Total Page : 288
Publisher : Scribner
Publication Date : 2006 01 09
>> Still reeling
This book was heart rending frustrating enraging funny moving and a tour de force I listened to it on CD in my car and at times I found myself literally yelling at the CD player in fury at the latest outrage perpetrated by Walls s parents the two most feckless self centred and irresponsible people on the planet or almost weeping at her disappointment or the humiliation her father occasionally felt There were times I was tempted to just skip to the last disc as I couldn t bear to hear any more but I stuck with it and just loved the final chapters as Walls manages to create a loving and successful life for herself without the need for therapy or confronting her parents not that that would have helped much especially in the case of her mother who seems to live in an entirely different world to the rest of us and yet still has no resentment towards them I think at some point Walls just decided that they did the best they knew how I don t understand people who found this book negative or even boring and I certainly didn t get any sense of Walls writing this to blame or punish her parents if anything she is constantly forgiving and trying to help them Whilst we know from the beginning that Walls is successful we have to read the entire book to see how she gets to that point and what moulds her and her siblings I sincerely hope that the youngest Maureen is able to find her feet and not go the same way as the parents
Whilst I m sure Walls is not the only person to endure such a childhood she is the only one I know of who has written such a brutally honest memoir about her life her family her feelings and behaviour She doesn t shy away from her own mistakes or the times when she pretended not to know her parents One thing I m dying to know is whether her poli sci teacher at Barnard the one who accused her of knowing nothing about poverty has read the book and if so did she contact Walls
>> Gripping and amazing
The Glass Castle is Jeannette Walls memoir of growing up with an alcoholic father and a mother that was surely mentally ill The book opens when Jeannette is three and badly burns herself cooking hotdogs on the stove She spends six weeks in the hospital until her parents rescue her and sneak her back home This type of situation is repeated throughout the book Jeannette s parents are proud of their hands off approach to parenting and repeatedly help Jeannette and her brother and sisters by making them do things no children their ages should have to do
Jeannette retells the events of her childhood through the eyes of the child she was at the time and does a great job of keeping adult cynicism out of it She doesn t ask for pity she lets the horribleness of the events she relates speak for themselves Many times I wanted to reach through the book and strangle her parents I read Jeanette s gossip column on msnbc com for years to think that she was once the little girl in this book and not only survived but became very successful is amazing
>> A Book that is ever present in your mind
As a mother of two toddler s in suburbia this book was astounding to read I do so much to provide for my children and make sure they are given everything they need to succeed In contrast I don t doubt that the family in this book is not a loving family but the love is so completely different It s simple and complicated all at the same time and yet unencumbered by material things and societal pressures Their life growing up was horrifying and inspiring You can learn and be inspired by this book Definitely a must read
Click Above Or Below To See More Detail >>> The Glass Castle A Memoir
