The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Title: The Glass Castle
Author: Jeannette Walls
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Scribner, 2006
Source: Personal copy
Read for: Alex Awards Challenge

Jeannette's parents were intelligent, resourceful, and restless. From her earliest memories, she recalls moving from place to place in whichever rickety incarnation of the family car was still running. However, as Jeannette and her siblings grow older, the enchantment of their adventurous life begins to fade as they realize how poor -- and hungry -- they are. They spend the next few years trying to pull each other out of their parents' lifestyle.

All I knew of The Glass Castle before picking it up was that it was about a family that chose to be homeless. That in and of itself probably wouldn't have been enough to pique my interest; however, every single person I knew of that had read the book absolutely raved about it. I'm grateful for the rave reviews, because without them I never would have experienced this riveting book.

Walls' personal experience in and of itself is fascinating. Her existence of moving from shack to shack in the desert, eventually ending up in a molding, festering structure in West Virginia with no heat is an interesting story on its own. However, the real stars in The Glass Castle are the fascinating members of Jeannette Walls' family. Each person was captivating, intelligent, creative and unique, including her flawed parents. Despite my frustration with them throughout most of the book, it was impossible to hate them. Jeannette's mother was certainly a selfish woman, hating to go to work despite her teaching credentials (and a shortage of teachers in the areas in which she lived) because she felt that it stifled her creativity and because she was tired of taking care of others instead of people taking care of her. (I wanted to shake her and say, 'Hello woman, you had children and there are responsibilities associated with that'). I was unbelieving when she stashed food away while her children went hungry. However, at the same time, she was clearly creative and intelligent.

Jeannette's father was my favorite character in the book, despite the fact that he was the root of most of the family's troubles. Clearly an intelligent man with interesting ideas and a deep love for his children, he was unable to hold down a job or stay long in one place due to his rampant alcoholism, which he attempted to beat multiple times unsuccessfully. The pathos of his continued query to his children, "Has your dad ever let you down?" was heartbreaking, because it was so clear that he had, but it was also so clear that he hated and blamed himself for it. I'm not condoning the hell he put his family through, but I felt that Walls was outstanding at keeping his character well-rounded and objective, despite the ordeals she suffered through his mistakes.

The other aspect of The Glass Castle that truly impressed me was the ability of the Walls children (with one tragic exception) to overcome their difficult childhoods and succeed at their goals in life. Despite the fact that Jeannette didn't have enough food to eat or enough clothing to keep her warm, she worked and saved to send her sister to New York City with the hopes that her sister could take her away someday. She had her goal of becoming a journalist, and she was absolutely tenacious in achieving it.

While Walls is amazingly objective in her character descriptions despite the obvious emotional baggage that comes with them, she leaves nothing to the imagination in her detailed descriptions of her family's hunger, poverty, and decrepit living conditions. Her excellent writing depicts the horrible situation without accusation toward her parents but with no holds barred.

The Glass Castle is at times a difficult read, but the overall message is one of transcending difficulties. Despite the obvious privations of the Walls children's existence, their parents' choices are complex and objectively depicted. I think any reader will gain something from reading The Glass Castle.

4.5 stars

Warnings: Language, mild sensuality, violence, disturbing themes

22 comments:

  1. I'm glad you liked this one. It's one of my favorites!

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  2. This is one of my all-time favorite memoirs. I also loved her follow-up, HALF BROKE HORSES because it features the childhood of her mother and reveals how Walls' mother and father met. Great review!

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    1. I really want to read Half-Broke Horses now -- her mother and father were such unique people and I would love to know more about their lives.

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  3. You are so right in that parts of this book was disturbing to read! It's hard to think this was actually someone's life and not a work of fiction.

    Tanya
    Girlxoxo.com

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    1. I know! And I feel like many of the fiction books I have read that described poverty were not this vivid, probably because most of those authors haven't experienced it themselves. I was blown away. I really need to stop referring to myself as a "poor college student" because at least I have clothes that fit and plenty to eat.

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  4. I'm so glad you read it! I LOVE this book. And my favorite thing about was what you talked about, about her being pretty objective about her parents. They were impossible to hate. And yes, you should definitely read Half-Broke Horses too, it's really good.

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    1. I'm excited to read Half Broke Horses. Before writing about this book and reading everyone's comments I didn't realize that her parents were in it much, so I am excited for that.

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  5. Thanks for the recommendation for this one. It sounds like the family made some really unusual choices, I don't understand why anyone would choose to be homeless.

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    1. Those were my thoughts as I heard about this book before actually reading it. And while I still don't think it was a positive choice by any means it makes more sense once you read about the personalities of the people in the book.

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  6. I've heard a lot about this book! It's one that I'm hoping to read sometime. So glad that you loved this one a lot.

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    1. I would definitely recommend it. Hope you enjoy it!

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  7. Reading this one was like watching a tragedy on the news, I couldn't look away. I was so frustrated with her parents but you could tell she loved them anyways, and that says something.

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    1. I agree. Her dad was so messed up, but he was still a really intriguing character and it was obvious that he had a deep love for his kids even though he wasn't able to overcome his addictions for them.

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  8. Intriguing... i am adding this sample to my Kindle now! :)

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  9. I've had this book for years but have been so scared to pick it up. It just seems so very depressing and disturbing that I can't bring myself to start it. But your giving it such a positive review really helps!

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    1. There is a lot of sadness and darkness in the book, but I think it is really positive the way the Walls kids are able to pull themselves out of the environment and have some really amazing achievements. Definitely not a book to read if you are having a bad day, though.

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  10. I read this book last year (before I had my book blog), but you perfectly captured my thoughts on the book! I was reading your post and thinking that it's like you had read my mind. This book was such a hard read, but it was so engrossing. I couldn't put it down! I thought Walls had such tenderness when writing about her mother. She could have absolutely thrown them under the bus, but she never did. She is loving in describing their faults, and I was so impressed with that aspect of the book. I found Half Broke Horses on sale at B&N but haven't read it yet. Your review reminded me that I need to get to it soon :)

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    1. Yes -- I couldn't believe how understanding she was, especially because her mother infuriated me. (The hiding the chocolate part especially!) Someone told me that Half Broke Horses describes how her mom and dad meet, which I am really curious about. I need to read it soon, too!

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  11. I keep thinking about this book which for me, is a sign of a great book. It made me feel so grateful and want to be more compassionate. If it weren't for the father's colorful language I would read this to my kids who think their life is hard when they can't go to the roller rink. Sheesh!

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    1. It might be funny to read this out loud and substitute words for the father's colorful language although it would probably be too easy to make an accidental slip. I definitely need to remember this book more when I feel like complaining about having to do little things that are not that big of a deal.

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