Answer
A recurring theme in Handler’s books is misfortune. His characters are often unlucky and find themselves in difficult situations. For example, in “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” the Baudelaire orphans lose their parents in a fire and are then sent to live with their evil uncle Count Olaf. In “The Catcher in the Rye,” Holden Caulfield is expelled from school and struggles to find his place in the world.