I love this book! It's just so creepy, so engrossing, so much fun. It also has an odd and compelling beauty and powerfully evokes the passing of time, the dynamics of a deeply dysfunctional family, and the fractured character of a young woman who must come to terms with the bizarre reality of her life-if she can find out what that is. Audrina is a strong, sympathetic, interesting character, and all the characters in the book are well drawn and very intriguing. Audrina is one of the most admirable characters Andrews ever created-she is compassionate, courageous, and a true survivor. I think she's also the nicest of the Andrews' characters. I really like her.
I first read this book at 13,and I didn't guess the ending, and was utterly shocked, but I've reread it since and I think adults would. Actually I know adults would-I lent it to some, and they figured it out, but still enjoyed the story. I won't give it away here though.
This book tells the story of Audrina, who is a beautiful child born to a ruined Southern aristocratic family (they never explain how it was ruined), living in a run down mansion with her older cousin Vera, her father Damian, her mother Lucietta and her aunt Ellsbeth. These are the characters in the beginning, although more come into the story over the course of 400 pages. As usual, most of the characters are in possession of movie-star looks, except aunt Ellsbeth, who is somewhat frumpy, but mostly by choice.
My favorite character is Vera, which may surprise readers. Hey, I'm not excusing her actions, and I would not want to know her in real life, but I love her! She is the most perverse, bizarre, cruel, violent, unrealistic character in all of Andrews' books. For that matter, in a lot of books. There cannot possibly be anyone like this in real life. Come on. It was a little silly.
But the fact that she's not credible doesn't take away our interest in her. How can there be anyone like this? You enjoy watching her obsession with sex, (she definitely gives us some of the weirdest sex-scenes to grace an Andrews book), her inexcusable torturing of Audrina, her gory miscarriage scene, her vicious acts against just about everyone she meets, but also, somehow, Andrews' also makes us feel bad for her. That's a real accomplishment. And, Vera's kind of funny. In a disgusting way.
She had been completely neglected and abused from her earliest days and made to feel inferior to Audrina in every imaginable way, so as Audrina says, her father "made her what she is." We don't blame her for resenting Audrina, although as I said, most of what she does as a result is just too dramatic for me to buy. But, I still feel sorry for both her and Audrina. No one is paying proper attention to these girls and they are living in a mad house!!!
After Vera, I most enjoy the character of the bitter yet sensible and ultimately kind-hearted aunt, Ellsbeth. She, like Vera, also has a weird gallows humor, but we admire the way she stands up for Audrina. At first she appears to be only self-interested and scheming, but then can't help but admire the persevering Audrina's attempts to disengage from her father's pathological and smothering control. I don't think we've ever seen anyone like her in Andrews', and it's hard not to sympathize with her getting the short end of the stick in life while her sister, the greatest beauty on the East Coast, gets all the attention. (this symbolically duplicates the Audrina/Vera relationship-although Vera is described as very pretty and sexy, Audrina has the "unearthly" beauty that all Andrews' heroines do, plus, she's acknowledged by the family, while Vera is constantly told she's unwanted.)
Lucietta, another likeable character, fights with Ellsbeth a great deal, though she too has been cheated out of what she wanted most-in her case, a music career. Her "Tuesday Tea Times" are some of the funniest episodes Andrews' ever created. During these times, Audrina's mother and Aunt get dressed up, channel their dead sister, and "invite" her photo to tea while they insult each other and get drunk. Pretty fun, eh?
Then there's Arden, Audrina's long suffering suitor. A lot of people don't like Arden, but I do. He makes a lot of mistakes, but they are all human and understandable under the circumstances. He truly loves Audrina, but isn't sure how to help her. Although, we all have to wonder why everyone doesn't just tell her what's up and get her some real therapy. However, since no one will do that, Arden does what he can.
Arden's handicapped mother, Billie, is also an extremely lovable character and one of the warmest in the story. She's a nurturer and we're glad someone is treating Audrina to some real attention.
Sylvia, Audrina's developmentally disabled younger sister, is another likable character. Although her problems seem so drastic that they doubt she will be able to ever take care of her own most rudimentary needs, she turns out to be a fiercely loyal and willful character.
Damian, Audrina's father, is also a very well-drawn, very well-developed character. He's also the only character I really despise. A controlling narcissist, he is a womanizer who neglects his responsibilities, feels the need to completely control the women in his life, stifles their hopes and aspirations, beats Lucietta, and may be responsible for Sylvia's disabilities. Physically, he is a handsome, tall, commanding man; he is also charming and seductive. Ironically, he is the most "crippled" of the family, although his problems don't manifest themselves overtly like Billie's, (she lost her legs), Sylvia's, Vera's (one leg is shorter than the other due to repeated fractures), etc.
I enjoyed Damian's character, though, even though I was pretty disgusted with him. A lot of women like jerks,(I'm not one of them), so his control over the women around him seemed plausible. But after awhile, everyone's obsession with getting Damian's approval gets tiring-Ellsbeth wants him to praise her cooking, Arden wants him to admire his business skills, Vera wants him to praise her, Billie wants the same, blah blah blah.
That's why Audrina is the true heroine of the book, because ultimately she doesn't care about pleasing her father, just about healing herself. Whether or not she physically separates from him is irrelevant-emotionally, she has fought for real knowlege of herself, and won it, and she has learned to stand on her own two feet. It's the most complex character study Andrews' has ever done.
