★(¯`•.¸♥ I'm the New Members Guide for Ciao so if you see anybody needing help please p...
★(¯`•.¸♥ I'm the New Members Guide for Ciao so if you see anybody needing help please point them in my direction ♥.•´¯) ---★★
Member since:26.12.2001
Reviews:96
Members who trust:1322
Ever read a story that includes cruelty, death, incest and greed. This is one of the saddest books I have ever read as the recipients of all the above are four children. What makes it even worse is it is based on a true story. Once picked up you will find it almost impossible to put down again. The most compelling novel that I have ever read and although three more books about the Dollanger family followed it, they did not catch the drama in the first of the series
The story begins with their father Christopher Garland Dollanger who had always called them his Dresden Dolls as they all looked like porcelain dolls suddenly dying in a tragic car accident, and their mother’s decision to return to her rich parents house, as she couldn’t pay their debts. As she sat Cathy 12, Chris 14, and five year old twins Cory and Carrie down to explain the move she promised untold riches once her father had forgiven her and returned her to his will. They are so rich we will have servants she explained, as many toys as you can play with. The children had had an idyllic life and were loath to leave their lovely house and friends.
They arrived in the dead of the night and were immediately ushered upstairs by their grandmother onto the second floor. They were shown into a truly drab room with a bathroom attached. Here they were given strict instructions never to touch the closed drapes and to always be quiet, as the grandfather was not to know they were in the house. Their mother promised they would not be there for long but that they could not leave this room until she had either won her father round or he died.
The Grandmother
The
storyline really starts to come alive when on the second day she gives the children a list of commands to adhere to. There were twenty in all and included if I ever catch boys and girls using the bathroom at the same time. I will quite relentlessly, and without any mercy strip the skins from your back. What type of grandparent is this? She never called them by name and always referred to them as the Devils Spawn. Their beloved fathers was in fact their mothers half-uncle and as they had been born into this incestuous marriage were not worthy of being alive. She made it clear to the children that they could never expect to gain her friendship, pity, love or compassion. She is one of the most evil characters you could wish to read about and beat their mother Corrine into submission and then made her show the children the deep cuts on her back threatening them with the same if they ever disobeyed her rules
The Mother
The children all doted upon their mother and in the first few days bought them many presents and games, but within a week tells them she is leaving for the city to take a secretarial course leaving them in the care of her sinister mother. This is one of the worst tales of greed in a person you will ever read. The imprisoned children are soon forgotten as she lives on caviar and champagne whilst they slowly wither away from hunger and malnutrition. When she does visit them she is always impeccably dressed and full of tales of the outside world. She eventually remarries forgetting her imprisoned children.
His one dream was to become a doctor. As he was the oldest of the children he tried to take charge and Corrie and Cary soon began to call him daddy. He was always the cheerful optimist and every day stated any day could see him grandfather gone. He took it upon himself to dream up fantastic games to play in the attic. He made rope swings and tents from old clothes for the twins. Christopher always defended his mother even though he knew they were slowly dying.
Cathy
Her one dream was to become a prima ballerina. She was the rebellious one of the children and often used to get upset with her mother for going sailing instead of getting them out of their airless rooms. Why are you having fun instead of telling our grandfather you have four beautiful children she used to cry? She used to invent plays and it was to her whom the twins always ran to complaining they wanted to see a real garden again. It was Cathy’s idea to turn the attic into a paper garden. She took to the role of being mother to the twins with ease.
Cory
His prized possession was a blue elephant with pink ears, which were found near the scene of his father’s accident. He was the quietest of the twins and would sit and listen rather than join the conversation. His teacher had once described him as a still water that runs deep. Although quiet he would not have his twin upset and on one occasion bit the grandmother on the ankle. His favourite book was “Peter Rabbit” and no matter how often it was read he never tired of it.
Carrie
She was a little chatterbox and really opinionated. She always spoke her mind and never really knew what was a right and wrong time to voice them. She certainly knew what she liked and what she hated. She talked to any object regardless of the fact they could not reply. Her favourite possession was a little purple pony with a red saddle and the book “The three little pigs” but would only listen if Chris read it like her daddy used to, with loads of huffing and puffing.
The Attic
This was accessed by a door at the end of a closet, which was at the far end of the dingy bedroom. The attic soon became the children’s only means of escape from their grandmother, as she would never enter the attic due to her claustrophobia. When they first entered it was very dirty and dusty with murky air and an odour of decay. The wooden floor was soft and rotting and it was so hot. At one end was a tiny dormer window and in time the children placed a mattress on the floor and took it in turns to try to catch some sunlight onto their skins. They were only able to open the window one inch for fear of it being seen from the ground. With the help of their mother they scrubbed the attic clean and asked for some paints, scissors, glue and coloured paper. They had decided to turn their attic into a garden. The fact it wasn’t real didn’t seem to deter them. With cardboard trees and papier-mâché mushrooms, Giant daisies and scarlet roses the attic started to look more pleasant. Little did they know they would spend nearly four years imprisoned in the two rooms? Only three of the four children eventually escaped but you will have to read the book to see how one of them died. Let’s just say the grandmother was involved.
Well I hope I have got you interested enough to at least get this book from the library. Although utterly heartbreaking, and will almost certainly leave you in tears whether you be male or female, you can’t help but want to keep reading to see the fate of the children. It was the first ever book written by Virginia Andrews and immediately became a best seller. It was first published in 1979 and the ISBN number is 0-00-615929-x. Once you have finished this book you will want to read the other three in the series called Petals on the Wind, If There be Thorns and Seeds of Yesterday. When I bought my much-battered copy in 1979 the price was £3.99. I understand a DVD film of the book has now been released and this is available from Amazon.
Thank you all for reading this. Fionaxx
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Loved this book and all the others in first series, I was an avid fan in my teens. Great review. xx
Lisa365 22.02.2006 12:25
It is her best book and always will be - can't put it down!
Aussieme1106 16.10.2005 13:54
Brilliant opinion. I read Flowers years ago, and have read all the others too. Did you know there is a prequel to Flowers, called Garden of Shadows. Its all about the Grandmother. It explains alot. xx
Advantages: Harsh insight into selfish, selfless, obsessive & paranoid behaviour; affects and effects. Disadvantages: Interesting story, dreadfully written. Sorry! Monotonously repetitive, packed with cliches - not my 'cup-of-tea' at all.
Advantages: Continuing the monumental Flowers in the Attic, Petals on the Wind is a formidable sequel that is definitely worth picking up and reading through the night! Disadvantages: Cathy's strange ability to ruin everyone who loves her. You may well get annoyed with her!
Advantages: You won't be able to stop reading, gripping, great plot, beautiful imagery. Disadvantages: You won't be able to stop reading, could find Cathy's decisions a bit frustrating at times.
Advantages: A horrwing yet compelling read, almost as good as the first book in the series Disadvantages: Some parts of the story didn't flow well, can be upsetting
very helpful by (99%):
helpful by (1%):
