PART 1: "Prologue" - "Minutes Like Hours"

[[deleted user]]

So this will be a weird one, the book is divided into two parts and there aren't any chapter numbers. I'm not going to use page number because we all will likely have different editions or might be listening to an audio version.
I divided the two parts twice, so there will be two PART 1 discussions and two PART 2s, hopefully that makes sense!

[Nym]

I got a pretty earlier start on this book. So far there are definitely parts I like and parts I don't like. The beginning shows a seemingly perfect family who get along well, are very close, and all display this sort of "stereotypical beauty" (parents and children). It is mostly depicted through their beautiful blonde hair.

After the father dies, things slowly start to get weirder.
One of the things that kind of unnerved me is how much the older siblings idolize their parents. The oldest daughter portrays jealousy that she "came in second" to her mother in her father's eyes, while the oldest brother talks about wanting to marry someone "exactly like his mother". Did that come off pretty strange to anyone else? It seems normal for a tiny child to feel that way about their parents but uncomfortable for kids this old.

Things just kind of continue to get more unnerving, in my opinion. I knew about the mother and father being cousins and the kids getting locked up in the attic from seeing the original movie, but I didn't remember all of the crazy religious beliefs the grandparents hold.

All the while, the mother is pretending to be a "good" mother, while the kids' positions get worse and worse. The child abuse, the incest, the isolation, and The religious beliefs all have me pretty weirded out. Can't wait to see what everyone else thinks!

[Emily]

I got my copy- yay!!
...has anyone ever been this excited to read Flowers in the Attic? 😂

[Jen]

I totally agree with Nymheria Watson about the relationship between the older children and their parents! Like their idealized beauty, their attitude towards their parents is idealized to the point of creepiness. It seems like V.C. Andrews took everything to the extreme...perfect children, perfect family= Weird family before they even get to the attic

[[deleted user]]

Haha Emily, in a way I was excited to start this, too. It's been on my TBR for ages. And Jen & Nymheria yes! The family makes me so uncomfortable. They hold physical affection in high regard, as well, which weird me out and I come from an Italian family!
I found myself looking up if incestuous behavior is hereditary because the grandmother seems convinced that Chris and Cathy will start exhibiting those behaviors. It appears as though Cathy and Chris knew what she was implying even before they learned about their parents.
So far, SUPER uncomfortable and I know it's just going to get more so.

[Shaun]

I've always known about V.C. Andrews but never knew anything about what she wrote. I've always seen this book around everywhere, but never opened it up. Needless to say, without knowing anything about the plot, this book really is pretty uncomfortable. The themes are intense, and the author has a way of writing a sentence that immediately makes me squirm and say in my head, "please don't let what I think could happen actually happen. Please go in another direction." Definitely enjoying this one and all of its creepy, unsettling scenes.

[Christine]

I got my copy late so I'm just getting a chance to jump in...I knew VERY little about this book. My wife read all of these books when she was, like, 13 (which, I guess is when lots of girls read them?) and when I said we were reading this her eyes got big and she turned sound slowly. First impressions: Corrine is a feminist hero! The likes of Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, bell hooks even! No, I'm joking. What TAF!? I breathed an audible sigh of relief when Cathy said her mother was teaching her not to depend on a man for her wellbeing. I'm getting a little grossed out by Chris's patriarchal behavior; am I wrong or does he tell his sister what she can and can't think at one point? And why, if Foxworth was too difficult a name, did they change it to Dollenganger?! Can someone give me a phonetic pronunciation here...? Anyway, I like it so far!

[Pitterbrayn]

I got my copy- yay!!