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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9781416510888
ISBN number: 1416510885
Label: Pocket
Manufacturer: Pocket
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 400
Printing Date: August 02, 2005
Publishing house: Pocket
Sale Popularity Level: 17593
Studio: Pocket
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Product Description:
Way upstairs there are four secrets hidden.
Blond, beautiful, innocent little secrets, struggling to stay alive.
Flowers In the Attic
The four Dollanganger children had such perfect lives -- a beautiful mother, a doting father, a lovely home. Then Daddy was killed in a car accident, and Momma could no longer support the family. So she began writing letters to her parents, her millionaire parents, whom the children had never heard of before.
Momma tells the children all about their rich grandparents, and how Chris and Cathy and the twins will live like princes and princesses in their grandparents' fancy mansion. The children are only too delighted by the prospect. But there are a few things that Momma hasn't told them.
She hasn't told them that their grandmother considers them 'devil's spawn' who should never have been born. She hasn't told them that she has to hide them from their grandfather if she wants to inherit his fortune. She hasn't told them that they are to be locked away in an abandoned wing of the house with only the dark, airless attic to play in. But, Momma promises, it's only for a few days....
Then the days stretch into months, and the months into years. Desperately isolated, terrified of their grandmother, and increasingly convinced that their mother no longer cares about them, Chris and Cathy become all things to the twins and to each other. They cling to their love as their only hope, their only strength -- a love that is almost stronger than death.
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Rated by buyers 
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Sadly, this wasn't the very first VCA book I ever read, but when I got around to this, I was not disappointed. It is easily one of the best books I have ever read. The drama, the intrigue, the suspense... I have read this book several times and never get tired of it.
Rated by buyers 
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Flowers in the Attic is the story of four siblings locked up in an attic room by their selfish mother after the death of their father. They must remain a secret from their grandfather who never forgave their parents for marrying each other. It's the only way he will consider ever rewriting his daughter back into his will. Over the years, they are neglected, abused and starved by their bigoted grandmother. It's a story about love and hate. It's a story about greed, lust and betrayal. And it's a story, primarily, about survival. It is popular with young girls, but it is very mature, so be warned about that. The way sexuality is handled will be offensive to many.
I really think that V.C. Andrews came up with some brilliant stories. I think she was attuned to a deeper part of the human psyche that allowed her to write about the darker aspects of life, and in ways that, like an onion, you could keep pulling back layers, picking up on things you never really noticed before. Her stories often get dismissed as trash, at worst, and even many who like her regard her stories as trivial guilty pleasures. I think that if you go into them with that frame of mind, you will only get out of them what you put in. But trust me, there's more there. That is my opinion, of course. I find myself picking up on nuances ten years later that I never could have appreciated as a teen (maybe not even as recent as a year ago). I'm not trying to encourage anyone to become obsessed or anything. Certainly there are better ways to spend your time than trying to analyze a book such as this. There are better books out there to read. But I have to give credit where I honestly feel credit is due.
That being said, she was, technically, a very flawed writer. Her prose is so purple you fear for its life. The characters---while a little more complex than mere cut out dolls---are described in near perfect terms as far as beauty goes. They're all gorgeous specimens of male and female perfection. Then there's V.C. Andrews' approach to sexuality which is, at times intriguing, but more often than not, completely juvenile. I kid you not, there's a passage in the book that actually goes like this: "There was something about a man's strong, well-shaped thighs that excited me (263)." And that's not even the worst of it. She uses words like "maleness" and "male part" combined with adjectives such as "rigid" and "swollen" and "swell". She probably could have benefited from Elizabeth Benedict's book "The Joys of Writing Sex," had that book been released at the time she was writing all these poorly written sex scenes. And trust me, the sex scenes only get worse as the series goes on.
As for the rest of the writing, it is not very good. The characters repeatedly say stuff that make me cringe in horror. It's just such appallingly bad dialogue. They do stuff, at times, that I find extraordinarily unrealistic. It almost seems as if she forced stuff in there to make the book seem more shocking (and trust me, she didn't need to make it shocking, the concept alone already is!) Not to say that it's all badly written. I did find parts of it amusing in a good way. And there were parts of it that were written in a way that I found emotionally affecting.
She's a very gifted storyteller, but no matter how strong your story is, it can't compensate for poor writing. I hear she wrote this novel really fast. Maybe if she'd taken more time with it, she could have done a lot of much needed editing. Maybe it would have been better. Maybe not. I don't know.
I will say, though, that this is an enjoyable read if you go into it expecting nothing more than a shocking, heartbreaking, compelling story about the tragedy of child abuse in all of its horror. The humanity is there, buried deep, if you look for it beneath all the frills of silly, childish language. The story is certainly relevant. Child abuse like this does happen. Just look at the fairly recent incest case in Austria where the father turned his daughter into his sex slave. This story can't even compete with that in terms of sheer horror.
Also, I think it's pretty amazing that this book has been reviewed so many times when it's about 30 years old. And a majority of them are five star reviews.
One more thing.
SPOILERS IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE BOOK
This book is notorious for the incest, but I will say this---the incest is not the most sickening part of the story. I think it may well be the most troublesome aspect of the book because it's pretty much the only part of the story that is not conveyed in comfortable grey and white terms. There's no mistaking that incest is wrong, but let's not forget that this story is told from the protagonist's point of view, as she lived it. In this book, at least, we are not asked to judge or to condone, only ... Read More
Rated by buyers 
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This book has no redeeming value whatsoever. But worth reading for a laugh at the pure over-the-top bad camp of it.
Rated by buyers -
Yes its true, this book is extremely dark and twisted, depressing, gross at certain parts (incest seems to be a common theme V.C.'s books), and just downright disturbing and creepy. But as horrified as you may be while reading it, you also can't but be fascinated at the same time. To even think that such a family could be so screwed up is enough to keep you thinking about their stories for days, which is exactly what has made me re-read this novel and the following ones time and time again.
I very first read this book several years ago, due in large part to my mom, since this had been her favorite book growing up. I read it and immediately devoured the rest of the series, and ill admit, I have read them more times than I can count.
The book is about a mother who brings her four children (chris and cathy, the two older children; and carrie and corrie the two youngest who are twins) to live at their grandparents house after their father is killed in a car accident. The mother brings them to that house to live, In hopes of winning back her parents love and affection, and ultimately hoping to once again be written into her fathers will, and at the demands of the cruel grandmother, the children are forced to stay in one room, having only the attic as their escape from her watchful eye. Because the mother had married her half-uncle, she tells the children that her father won't approve of them and claims that they must only stay in the room for one night at the most, until she can get back into his good graces. But one night turns into days, which turns into weeks, which turns into months, and ultimately they end up locked in that room for years. It probably would have turned into even longer if the two older children hadn't finally brought it upon themselves to escape.
During their time of being locked away, isolated from the world, they are neglected, and they are treated horribly by their grandmother, who at one point starves the children for weeks in order to teach them a lesson.
You cant help but feel heartbroken for the kids, not only because of being locked away, but because their mother goes from a kind, loving mother, to a cruel, heartless woman who cares more about money than her own children, even going so far as to poison them as you get further into the book. And you can't help but feel angry at Chris, who continually defends his mother, despite all her wrong doings. The most heartbreaking part is reading about the twins, who suffer the most. You see them go from bright, happy, healthy children, to sickly children who eventually stop growing due to lack of sunlight, lack of nutrients, and lack of love. Their bodies become thin and weak, their skin pale, and their eyes forever haunted. They feel that they are devils spawn, due to the sins of their parents, which is nailed into their heads again and again by the grandmother.
And yes ill warn you once again: this book does include incest. For some reason, V.C. Seems to have a fixation with incest, although it is unknown why. Maybe it has something to do with her own personal experiences? But who knows.
Anyways, I give this book 5 stars because despite what others say, its a damn good book, and there's no other book out there like it. I strongly urge you to atleast pick it up and give it a chance!
Rated by buyers -
*Hangs head in shame*
This is one of my favorite books. It's light and fluff reading. Yes, you want to smack Cathy, or Cath-er-ine, and whack some sense into Chris's brain, but you gotta love this one. It never gets old!
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