Parents are shocked and appalled when a man — no matter how handsome and handsomely dressed — talks about topics that are considered dangerous for their children.” This deadpan statement from Daniel Handler was met by peals of laughter from a packed auditorium, setting the tone for the rest of the session, ‘The Handler of Unfortunate Events’, held on the first day of The Hindu Lit for Life.
The author, best known as Lemony Snicket of A Series of Unfortunate Events , recounted how a “deeply Jewish” upbringing was key to developing his sensibility. “My father fled Germany in 1939 to escape Nazi persecution, and my teacher on hearing this said, ‘Your father was very brave’. I repeated that compliment to my father (because he was a certified public accountant and I don’t think people called him brave very often). He answered, ‘Do you think I am braver than the ones who didn’t make it?’”
Although his books have sold more than 70 million copies, an entire generation was introduced to him through the Netflix show starring Neil Patrick Harris as the nefarious Count Olaf. While the experience of writing episodic pieces was quite different, Handler said that his favourite part of working on season two and three was that the writer’s room was right in his home.
Several other interesting nuggets about Handler were revealed over the course of his conversation with Rosella Stephen, Associate Editor, The Hindu . For instance, he collects words and phrases — “Did you know mystery and museum are linked?”
Handler believes that to write anything good, one must write several terrible sentences. And he is particular that his books don’t have all the answers. “I think literature is a means by which we may ask questions. One of the delights of writing for children and about travelling far from home is that I meet people who’ve been thinking about these stories and are interested in them. I hope it’s because of the questions they offer rather than the answers they give.” Judging by the two-hour book signing that followed, his hopes may not be far off the mark.
susanna.lazarus@thehindu.co.in
