I promised an Old School Blockbuster and it doesn't get much bigger than this controversial, innuendo packed novel from Virginia Andrews.
First released in 1979, I imagine (though I was only three at the time) that this book must have caused quite a sensation with it's themes of incest, abuse and bad, bad mothers (in the truest sense of the phrase)!
More telling though, is that I still had to reserve this book at the local library when I first discovered it and I can't imagine that I was any younger than twelve at that time.
That equals no less than nine years of Blockbuster hotness, my current question was however, this:
'Had this 'hotness' stood the test of time; or would this book prove to be as gaudy and dated as reruns of Dynasty?'
This re read was an interesting one, with my responses to the book varying wildly over the few days it took me to complete (extra time added due to my initial reluctance/shame to be reading the book at all!).
My immediate reaction to the book went something like this...
"Wow, this really is quite bad!'"
This negativity did not last too long however as I became used to the somewhat gushy prose of the young female narrator (with Daddy this and Beautiful Mother that) and gradually lost the 'looking in' feeling that comes with a less than great book.
I admit it, by the time these poor children were locked in their Attic prison I was hooked and surprised.
The source of my surprise was how much of the book I had not understood during my first youthful perusal, apparently incest was not high of the list of things that I was aware of,... which is most probably a good thing!
As a tale of an evil family and children caught helplessly in a snare made more from money than love, the story still has a modern sensibility (even if the 'cuss' words do not ;). The burgeoning sexuality of the two older children has a tragic inevitability about it, as does the slow and dreadful decline of the young twins.
A twisted fairy tale , Flowers in the Attic' plays out like a surreal nightmare and while nightmares do not make great sleeping companions they are intriguing to read!
My first foray back to the past has been fun in the same way most guilty pleasures are. Read it to remember your youth and appreciate the blue of the sky and the sun on your face.
Flowers in the Attic is available from amazon.com via the following link:
All purchases made through this link will support Little Miss Kindle, with many thanks!
P.S Just got in trouble from my Mum for reading this book when I was twelve..... oops. Sorry Mum!
