If There Be Thorns. V. C. Andrews. Published by Pocket. November 1981. 374 pages. Source: Purchased from Betterworldbooks.com
First sentence: In the late evening when the shadows were long I sat quiet and unmoving near one of Paul's marble statues.
Plot: Out of the ashes of evil Chris and Cathy made such a loving home for their splendid children...
Fourteen-year-old Jory was so handsome, so gentle. And Bart had such a dazzling imagination for a nine year old.
Then the lights came on in the abandoned house next door. Soon the Old Lady in Black was there, watching their home with prying eyes, guarded by her strange old butler. Soon the shrouded woman had Bart over for cookies and ice cream and asked him to call her "Grandmother."
And soon Bart's transformation began...
A transformation that sprang from "the book of secrets" the gaunt old butler had given him... a transformation fed by the hint of terrible things about his mother and father... a transformation that led him into shocking acts of violence, self-destruction and perversity.
And now while this little boy trembles on the edge of madness, his anguished parents, his helpless brother, an obsessed old woman and the vengeful, powerful butler await the climax to a horror that flowered in an attic long ago, a horror whose thorns are still wet with blood, still tipped with fire....
Fourteen-year-old Jory was so handsome, so gentle. And Bart had such a dazzling imagination for a nine year old.
Then the lights came on in the abandoned house next door. Soon the Old Lady in Black was there, watching their home with prying eyes, guarded by her strange old butler. Soon the shrouded woman had Bart over for cookies and ice cream and asked him to call her "Grandmother."
And soon Bart's transformation began...
A transformation that sprang from "the book of secrets" the gaunt old butler had given him... a transformation fed by the hint of terrible things about his mother and father... a transformation that led him into shocking acts of violence, self-destruction and perversity.
And now while this little boy trembles on the edge of madness, his anguished parents, his helpless brother, an obsessed old woman and the vengeful, powerful butler await the climax to a horror that flowered in an attic long ago, a horror whose thorns are still wet with blood, still tipped with fire....
My thoughts: This is a re-read for me. I read this series as a teenager in the 80's. I had forgotten much of it but if you can enjoy such a demented read I guess I did. It makes me think just how messed up someone can be from not having a loving and caring environment while they are young children. This story brings in a fourth generation of "mental illness" in my opinion. The kind of mental illness brought on by greed and love of money and a twisted and false belief in God.
There are two more books in this series and I own them all so I am anxious to get on with this next generation.
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