This attic is full of deranged memories! (Flowers in the Attic - Virginia Andrews)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Flowers in the Attic - Virginia Andrews
Date:	29/08/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compelling

Disadvantages: Child abuse, incest and the like

'Flowers in the attic' is a book written by Virginia Andrews and is the first in a trilogy of books that she has written. I read this one when I was younger but found it on the shelf when we were on holiday. It was so compelling that I read the whole thing within 24 hours!

The story tells of a fairy tale family, the Dollanganger's who have a lovely home and a lovely life until one day the father doesn't return home. Eventually two police officers knock on the door and inform the family that he died in a tragic accident. The perfect family life comes crashing down and the mother, Corrine decides to leave the family home with the four children and return to live with her parents due to the fact that she couldn't upkeep her own house. Unfortunately the four children are banished to the loft until their mother can gain the trust and love of her father who disowned her when she married her husband. The story unfolds into a brutal and harrowing account of neglect and abuse.

This is probably one of the first child abuse books that I ever read and after reading again, I still think that it's one of the best.

The book is in fact based on a true story but the reader doesn't know which bits are true and which bits are exaggerated or made up. I found this a bit annoying because some parts of the book are down right shocking and unbelievable so I was left wondering whether that was real or not.

The story is told as if it's written by Cathy who is the eldest female. She shares not only the day to day things that they partake in to entertain themselves but also the way she feels about certain situations. I liked this because you could understand her and go to a deeper level with the characters.

The book flows well and is very easy to read. It doesn't take much brain power to get from the start to finish and you don't need to spend hours trying to figure out the events that happen as it's not confusing at all. I found that I didn't loose what was going on at all throughout the book and I think what helped this was the fact that it was based mostly on the four children and one location.

Some may find the story a little distressing in parts but it definitely is not the average child abuse book that you find on the shelves these days so don't be kidded into thinking it is.

The characters in the book are very memorable and strong and I find it interesting that there isn't really a main character. There aren't a lot of characters that appear in the book but each one is memorable for the role they play.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is sick to the back teeth of the new child abuse books that you can find on the shelves these days but also to those who like an easy but uneasy read.

If you like flowers in the attic then you might want to read the sequel 'Petals on the wind'.

Summary: An excellent and compelling read