And Then? And Then? What Else? : A Writer's Life

A memoir from the beloved author behind the multimillion-copy bestselling A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS‘One of our most dazzling literary conjurers.’ MICHAEL CHABONKnown to most as Lemony Snicket, the tormented narrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Daniel Handler spends his days writing – for children and adults; film and television; and, occasionally, the accordion.

Mainly, he writes about horrible things: orphans, abusive uncles, poison, murder, arson, bad grammar…A love letter to the consoling and terrifying power of books, And Then? And Then? What Else? traces Handler’s life through morbid poetry collections, eccentric acting troupes, hazy midnight taxi rides, second-hand bookstores and psychiatric units.

Traversing his personal canon from his first encounter with Baudelaire to Vladimir Nabokov, Elizabeth Bishop and The Pet Shop Boys, Handler offers a witty, poignant exploration of reading, writing and why we tell stories. 'Daniel Handler’s series did something other books would not: took children seriously… [A Series of Unfortunate Events] taught me that my own thoughts could be trusted, that my impulses to read and make things were not unusual, to find joy and sanctuary where there was none.’ GUARDIAN