The Works of V.C. Andrews

[Deleted]

She didn't marry Bart, remember? He died in the fire when Foxworth Hall burned down.

Cathy was a raving slut puppy. Honestly, it's saying something to point out that Paul was probably the best choice out of the four she fucked.

[Deleted]

I bet Cathy would have been the ultimate Survivor contestant.

[zacandmax]

Guinastasia said:

She didn't marry Bart, remember?

Oh...I thought they got married. I may have to go to the thrift store to pick up another copy. I need to refresh my memory.

[Malle Babbe]

I never read the books, but I am amazed that in the past 30 years of school libraries being the center ring for every culture war slap fight in this country, VC Andrews has totally slipped under the radar of those who wish to protect us from JK Rowling, Judy Blume, and Darwin.

[lefty]

I got sucked into the "Flowers" hysteria, back in the 80's. I loved FITA and POTW, but what was the third book? If There Be Thorns? That was when things started going downhill. That pain-in-the-ass Bart! I wanted to smack the crap out of that kid, giving everyone trouble. Thank God Jory was so perfect, or else incestuous Chris and Cathy would've went nuts. And what was with the physical perfection of everyone in their universe? Of course we all know how blonde, blue-eyed and gorgeous Chris, Cathy, Cory, Carrie, Corinne and their father were, not to mention how perfectly gorgeous Julian and Bart Sr. were. And then they adopted that little Cindy, and wouldn't you know it, she was perfectly gorgeous, too. Then Jory starts to date Melody, and hey, whatya know! She's blonde, blue-eyed and gorgeous. Then Cindy grows up, and of course she is drop-dead gorgeous and perfect, too. The only people who are portrayed as "ugly" or "unattractive" are the characters that we are supposed to dislike, like John Amos or the grandmother. What was the fourth book? I can't recall the name. When Bart turned into a raving lunatic and re-created Foxworth Hall, and Jory was paralyzed. Then I believe there was another one - Seeds of Yesterday. I lost track after that. Now I have a desire to dig out my paperback collection and look for those books.

I really liked "Heaven", and the sequel to that, "Dark Angel". I lost interest in the other books. Of course, in the "Heaven" universe, all of those Casteels are just friggin' perfect and gorgeous, too. Despite the fact that they had no food, no water or electricity, no money, no clothes. In reality, they would have been dirty, with greasy hair and bad teeth, wearing rags and smelling like garbage. But Heaven was the most gorgeous girl that Logan ever saw. I always had a thing for Troy, who I pictured to look like a young Aidan Quinn.

[ladymadonna]

I think part of the appeal, for me (when I was a pre/teen) was the fact that, if my mom had known what I was reading, she would have punished me as soundly as any of the evil grandmas/stepmoms/horrid sisters in the books. The subject matter was verboten, and therefore thrilling. The protagonists suffer such horrendous indignities/abuse, and yet, they are gorgeous, and end up marrying millionaires.

As a 31 year old woman with reasonabe intelligence, I can't offer any explanation for owning all of the books up until the Willow series, except that...... ummm..... I don't read Jackie Collins, DAMMIT!!

[Deleted]

Exactly. The books are trash, and they're supposed to be trash. They're stupid and outlandish and gross and that's what makes them so entertaining.

[pezley]

Thanks to this board, I just finished reading the FiTA series again!

If There Be Thorns seriously freaked me out, because of creepy Bart, but I found something quite amusing and I doubt the Simpsons writers were thinking of ITBT when they were writing it, but there's a bit in the book where Bart cuts off all of Cindy's hair....and there's an episode (The flashback one, where Lisa is first born), where Bart cuts off all of Lisa's hair....yes yes, I'm reading too much into it because their names are both Bart but still....you never know!!

But I really hated it how everyone just ACCEPTED that Chris and Cathy were brother and sister AND lovers, and treated Bart like he was the one in the wrong.

[Deleted]

Oh, tell me about it! Jory hears all about how his mother slept with everything in pants, then married her own freaking BROTHER, and it's all, "Bart, stop picking on Mom and Dad!"

Cindy, oh GOD, how I hated her, that stupid little spoiled brat. Ditzy little airhead, dressed like J-Lo at age 16, whined about how MEAN Bart was. Then she slept around, just like her mother, but EVERYONE loved her.

Besides, I always understood that Bart wasn't the one killing the animals, it was John Amos

[ladymadonna]

So, after reading this thread, I just re-read the Cutler series. Dawn was supposedly kidnapped from the rich and powerful Cutler family when she was a baby, to be raised by a poor family with a semi-abusive alcoholic dad. When she finds out she is a Cutler, Grandma Cutler treats her like absolute crap, and her half brother rapes her and her half sister is incredibly evil. Of course Dawn ends up marrying the boy she thought was her brother, but isn't and has the most beautiful and perfect daughter EVAH! Dawn's daughter Christie finds her father, only to find out he is a complete scumbag, but only after her Uncle Philip tries to rape her. Oh yeah, I forgot the incredibly beautiful and selfish mother who cares only for her beauty.


Oy, vey! Why the HELL do I like to read these books? For crying out loud, every author who has worked on these series must have SERIOUS issues with family members, because incest is a main element, domestic abuse is prevalent, they are all just so fucked up on so many levels.

But I love 'em. They're my dirty little secret.