More & More Addictive (Petals on the Wind - Virginia Andrews)

Member Name: blonde_girl774

Product:	Petals on the Wind - Virginia Andrews
Date:	25/01/07 (277 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant story, addictive, good character progression.

Disadvantages: Nothing.

For any of you that read my previous review you’ll know that I absolutely loved Virginia Andrew’s novel “Flowers in the Attic.” As such I couldn’t wait to get my hand on the second book in the series “Petals in the Wind” to see what happened next in the story. I ordered the rest of the series off Amazon as I knew once I’d read the second book I’d want to read the rest of the series and as soon as they arrived I started reading – and finished it within three days as well!

“Petals in the Wind” is the second book in a series of five belonging to the Dollanganger series, two books follow this story while one precedes the very first book but was only wrote after the rest of the series was completed. This is only complete series of books that Virginia Andrews herself wrote before her death in 1986 at the mere age of 63. Following this a ghost writer took up her name and continued to write books with similar themes as those that Virginia herself had previously wrote. I haven’t yet read any by the ghost writer but I am led to believe that they in no way compare to those wrote by Virginia herself. “Petals in the Wind” was published just 6 years before her death in 1980, over the following 6 years the final three books of the series were completed.

The themes continue from the first book and are again quite controversial with child abuse and neglect still playing a part and with incest growing in its influence over the story. For those of you that haven’t read the first book or my previous review it’s necessary to do a short recap of the first story in order to review this book adequately. A mother and her small four children return to live with their very affluent grandparents after the death of the father. The grandparents had disowned their daughter when she eloped with her half-uncle and as such she decided to hide her children in the attic while she attempted to win her father’s affections back and so get put back in his will. The majority of the book is focused on the children’s time in the attic where they are kept locked up for over 3 years until the death of one of the children from being poisoned by their mother, forces the remaining children to escape which is where the first book ends.

The Plot

The plot of “Petals in the Wind” continues to be told from the viewpoint of the second eldest child, Cathy Dollanganger. Together with her elder brother Chris and their younger sibling Carrie they manage to escape from their prison and find themselves taken into the care of a middle aged doctor and his housekeeper. As the tale unfolds we see a romance develop between Cathy and the doctor, which puts pressure on her relationship with her elder brother due to their previous and continuing acts of incest. The doctor takes kindly to the three children, due to his depressing past, and helps to make Cathy a famous ballerina and Chris a brilliant doctor.

As the story continues Cathy moves away and marries her fellow dancing partner who sadly dies in a car accident, much the same as her father. She gives birth to his baby and we are led to believe that the story may well have a happy ending. However throughout the book we learn of Cathy’s desperate attempt to gain revenge on her mother, so much so that she takes up residence near her original place of imprisonment where her mother lives and attempts to entice her mother’s younger husband in a desperate plea to gain some revenge on her mother.

Of course without spoiling the rest of the book, or indeed the ending for you, I won’t say anymore but be sure to realise that there’s so many twists in this book with the biggest saved until the last chapter, that you won’t be able to put it down!

The Characters

Cathy – as Cathy was the narrator in the first novel and again in this we really get to see an insight into her character and the progression she has gone through as she grows up into a young woman. This book follows the children over a 12 year period and so it is clear to see her growing up and her gaining maturity. Through Cathy’s eyes we learn of her feelings towards the kind doctor that took them in, towards her brother and towards her younger sister who is still very fragile. Her cynical manner and her attempt for revenge on her mother is refreshing, as it appears the other two children has forgotten quite how cruel their mother was to them, she is arguably a likeable character and one that the reader can empathise with quite easily as she will not be defeated in her constant struggle to hurt her mother.

Chris – he is elder than Cathy by 3 years and feels very over protective over her, during their time together in the attic their relationship developed past what is considered normal for a brother and sister in the form of incest. In this book we see him continuing his love for Cathy, desperate for her to feel the same towards him and never once does he loose his patience with her. After a while the reader may start to feel slightly irritated by Chris, if anything he appears pathetic in this book in his constant efforts to make Cathy his. Clearly he knows incest is wrong, by the reaction his mother and father got when they eloped, yet he still pursues her knowing this.

Carrie – in this first novel we learnt quite little about Carrie as she was at such a young age, however as time goes on she progresses to a young woman and it is clear to see that she is still haunted by her twin brother dying in the first book and also the troubles of what happened to her in her young life. Again the reader may feel slightly annoyed with her but then you quickly remember that a young, weak child was locked away, deprived of food, love and sunshine and then wonder how it is that she is still holding on. She clearly never recovers as much as the elder two children and instead just strives to find the love she needs to survive.

Paul – this is the only other central character that plays a part throughout the novel, he takes the children in when they have no where else to go to compensate for the death of his small son and wife several years ago. The reader may be led to wonder why he treats the children so kindly but the reader is led to believe that he is merely trying to inject some happiness into his empty life. He soon falls in love with Cathy, and she with him, but their relationship is never easy.

Corrine – although Corrine is not really a central part of the novel until the end our dislike of her is kept alive through Cathy’s dialogue. Even more so when she encounters her children out and about and merely dismisses them to be liars who couldn’t possibly belong to her.

My Opinion

This novel, in a way, is even more addictive than the first one was. I couldn’t put it down and as already mentioned I finished it within three days of starting it – of course the fact I was avoiding doing essays helped! Again the nature of the book is quite depressing and even morbid at times yet this seems to add to the suspense and the need to read on in a way, more so than a happy story would.

The characters were very real, I could imagine them living their lives and attempting to block out the horrible things that happened to them in their past. Cathy, the narrator, is the most vibrant character and the one we gain the most insight to. Her unfaltering need to get even with her mother drives the tale forward and excites the reader, we want to know whether she ever does get her revenge. One thing that did make me dislike her somewhat was that she became an almost seductress when it came to men, with them falling around her feet throughout the story. She also knows exactly how to entice a man and although at times this is enjoyable to read, at other times it seems unnatural and seems to take the focus away from the rest of the story. She seems to want to grow up overnight and again find that love that was taken from her as a child – this seems to be a recurring theme in the tale in that all three children are constantly looking for love to almost make them whole again and make up for the past.

With regard to Chris, as already mentioned, we do tire of his endless need to make Cathy love him in the wrong way and at times you feel like you could slap him and tell him to move on. However we are led to believe that due to their imprisonment in the attic together he can never quite love another woman the way he loves Cathy. As for Carrie the only emotion I really felt for her was sympathy, it is clear to see she will never grow up to be like her brother and sister and constantly feels not good enough due to her small body and big head (due to lack of food and light when she was younger) and is even bullied repeatedly for this. The contrasting qualities brought by the different characters works well, hatred for the mother, sympathy for Carrie, admiration for Cathy and irritation with Chris adds to the tale in that each character is so different yet we can empathise with them all for different reasons.

Although the book covers a period of 12 years I never felt that I was missing out on anything, Cathy managed to continually express not only her thoughts and feelings but also the changing relationships of the characters, the progression of them and the moving themes throughout the novel. Again with regards to the 12 year period, never at once does the book grow static or did I wish I could fast forward the story in any way which is always refreshing when reading a novel.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone, it’s addictive and I guarantee you won’t be able to put it down. Of course it’s a good idea to read the first book as you may well be a little lost if you go straight into this one. So if you’re looking for a good book to curl up with during these cold winter nights, look no further!

Thanks for reading!

Summary: The second novel in the Dollanger series by Virginia Andrews.