Chapter 4--The Attic
So, having spent their first morning in the room, our siblings decide to finally explore the titular attic! This is very exciting! Except it turns out the attic is a little horrible. It's humid and rotten and generally foreboding. But there's a lot of stuff in it it, and it's very big, so at least there's that!
Cathy is still preoccupied with clothes, but when she tries to get some of the ones in the attic, moths with DISGUSTING LITTLE WINGS fly out. She also finds some photos with relatives; everyone is completely miserable. This is a Misery Family.
The twins utterly despise the attic and resent Chris and Cathy for keeping them there. But they feel better when Chris finds a rocking horse, at least.
Then Cathy picks up a book and CENTIPEDES FALL OUT AND ITS TERRIBLE EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE. Chris chastises her for still being scared of bugs but HONEY IF YOU PICKED UP A BOOK AND FUCKING 100 LEGGED SQUIRMING TERRORS FELL OUT YOU'D SCREAM TOO.
Anyway the twins really want to go outside and we discover that they can't even see the gardens from the window of the attic, which makes everyone really sad. Chris tries to be optimistic and says they can at least watch the seasons pass. Also, he suggests they get a pet owl, which I think is always a good idea.
Chris makes swings for the twins, so they'll have something to play with. He RISKS HIS LIFE to high them from the high rafters, and Cathy is very impressed. However, the twins are not, so they go back down stairs.
This is when the observation that even if they could open the blinds, sunlight couldn't get it the room, and to this I say, that is fucked up.
Cathy also ruminates on Concrete Grandma:
Such horrible words she'd said: "You are here, but you don't really exist."
She sounds exactly like my depression!
Anyway, everyone takes baths. They break one of Concrete Grandma's rules have girls and boys in the bathroom at the same time. Cathy talks to Chris while she's the bath, cries a little, and reveals her desire for a pony. Chris remains very optimistic about the future.
They eat lunch and the twins start mcfreaking losing it, which, to be fair, I would be too. But Cathy calms them down by reading them to sleep. It's a pretty cute scene.
Cathy and Chris read, and Cathy gains a love for the middle ages. Which I mean, in actuality they sucked...but honestly I enjoy fictionalized stuff about them too. Later, they eat dinner, and Chris describes oranges as "liquid sunshine" and BOY DO I CRAVE ORANGES NOW. The best fruit A+++
Cathy comes up with a plan if there's a fire, and Chris admires her for it AND THEN MOTHER AND CONCRETE GRANDMA RETURN AND CATHY FEELS LIKE GRANDMA CAN SEE ALL HER WRONDOINGS AND THEN THE CHAPTER IS OVER.
Chapter 5--The Wrath of God
So, the mother is very sad, and seems to limp. She tells the twins to think of Cathy and Chris as their parents which is certainly not going to lead to incest nope.
SUDDENLY THERE IS SCREAMING AND THE TWINS FIGHT THE GRANDMA, AND ITS PRETTY AWFUL??? SCREAMING CHILDREN AND CONCRETE GRANDMA IS AWFUL. She gets them to stop by THREATENING TO WHIP THEM and then it's revealed she's whipped their mother and its just, not a fun time for anyone.
We also get confirmation that YEP the kids are the children of their mother and her "half-uncle", and Concrete Grandma tells them they are against God, and Cathy basically loses her faith. She hates the grandma, which is reasonable, and then Concrete Grandma gives them a speech about how she has COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THEM and I say again, a fucked up book.
Chris also apparently was closest with their mother, and
He'd already told me when he grew up, he'd marry a woman who was like our mother.
W E L L
Everyone wants to know why their mother brought them to this awful place when she knew how terrible it was. Same? Why would you do this?
Chapter 6--Momma's Story
Grandma leaves, and mother tells the children about her family. Her grandfather is one of THOSE Christians who believes as long as he goes to church and pays tithe then he is absolutely perfect forever always.
She then tells a big long story that basically boils down to, she married her father's half-brother, who was only 3 years older than her. IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT ETC. Cathy ignores the incest and focuses on how it's love at first sight! How romantic! She literally doesn't care about the incest.
She also tells the kids not to feel bad about themselves which, okay, I'm always for counteracting self-loathing and it's not like it's their fault. But then she says some gross stuff about how god could have "punished" them with "deformed or mentally retarded children" which is just, not an okay thing to say. Disabled kids are not punishment that is an AWFUL thing to say? But anyway she uses this to prove God gave the thumbs-up to their incest marriage!
Before mother leaves, she tells the kids about how she's moving into the city to learn how to be a secretary. Which, I'm afraid for the kids. Please don't leave them in this room.
Chris reassures Carrie before she sleeps, saying that they'll take it a day at a time, and the chapter ends with a sad little bit about the twins have forgotten their father. But Cathy can't, even if she wants to.
Chapter 7--Minutes Like Hours
Things sure are boring, trapped in this one room for days and days and days. They can't even sleep late because of their sleep cycles actually being on track. Concrete Grandma REALLY wants them to be ready the bible, and Chris says this about it:
"It's bloodier and lustier than any movie we ever saw, and talks more about sin than any book we ever read."
Which just makes me very pleased, but also, please do not taunt the grandma.
The mother visits as often as she can, but can't stay long, and this book makes me sad sometimes. They've been there for two weeks now, the twins still hate the attic, there are MORE ORANGES. Various things are done for amusement, such as Chris pretending to be Concrete Grandma. That seems like tempting fate.
The twins get splinters and Cathy has to deal with it. And then the twins BREAK MY HEART by asking if their mother still likes them.
One day mom visits look happy and good and Cathy gets mad about this, cause y'know, she and her siblings are in complete misery. To make matters worse, mother hasn't been entirely truthful. Church Grandpa doesn't know about them, and would never ever approve of them, saying that the only good thing about the mother's marriage was that she hadn't had any "devil's issue". So they just gotta wait it out until grandpa dies.
JUST GOTTA WAIT IT OUT, HAVE HOPE. Everyone still has hope in the book. This is going to end so, so well.
My favorite line: "This is a Misery Family."
ReplyDeleteAlways lovely when the set-up calls for good people to be hoping someone dies...
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