39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful modern gothic novel, February 12, 2003
This review is from: Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
Okay, I realize that this novel is nothing resembling great literature. But that just doesn't matter nor does it affect my pure enjoyment of this series, as it is a well-written, completely engrossing story.
Flowers in the Attic is a *fairy tale*. A dark, twisted fairy tale, but a fairy tale all the same. This means that the characters and situations within the story should NOT be expected to be realistic in any form. Anyone complaining about the lack of realism is not seeing it as it should be seen. It takes place in some strange, imagined land that almost mirrors our world but not quite. It starts out all shiny and happy, describing the perfect, blessed existence of this beautiful family, and then it descends into a nightmare. Many of the complaints about the shallow characters are accurate but in my opinion it fits with the theme. The characters here can be silly and melodramatic and stereotypical. Nobody in this book talks like a real person would. Some of the older male characters are never developed at all but just kept shadowy, sometimes sinister figures who want to prey on Cathy and other women. And Cathy...she is the ultimate fragile blond-haired fairy tale princess. Only the twisted, upside-down version. Others have pointed out that she is not a likeable character. This is true, especially if you have read the rest of the series. But I don't believe that she was meant to be likeable. The abuse she has suffered has made her too messed up to be likeable, and her increasingly selfish, cruel behavior makes it very hard to have any sypmathy for her. So how did the author manage to make me care so much about a character's story when I so dislike the character? It all lies in the telling of it, the subject matter, the horror that goes beyond evil villains and straight into the human psyche. The incest, for example, lends a deeply unnerving, disturbing, and tragic element to the series that no fairy tale monster could have inspired. I can't believe some people think this book would have been better off without it? Some need to gain a wider perspective.
I've read this series countless times and I hope VC Andrews knew how much her stories touched people. That ghostwriter tries pathetically to copy her style and fails. His novels are all the exact same, and they are boring and tame to boot. He is scared or just unwilling to go to the places she explored. At my local bookstore they still keep his novels under Horror which is quite laughable. Andrews' books belonged there; his would be more at home under general young adult fiction.
FitA is a story meant to get under your skin. It has been condemned in churches and to this day still brings about strong reactions in people, whether they are positive or negative, and so I think the story succeeded in its purpose. Love it or hate it, I doubt you'll ever forget it.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gripping shocking novel, September 18, 2000
This review is from: Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
I was introduced to this spellbinding saga when I hired the film Flowers in the Attic (about 5 years ago). When I learned that there existed a book about this story, I just went to look for it and bought it. It is a shockingly true book, a pure example of greed and selfishness. When I read it for the first time I could not stop thinking that I might turn out to be a bad parent since the mother in the story was so normal in the beginning but then she changed... But to understand the whole reason of such cruelty one has to read the whole series starting with Flowers in the Attic, then Petals on the Wind, If there be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday and finally the prequel of all the series: Garden of Shadows (the start of all the deceit) When I read Garden of Shadows, dealing with the early misfortunate life of Olivia, I thought that after all she was not as bad as she turned out to be. Ill treatment from her husband and the death of her two sons made her search for something to console herself into, which unfortunately turned out to be hypocritical religious teachings by the horrible and perverse John Amos, a distant cousin of Olivia and butler of the Foxworths. Unfortunately, the creator of such vile actions (the grandfather) suffers the least whilst the mostly innocent (the children) suffer the most. After reading this book, whenever I happened to pass by a large mansion, I used to ask myself if there might be someone hidden in one of the rooms of the uppermost floor, waiting to come out... My only regret is that this story is based on a true story.
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121 of 148 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best trashy novels ever written, December 18, 2001
This review is from: Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is not fine literature, nor will anyone ever mistake is as such. The plot is better than that of the average bodice-ripper, with some interesting twists and a hint of mystery. The characters are a little one-dimensional, but Andrews throws in just enough lust, smut and violence to keep it interesting.
If books were foods this book would be a big bag of potato chips. You really should eat better, but sometimes you just have to cut loose and indulge.
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