Normally I don't have much time for reading books "for fun" as I'd put it, doing a degree in English Literature means that most of the books I read are for academic purposes and not always the most enjoyable. However over Christmas I decided to treat myself and read something simply because I wanted to and not because I had to! Being too lazy to actually go and buy a book or borrow one from a library I had a root around in my friend's room and came across "Flowers in the Attic" by Virginia Andrews. As it was either this or some trashy chick lit with the oh so typical story of girl meets boy, girl falls in love, etc. I decided this was the best bet to stop me becoming depressed from my lack of love life over Christmas!

Virginia Andrews was an American author who sadly died in 1986 at the age of 63 after a battle with breast cancer. During her time as an author she wrote seven published books within two series, the most famous of which is the Dollanganger series which this book belongs to. Her stories seemed to focus on the horror genre and also the family genre incorporating forbidden love, betrayal and other such themes. Her books were so successful, and several series left unfinished, that her publishers hired a ghost writer to complete the tales after her death in 1986. Andrew Neiderman is the ghost writer and quite strangely, despite the format of the books having changed now, still writes under the name of Virginia Andrews.

Flowers in the Attic was published in 1979 and followed over the next six years by four other books in the series. The books focus on the Dollanganger family and are told from the viewpoint of Cathy Dollanganger, the eldest daughter of the family. The books were quite controversial at their time of publication, and still are now to a certain extent, due to the strong themes of child abuse, child neglect and incest that run throughout them. Although Flowers in the Attic was the first book to be published it is actually the second in the series, the prequel to it Garden of Shadows came later in 1987. There are also three books following the tale that Flowers in the Attic portrays, Petals on the Wind, If there be Thorns and Seeds of Yesterday. As you can probably tell the titles of the books have the common imagery of flowers running throughout them, meant to link the five stories together and also the recurring image in the Flowers in the Attic book of a flower growing just as a child should grow.

The Plot

The plot of Flowers in the Attic sees the Dollanganger family immediately after the death of the father. Prior to this event the reader is told that they lived a happy life in Pennsylvania where the parents were deeply in love and blissfully contented with their existence. They were blessed with four beautiful children, Christopher aged 14, Cathy aged 12 and twins Carrie and Cory aged 5. Sadly however the tale opens with them hearing the news of the death of their father from an horrific car accident while he was travelling home to them.

As the family could no longer cope with the financial burden Corrine decides to take the four children to live with her very affluent parents. However Corrine was disowned from her family when she was much younger and therefore needs to win around the love of her father again so as to be wrote back into his will, in order to do this she tells her children they must remain hidden for a couple of days until she can tell him she has children. Only her mother, the children's grandmother, knows of the children's existence and takes an instant dislike to them.

The reader soon learns that Corrine fell from her father's grace when she ran off with her half uncle at the tender age of 18. As he is exceptionally ill at the time they arrive at the house Corrine feels it would be best to keep the truth about the children hidden from her father, and in doing so keep the children hidden as well. As she waits for him to die the children are kept locked away in a large bedroom with only a bathroom and a dark attic in which to play.

What then unfolds is not a couple of days of being locked up, but several years of it. As time passes and Corrine readjusts to her lavish lifestyle she soon begins to forget about the children. Their only solace is in each other and their frosty grandmother who brings them a basket of food each morning. Within the confines of their prison the reader sees the story unravel and with it time seems to pass so very slowly for the imprisoned children.

The Characters

The story is told in a narrative script by Cathy and as such sees her own fears and thoughts unravel along with those of her brothers and sister. Cathy is arguably more observant than her older brother and more cynical as well which adds to the dislike we soon form towards, Corrine their mother. Although an innocent child at the start of the book throughout the discourse the reader can see her grow, in maturity and responsibility as she soon finds herself promoted to main care giver of the much younger twins. She holds out a large amount of respect and love for her mother although the reader can clearly see this dwindling as the story goes on, being replaced for admiration for her older and stronger brother.

Chris is the oldest of the children and is presented as a brainy, caring and compassionate individual. One can wonder if his life had not taken such a turn and he had continued to mix with his peers if he may have remained as caring and nice towards his siblings. He is the leader of the small brood and always the one to sacrifice himself or his own things in order that the others shouldn't go without. As the story is told the reader can develop a large amount of respect for Chris and admiration for his determination and caring capacity of the other children.

The two younger children have little input into the story as they are only five at the time of the commencement of the book. They appear to be very similar to other children of their age, easily bored and impatient while all the time just wanting someone to love and care for them. As time goes on it becomes clear that their daily imprisonment is having an affect upon them within them becoming increasingly withdrawn.

Corrine is the mother of their children and as such it is only fair that the reader expects her to show concern and consideration for her children. As the start of the story the reader can empathise with her as her suffering is clear, however as time moves on and she appears to care less and less for the children I did start to dislike her immensely. The most annoying factor about her was that rather than be continually sorry for keeping her children locked up, she lavished on them presents and tales of her wonderful life, all the while surely knowing how they were suffering.

The final main character is that of Corrine's mother, the children's grandmother who throughout the story the reader will maintain a very low opinion of. A heavily religious woman she is continually punishing the children for her own daughter's elopement with her half uncle. Obviously it is not the children's fault yet the Grandmother continues to say the most minimal things to them and constantly refers to them as Devil's Spawn. She abhors anything unholy or ungodly and has very strict rules which the children must adhere to at all times.

My Opinion

I absolutely loved this book! Despite its rather depressing nature and sordid undertones I could not put it down and finished it within a week. I really found I was able to empathise with Cathy and was in awe most of the time at the sheer determination of Chris and Cathy to make the most of their situation and also their almost unfaltering belief in their mother. I did feel slightly annoyed at Chris as he seems to have faith in his mother no matter what, where Carrie began to see her faults and notice that she was visiting less and less, Chris would shout at her if she dared to mention that Corrine didn't have their best interests at heart.

My feelings towards Corrine were completely different, at first I did sympathise with her as she had lost her husband and home, yet as time went on and she began to forget the children she professed to love so much, my dislike for her grew. As the book goes on we are told that she visited the children less and less, at one point going away for over a month without seeing them or even apologising for this and then my hatred for her really set in. Is it really possible to forget your children who you so loved several years ago? At the end of the book are a number of shocking revelations that will have you wanting to see Corrine hanged!

What I did find refreshing was that the novel focuses on the feelings and thoughts of Cathy as well as the changing relationships between the children, rather than on their day to day activities. Something like that could easily have become quite mundane and lacked any emotive feelings from the reader so by focusing on the relationships a much deeper knowledge of the characters and their situation is gained. Through the book we see the characters progress over a number of years and the growth of Cathy from a young girl into a young woman is both compelling and insightful.

The pace of the book was kept up throughout, despite it telling the tale of several years never once did I feel the book had reached a stagnant pace. I was always eager to move onto a new chapter and read about the next trial that faced the children or the next heartless act the mother was about to commit. It was one of the books that literally would have had me on the edge of my seat had it been a film. All the characters seemed very real, whereas in some books I find that I cannot relate to the story or the characters seem very flat, in Flowers in the Attic it was easy to imagine them as alive, existing and actually going through what they were in the novel.

A film adaptation was made in 1987 although I have been told that it is very poor in comparison to the book, it lacks many of the storylines and the acting is quite poor too apparently. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes anything from the drama or sordid family genres - initially it wouldn't be one that I'd pick off the shelf but I'm glad that I did read it now. Apparently it is a true story and is a book that has affected me emotionally more so than the majority of books I've read in the past.

The overall tone of the book is quite dark and despairing, it isn't one that's going to make you smile or laugh. However it is one that will have you stamping your feet in despair at the sheer injustice going on as well as willing the children to stand up to their grandmother and make an escape from their prison. I can guarantee this book will have you hooked within the first few chapters, and it'll keep you hooked until the very last word.

Thanks for reading!