The novel that launched Virginia Andrews' superselling career: the tale of four children locked in an attic by their once-loving mother! It was a game of happy families. The four children lived such perfect lives in such a happy, golden family. It was a game of hide and seek. Their father died suddenly. The children now lived alone, hidden in the airless attic. It was a case of tender, loving murder. Their mother promised that they would stay only long enough to inherit her family's fortune. But gradually she forgot how much she adored those children. Millions of readers have been enthralled by this gripping story of a family's betrayal and heartbreak, love and revenge -- which then sows the seeds for the future.
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It's been 30 years since I first read this!! Seems like yesterday, the story is still so clear.
This was the first adult novel I read as a teenager and I can't believe that after all this time the story is still with me. I can still vividly recall the attic and the children and their story as if I read it last week.
I think it was a 'coming of age novel' for a lot of teenage girls at the time of it's release. I know when speaking to my friends now, the majority remember reading the Flowers saga around the age of 14. I think it's one of those rare books that can cross over from adult to young adult and appeal to all ages and is relatively timeless. It seems as popular today as it was three decades ago when my friends and I all devoured it.
It's a harrowing story and at the time I was so caught up in it I don't think I ate or slept much until I had turned the last page. I have given a lot of thought to whether or not I should give it a re-read but so far I've resisted for a couple of reasons - Firstly, I'm worried that the fantastic storytelling I remember from my youth may not hold up under the scrutiny of my adult self. Sometimes it's just better to rememer things as they were.
The second reason I can't bring myself to read it again, is because now that I have children of my own, I think I may come at it from a different angle. I don't think I could put my maternal feelings aside for a re-read. If I was coming across this for the first time now, having read the back cover I wouldn't even give it a moment's consideration. It just isn't my kind of book anymore. In fact it's exactly the type of book I avoid ....'cruel and selfish mother, imprisoned children, neglect'..... It's just not for me anymore.
BUT, I still give it 10/10 because a page turner like this, which has stayed with me so long deserves at LEAST a 10. I'd go so far as to pinpoint this book as the one that started me on the path of ravenous bookworm. Flowers In the Attic (and all the follow on books from the series) were the first books I ever bought with my own money, and it was money well spent. Funny how things like that stay with you. (On the same note I remember the first vinyl single I bought with my own money too.....Green Onions by Booker T and the MG's, ;P
This is a a great book and I'm just glad I read it all those years ago.
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