggs” is a phrase which here means “eggs taken out of their shell, mixed up, and cooked in a pan,” and the trick with scrambled eggs is never to eat them. Scrambled eggs are unreliable, a word which here means that you never know what scrambled eggs will be like, whether you make them yourself or convince someone else to make them for you. Scrambled eggs can be runny, a word as disgusting to read as it is to experience, or lumpy, as if they have been punched by a hammer or some deranged person. Scrambled eggs cool down very quickly, so they can be cold, and once you have eaten a bite of cold scrambled eggs it can take you a year to recover, but scrambled eggs also burn easily, so you may find something in your mouth that feels like the blazing sole of an old shoe. Scrambled eggs can make more than one of these mistakes, or even all at once, and the world knows this, which is why scrambled eggs often have other, more reliable things in them, such as cheese or tomatoes or oysters or onions, so that scrambled eggs become much more delicious dishes, like covering up your ugly underwear with a handsome pair of slacks, all because scrambled eggs are so dangerously unreliable.
The second way eggs can be prepared is fried, and the trick to fried eggs is to remember the words of a great composer. The composer I am thinking of wrote music that is very slow and quiet, and once when asked about his method of composing music, he replied that he never moved the notes around. “Not even a little bit?” he was asked, and he said no, not even a little bit. I do not know what this means, not even a little bit, but to make fried eggs, put a little butter in a pan and place the pan on something very hot, such as a flame. When the butter melts, crack an egg open and dump the insides in, tossing the shell someplace else. Then, remembering the composer’s bewildering words, do not move it around, not even a little bit. Cook the egg until the white part stops looking gleamy but the yellow part is still bright and sunny. Some people like to flip the egg over at this point, presumably because they prefer eating something that looks speckled and
greasy instead of something that looks like a sunrise. Do not trust these people. If they were composers, they would probably move the notes around.
The third way eggs can be prepared is poached, a word which here means “simmered and delicious,” and the trick to poaching eggs is to add a bit of vinegar to the water. Vinegar is a strong-smelling liquid which has a magical effect on a poached egg. To experience this magic, boil water in a small pot and then add a bit of vinegar. Then, crack an egg into a small cup, and, using a spoon, create a sort of whirlpool in the boiling water where the egg will go. The water cooks the egg and the vinegar makes it fluffy, so that eating a poached egg is like having a moon, shrouded in clouds, for one’s breakfast. One of the truest things I know is that if you do not like a poached egg, there is something wrong with you.
The fourth way eggs can be prepared is baked, and the trick to baked eggs is that you must burn your fingers. If you are a concert pianist or just enjoy pointing at people, you should have your baked eggs prepared by others, so that your fingers remain attractive and useful. The rest of us should turn on an oven to a high temperature and read a few pages of a book until the oven has heated itself up. Then, an egg can be emptied into a ramekin, a word which sounds like a nickname for your favorite sheep but is actually a small ceramic container which gets very hot in an oven. This is what you will burn your fingers on. Place the ramekin in the oven until the egg looks like something you want to eat. Turn off the oven and remove the ramekin, burning your fingers while you do so even if you are wearing an oven mitt. Eat your baked egg while crying and nursing your fingers, knowing that it happens to anyone who prepares a baked egg. There is no trick to stop yourself from burning your fingers, only the trick of telling yourself that this terrible thing will certainly happen from time to time.
The last way eggs can be prepared is boiled, and the trick to preparing a boiled egg is to remember that you will die. Boil water in a pot, and this is the world. Put an egg in the pot, and this is you. Prick it with a pin first, but do not worry, because the egg will not remember this, just as you do not remember your life before you were in the world. The hole made by the pin keeps the egg from cracking under pressure, which some eggs—and some people—occasionally do.
Once the egg is in the pot of boiling water, you must watch over it holding a slotted spoon. You are the figure of Death. The egg does not know how long it will be in the world, before the great spoon of Death will lift it away. Perhaps it will be a long time, because someone wants a hard-boiled egg, which is good at a picnic or to startle someone by tossing it at them. Or perhaps it will be a short time, three minutes perhaps, and enjoyed in an egg cup, a phrase for a cup which holds an egg."

All in all, Poison for Breakfast is a delightful, witty, and philosophical book that may cause laughter, sighs, and possibly lead to a reconsideration of breakfast choices. A brisk, straightforward plot is not present. Bewilderment may ensue.

[sAmAnE · Rating 4 out of 5]

ولی بیشتر خوش دارم اگر هم گیر افتاده باشد خیری درش باشد. در زندگی گاهی آدم حس می‌کند که گیر افتاده، مهم نیست چقدر مغازه‌های قشنگ دور و برت باشد یا آسمان چقدر بهت نزدیک باشد، دنیا می‌تواند گرداگرد تو بسیار فراخ باشد...
.
فکر کن صبحانه را می‌خ‌وری بعد با برگه‌ای روبرو میشوی که روی آن نوشته شده، صبحانه‌ات سمی بوده!
و این بهانه‌ای دست نویسنده‌ی خیال‌پرداز کتاب می‌دهد تا مطالبی را پراکنده ولی حقیقی از دنیایش که آمیخته با حس خوب دوست داشتن کتاب‌ها ، درک و کنار آمدن با تنهایی و پذیرش تفاوت‌ میان آدم‌ها و ... است را بیان کند...

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

Piffle – a word which here means "meandering nonsense getting nowhere fast in the least interesting way possible". DNF @ 25% - symbols which mean, oh shut up.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

When I was finally able to check my email after Hurricane Ida, I realized this book had become available to me through the library (appropriate for a Lemony Snicket book). We had to get my stepson to an airport (ours was closed for the somewhat unforeseeable future) and decided to stay in that city until our power was restored. The hotel didn’t have strong enough Wi-Fi for me to download the book to my Kindle, so for the first time I used the app on my phone. (My phone is tiny.) Because I had other books going as well, I’d read only a few pages of this before falling asleep.

In its opening pages, Mr. Snicket (he prefers to be addressed as such until he knows you well enough) sits down to his usual morning meal and is bewildered (which in this situation means being frightened as well) by a note that says he’s had poison for breakfast. If you’ve read Snicket’s other works, you know he’s not only a writer, but a detective of sorts (he’s denied the latter in a previous book) and he sets out to discover who or what’s poisoned him. But, as he warns early on, this is not a usual book* for him, as it becomes less of a story and much more a “philosophical investigation” into death, historic recurrence, imagination, and literature. (His philosophical musings on the chicken-or-the egg are about to lead me to poaching chicken for the first time.)

I’m not the first to say that a hurricane isn’t over (even for the luckiest of people) until your power is back on. Though I was luckier than many, I still had things to deal with, so it’s not surprising I didn’t get into the book’s rhythm until I was back home, reading it on a bigger screen, chuckling at its deadpan humor, enjoying how the themes coalesced. I didn’t fall asleep until after I finished it.

Since I loved the ending and felt out of sorts about not giving the rest of it proper attention—it’s a perfect aftermath-(of just about anything) book—the next night I started over. No matter how bewildering life is, the essential thing is to keep reading.

****

*As usual though, Snicket’s reflections on books he loves led me to one I plan on reading: The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. As a child, I loved her The Velvet Room. (I still have my copy.)

[Maria✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lemony Snicket has a very peculiar way of writing, which I used to love when reading "A Series of Unfortunate Events" while growing up, but somehow it just seems tedious nowadays.

Maybe it's me? Maybe it's the fact that his style of writing is always the same? Maybe it's because quirky writing needs to be more of a surprise in the book, than having it all the time? I have no idea.

Fact remains that it can ramble on for so long that the ball is lost, a phrase here that means that you cannot find a lot of meaning in what you're reading.

Nevertheless, for around 100 pages of ramblings, it is still fairly interesting how he jumps from one topic to the other, one story to another and manages to make most of the situations very relatable. This book resembles more of a very abstract diary, with random thoughts and it is likable enough.

Lemony Snicket will always have a very special place in my heart, but I believe I might have outgrown him to a big extent.

[Joseph Brink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ate poison for breakfast.

Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket is part book of philosophy, part love letter to literature and deep thinking, and part murder mystery. And of course, because it’s Lemony Snicket, it’s also very amusing.

As I embarked on this reread, I made the very breakfast that Lemony did, the breakfast with poison in it.
Tea
With honey,
A piece of toast
With cheese,
One sliced pear,
And an egg perfectly prepared.

This list of ingredients is, essentially, the table of contents for the book. One of them is a suspect of murder. Each has numerous philosophical implications.
Though I may not agree with all the conclusions he comes to, I love all the questions he asks.
I highly recommend Poison for Breakfast for a lovely, thoughtful, read. :)

[Nick]

I don't care if I'm too old, this is my childhood hero and I will read everything he writes lol

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Do you teach writing? Are you an irredeemable book nerd? Then this one may be for you. The Venn Diagram of people who ought to love this book definitely includes those two categories, but is not solely limited to them either. For instance, you may enjoy puzzles, or be a fan of the author's other notable works, or simply enjoy a good ramble sprinkled with philosophy and literary references. However, if you do teach writing, (or Honors ELA) this book is 154 pages of literary devices on display and the "Notes" section is a Unit Study all on its own. The vocabulary and grammar are quite possibly an SAT prep course. It has all the potential to be epically fun if it is read (and acted) aloud. Enjoy!
- Alexis S.

[Reema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's take a trip down memory lane... 16 years ago (Woah i am OLD!) when i was reading Nancy Drew and Malory Towers. I was looking for a change and came across A Series of Unfortunate Events. WHAT A DIFFERENT BOOK. Such a unique writing style and so gripping, i just knew i would love this author forever. So its no surprise that i loved this.

1. I love the author
2. He goes off on a tangent
3. It's classic Lemony Snicket
4. Olaf is mentioned!
5. But now Olaf makes me think of Frozen
6. Wait.. is his name Olaf in the book?
6. You are getting off track
7. Yes you clever person, i wrote 6 twice.
8. When you read this book, this bizarre list will make sense 😂

No seriously, i thought it was clever, well written, very much enjoyed it. It was too short, i needed more!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed with Lemony Snicket, 'obsessed' being a word which here means 'I love him and think everything he writes is genius.'

[Anima Miejska · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who love words :D!

[Catharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am such a huge fan of Lemony Snicket's other writings that of course when I discovered this I dove right into it. I have to say it is of typical Snicket fashion and style. The wordplay is fun, bizarre, wild, funny, and out there. His wit throughout the story is ever sharp! But this book did fall a little flat for me.

The roundabouts become a little too tedious in this book for me. Whereas in the Series of Unfortunate Events there is some rather large tangents within the book, it still continues on a path to an ultimate goal or storyline. This book is more floaty than that, and because of it, I got bored.

This book took me awhile to read, which is not typical for me. Usually a book hooks me in and I can't put it down. This one I found myself putting down a lot and almost dreading to pick up again. It's a good book, but for me the mark just fell flat and I was hoping for the magic of Snicket's other works.

Some people will enjoy this, I don't know who, but this book will hit the mark most of the time.

[Hanieh Sadat Shobeiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

مثل وقتی که خودتو لای پتوی نازک پیچوندی و روی مبل لم دادی، درحالی که لیوان شیر و عسل گرم توی دستته و از پنجره هم باد خنک می‌وزه و می‌خوره به صورتت؛ خوندنش همچین حسی داشت :))

[Michelle Cleary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Snicket but this was just rambling awfulness. Total let down

[Yasaman · Rating 2 out of 5]

داستانی درباره ی سردرگمی!

[Kusaimamekirai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Lemony Snicket. You are so silly sometimes. Check out the opening paragraph for exhibit A:

“This book is about bewilderment, a word which here means ‘the feeling of being bewildered’ and ‘bewildered’ is a word which here means ‘you don’t have any idea what is happening, and ‘you’ is a word which doesn’t just mean you. It means everyone. You have no idea what is happening, and nobody you know has any idea what is happening, and of course there are all the people you don’t know, which is most of the people in the world, and they don’t know what is happening either, and of course I don’t know what is happening or I wouldn’t have eaten poison for breakfast.”

This book doesn’t really have a “plot” per se, beyond Snicket eating breakfast one morning when suddenly he discovers a note slipped under his door reading ‘You have been poisoned”.
Not really being interested in dying at that moment he begins retracing the ingredients of his meal for clues to his potential assassin. The beekeeper who provided the honey for his tea, the tree where his pear may have come from, the wheat in his toast.
Unsurprisingly, he struggles to uncover where the poison may have come from or why anyone would even want to kill him.
With Lemony Snicket in this book, and most of his books, the plot is just an excuse to slip in some surprisingly random, profound, and always amusing, thoughts on life and our place in it. Does anyone for example when they sit down for breakfast really think about the wheat in their toast? How much effort goes into the growing, processing, distribution, and creation of something as simple as a piece of toast? Quite a bit. Toast of course is just a metaphor for how little we know or understand about the world around us. We rarely slow down long enough to appreciate the wonders of everyday things we take for granted.
There is also some lovely detours here about books, libraries, librarians and how reading is pretty much the most wonderful thing you can do.
Snicket is ostensibly a children’s author but the way he is able to wrap some profound philosophical questions around the best ways to prepare eggs (hint, scrambled eggs are the worst), an African-American man who wore a turban and passed himself off as Indian while being a staple on American TV in the 1950’s (Korla Pandit who was actually John Redd, if you are curious), British colonial authors who may or may not have translated books from ancient Sanskrit, and imagining the lives and conversations of random people in the park (I always do this!), really sets him apart from anyone else writing out there today. I would read anything this man writes, including a note that says “you have been poisoned”.
And remember:

“Nobody knows anything at all. We have no idea what is happening. We are all bewildered. Someone may say that they understand something, to ourselves or to others, but they are wrong, or guessing, or making it up. I don’t know why I used to sneak out at night and run down the street, and neither do you.”

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poison For Breakfast is a compelling and singular 176-page stand-alone adventure in which protagonist Lemony Snicket finds himself searching for the culprit who seemingly laced his food with poison. Snicket begins his morning the same way every day: with a breakfast of tea with honey, a piece of toast with cheese, one sliced pear, and an egg perfectly prepared. But one morning, after finishing his meal, he finds a note on a slip of paper under his door: You had poison for breakfast. With that, one of the most famous narrators in contemporary middle-grade fiction (and chronicler of other people's mysteries) finds himself in a race against the clock to solve the mystery of his own demise. Certainly, Mr Snicket didn’t relish the dreadful task of solving it, but he had no choice. It was put in front of him, right there, on his plate. Along the way, he takes readers on a delightful journey of philosophy, literature, art, love, life, death and other bewildering subjects.

Appropriate for young readers, formerly young readers and adults who are young at heart, Poison for Breakfast is a classic in the making, an entertaining but profoundly moving book. But this is Lemony Snicket, so be prepared for an investigation like no other -- one that will take readers on a bewitching journey through breakfast ingredients and philosophy, existential questions and observations about writing, death and the preparation of a good egg. Hopefully, this witty, inspiring tour-de-force won't prove fatal. An extraordinary and fascinating novel from Lemony Snicket, an author whose playful, always thoughtful and distinctive voice brings so much joy to so many. It is penned as both a love letter to readers and reading and a meditation on the vagaries of life. I’m confident that it will stir the hearts of young and old alike, both longtime fans and new readers. Highly recommended.

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket is a quirky, unique read that brings back one fantabulous writer to the reading circuit.

I grew up reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, so naturally I would want to pick up more by Lemony Snicket. Lemony's writing style is so unique and out there, it was only natural to want to dive into another work. And it's safe to say, the book was rather quirky. It has sass and attitude, which is why I enjoy reading these books. It's wild, out there and just something different.

I wasn't totally encapsulated by this book. It was okay, but it didn't hold my full attention. That being said, I really liked the style this book had. It's very funky and odd, in all the best ways. The repeated comments over and over (like the little breakfast poem) drove me insane though.

Overall, this is a nice, quick read that has a lot of spunk in it. It's like peeking into someone's mind instead of reading a story. There's lots of twists, turns and oddities to read through.

Two out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

[Kathreadsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was bewildering, a word which means mysterious and gloomy, as you'd expect of a Snicket book, but also filled with whimsy and philosophy, and even a dash of hope.

This book was a satisfying and strange wall down nostalgia lane, and as someone who grew up on the Series of Unfortunate Events books, it felt like finding a particularly comfortable reading chair, in your favorite section of the library.

You Had Poison for Breakfast is a book that will surprise you, even if you happen to be the author, and this notion is a good taste of what you'll find inside.

[Sara ^_^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

باز هم کمبود تعداد ستاره ��ا برای گودریدز! این کتاب برام در حد ۴ نیست، ۳ونیمه.
این کتاب سعی کرده داستانی نباشه و از حالت رمان بودن خارج شه، ولی خب نه "داستانه" و نه "ناداستان".
یک چیز بینابینی رو گرفته که اگر با تصور هرکدومش بخونین ناامید میشین. من انتظار داستان رو ازش داشتم.
بهرحال کتاب بیشتر فلسفی هست و من فلسفه بافی های نویسنده رو دوست داشتم.

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➳ 4 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

lemony snicket books are just like coming home after a long busy week and then sitting under a blanket with tea and your favorite food and reading your comfort book 🥹

this book was so fun and nostalgic and so much like lemony snicket’s usual writing and i loved it so much ✨


୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆